Scherer Electric Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Electrical Panels’

How Long Will My Home’s Electrical Wiring Last?

Monday, August 3rd, 2020
electrical-parts

A home has two hard-working “circulatory systems,” plumbing and electrical. Because both are mostly hidden from view even as they do essential work, it’s easy for a homeowner to dismiss them as something that will last as long as the house does.

But that’s not the case. When it comes to electrical wiring in Orchard Park, NY, you do need to have concerns about the age of the wiring. Not just for as long as you’ve been in the house, but for as long as the wiring has been in the house, period. If you live in a vintage home and the wiring has never had an update, it’s important to know about how long the wiring can expect to endure.

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Replace Your Federal Pacific Electric Panel!

Monday, July 20th, 2020
electrical-panel-repairs

The electrical panel for your home is the vital “switching station” where the voltage entering your home divides into separate circuits. The panel protects the electrical system in case of shorts and other electrical troubles by tripping breakers. It’s important that your house has a working electrical panel that will keep your home safe. If you have an old, outdated panel, or one that has suffered damage, it’s time to schedule an electrical panel replacement in Buffalo, NY.

There is a specific case where we recommend you call us right away for a panel replacement, and that’s if you have a Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) circuit breaker panel installed. Many homes still have these panels, and they pose significant fire hazards.

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Does My Home Need Grounding Services?

Monday, June 22nd, 2020
electrical-outlet-wall

What does it mean to have your house grounded? We could go into some lengthy engineering explanations about how electricity works, but we can provide a simpler discussion of the electrical flow in your house. Electricity is always trying to “ground,” which means it gets rid of all its negative energy so it can get back to being balanced. In your home, the way the electrical systems allow electricity to return to ground is through the neutral wires. The “hot” wires carry the negative half of the polarized charge of electricity, and the neutral wires contain the positive half. These wires run next to each other through your electrical system.

For an example of this standard grounding at work, look at an outlet. One slot is the “hot” side, and the other is the “neutral.” The current flows through the hot side and then into the neutral side to eliminate the negative energy.

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Why a New Electrical Panel May Be Necessary

Monday, June 8th, 2020
electric-tools

An important job we often focus on here at Scherer Electric is making upgrades to electrical panels for homes. In our long history as a top Amherst, NY electrician, and as Western New York’s Favorite Electrician, we’ve seen plenty of outdated panels in homes that needed to be replaced many years ago. There are also specific panel types that are hazardous, such as Federal Pacific panels that we advise all homeowners have replaced as soon as they can.

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Can I Install My Own Electrical Panel?

Monday, April 27th, 2020
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If you’re asking this question, it’s because you either have a suspicion that your current electrical panel is out of date, or you know it’s out of date because it’s failed on you. Perhaps you have an old fuse box, and now realize that this antiquated technology isn’t viable anymore as you keep putting larger and larger fuses on it. Maybe you’ve found out about the danger of the Federal Electric panel installed in your house and want this fire hazard eliminated.

Great—replacing your electrical panel is almost certainly beneficial, and could even prevent a house fire. But if you came here looking for advice on how to install the panel yourself … well, we hope we stopped you before you wandered over to any hazardous recommendations on how you can do it yourself. Because even if you could, you shouldn’t.

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Why Do the Circuit Breakers Keep Tripping?

Monday, April 13th, 2020
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The electrical panel in your house, a.k.a. the circuit breaker panel, is the main “switching station” for the electrical system. This is where the incoming electrical current from the grid divides up into the circuits for the rest of the house. The breakers are in place to prevent an overload on a circuit from damaging the electrical system and causing problems like electrical fires.

When a circuit breaker trips, it means there was too much draw on that circuit. The switch temporarily shuts off the circuit, and you’ll lose power to part of the house. When this happens, we recommend you shut off all appliances in the area and unplug the outlets. Then go to the panel and find which breaker has tripped. Reset it, and then go back to plug in the appliances and turn them back on.

In most cases, this will solve the problem. But what if the circuit breaker keeps tripping? This indicates a larger problem, and you’ll probably need professional electricians in Clarence, NY to help you solve it.

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Watch Out for Federal Pacific Electrical Panels and Have Them Replaced!

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020
electrical-panel-repairs

We watch out for the safety of our customers. Keeping electrical systems running without hazards for a house is an essential part of the job of any professional electrician. But our electricians in Orchard Park, NY have a special safety focus, which is replacing outdated electrical panels.

There are many older homes in Western New York which still have their original wiring and electrical panels. Those panels may have been fine decades ago, but they aren’t right for modern electrical demands. And then there’s the Federal Pacific electrical panel, which presents a significant fire danger for homes—and is found in far too many of them!

If you have a Federal Pacific electrical panel in your house, please schedule service with us as soon as possible to have it replaced.

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Common Electrical Repairs You May Need

Monday, November 25th, 2019
electric-house-rewire

The electrical system in a house is something most of us take for granted. Flip a switch, the lights come on. Plug in the toaster and it works. Put your phone in a recharging station and its battery powers up.

But nothing as complex and important as a residential system can ever be dismissed. At some point, the electrical system may malfunction and need repairs. Only certified electricians can perform the repairs since amateur work can create safety risks. For professional electricians, like ours, customer safety is always the top priority.

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The Electrical Panel vs. The Fuse Box: What You Need to Know

Monday, September 2nd, 2019

An electrical panel, a fuse box … what’s the difference? To many non-electricians, they may sound like the same thing, and people often talk about them as if they were interchangeable. They aren’t, however, and knowing the difference between them is important if you have an older house with the outdated version.

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