The electrical panel in your home carries important components, including the circuit breaker. A circuit breaker is a safety switch designed to automatically shut the power off in certain parts of your home when there is a circuit overload. This prevents your home from fire accidents and damage to your appliances. But for your circuit breaker to perform this task effectively, the entire electrical panel must be in perfect condition. This article shows you how to keep your electrical panel working effectively.
What Is an Electrical Panel?
Also known as the breaker panel, an electrical panel is the metal box that’s normally built into the wall of a house and in an out-of-the-way corner. Inside an electrical panel, you will find several circuit breaker switches, depending on the size of your home and your electrical system. Power to your house comes through the electrical meter outside, which then routes it to the electrical panel. Each breaker in your panel controls one circuit, which corresponds to a specific room or an area of your house.
What to Do to Maintain Your Electrical Panel?
Proper maintenance of your home’s electrical panel goes a long way in keeping the entire house’s electrical systems working effectively. Here are some important things you need to do to keep your electrical panel in perfect condition.
Hire a Professional to Service Your Panel
Since your electrical panel serves as the control center of your home’s power system, many things can go wrong if an inexperienced technician handles your panels. So, if you are not a professional electrician, you shouldn’t try to fix any problem with your electrical panel no matter how minor it may seem. Always hire a professional and experienced electrician to repair and service your breaker panel.
A professional electrician knows how to remove the cover from the panel and inspect the breakers without putting your power system at risk. They also know how to do thermal checks on your panel to detect abnormal temperatures. This is important because excess heat in your panel could be a sign of a serious electrical problem. Make sure your electrical panel is occasionally inspected by a professional electrician to detect problems before they cause accidents.
Install a Cover
The only thing you can do to prevent your electrical panel from getting damaged by external elements is to install a cover. This prevents dust, water, and other dangerous items from getting into the panel. If you do not know how to install the cover, hire a professional electrician to do it for you.