Do you know the purpose of home’s electrical panels and electrical service size? Do you know how to figure out whether or not you need West Los Angeles panel upgrade? In this article, we’ll focus on improving your knowledge about electrical panels and what it is the best time to get an upgrade.
Let’s start by defining both the electrical service size and the electrical service panel – two different and most important components of your property’s electrical system. Both the components work together all the time to provide you with safe and efficient power supply throughout the home.
The size of electrical service is basically the capacity of power that is measured in amps. It determines how many electrical devices can be operated at a time. In simple words, electrical service capacity is determined by measuring the capacity of 3 primary electrical components. These components are:
- Service entry cable from electrical company supplying electricity to the home.
- Main service panel
- Main service disconnect
When the electric system is properly designed, all these three components will be used in identical sizes. However, when we talk about older homes, it should be noted that they have had got the piecemeal upgrades many times, and thus the general case scenario may not be applicable for them. Typically speaking, homes with all the three components will have a electric service size between 100 and 200 amps.
Undoubtedly, the significance of home’s electrical service panel can’t be overlooked. Indeed, it is the most important part of electrical devices in a home, responsible for supplying power from electrical company to home’s power outlets. A properly functioning electrical service panel is very important and thus, it is important to maintain the efficiency by regular West Los Angeles panel upgrades.
A service panel is also commonly known as “Breaker Box”. This breaker box takes the power supply from electric company and transfers into the main breaker. This is then followed by the individual circuit breakers for distributing power in the home. The individual circuit breakers may be sized between 15-200 amps. Generally, circuits supplying lighting fixtures can be of 15 amps, circuits supplying power to major appliances can be between 30 and 60 amps and circuits supplying power to outlets can be of 20 amps. Apparently, the biggest circuit breakers are rated 60 amps and above.
Now that we’ve already discussed a detailed overview of what electrical service size implies and how electrical service panel is used, let us discuss why you need an West Los Angeles panel upgrade and/or replacement. To begin with, a person may wish to get an upgrade of his/her electrical service panel or size for any of the following given reasons.
Fuses And Fuse-Panel Replacement
Homes that were built before 1960 use fuses and the fuse panels, rather than service panels and circuit breakers. These fuses used to distribute power throughout the house. While fuses and the fuse panels are not always dangerous, it can be risky to supply power to the circuit along with a fuse of different size. In past, when fuses used to go bad, homeowners used to simply replace the broken one with a new one. This replacement was often made with high-rated fuses with a view to improve the capability of the fuse to manage load on circuit. Unfortunately, incorrect size of the fuse allows too much current to flow through the wire system designed for lower load. When such things happen, the wire system starts getting hot, leading to overheating and potential fire.
Good news is that with electrical service panels and circuit breakers, the risk of fire was mitigated as the breakers and the circuits are more complex to change. These forces homeowners to hire only experienced and licensed professional to perform the task. Hiring professionals can dramatically reduce the potential risk of the electrical fires and modern circuit breakers come with absolute standard guarantee for any new installations. Since fuses and the fuses panels are considered to be of high risk, they should be replaced. In fact, most insurance companies will deny coverage on home having old fuses and the fuse panels installations
When Electrical Service Panel Can’t Be Repaired
While West Los Angeles panels upgrade are very reliable, many people do not give proper attention to this matter. It is worth noting that electrical service panel can certainly become damaged after certain period of time. In fact, the process of water infiltration caused by plumbing leaks is catastrophic for these panels. It can electrical shorts and risk of potential corrosion.
Corrosion is caused due to higher electrical resistance that results in creating overheated areas leading to electrical fires. On the other hand, electrical shorts are themselves significant fire hazards.
Circuit breakers in the electrical panel may also stop functioning properly. This can be due to loss of ability to trip during situations like overload or short. When such things happen, electrical wiring becomes susceptible to fires and hazards. They become hot and may even create electrical fire hazard.
Improperly sized circuit breakers can also create fire issue, causing overheating conditions. For example – higher capacity circuits are installed lower capacity circuit. In such a case, insurance companies will rely on home inspectors to determine the potential risks when insuring and if any of the above mentioned conditions is likely to cause home to fail the inspection.
Last, but not the least. With increased reliance on electricity and power consuming electrical appliances, homeowners often find themselves in a situation when they feel the need to get larger electrical panel to deliver adequate amount of current to additional appliances or devices. Generally, most homes have service size of about 100 amps or less. But with increase in demand, they may require more 200 amps to accommodate daily use items like computer, multiple appliances, spas, pool and other room additions. This is the reason why you might need to hire a professional to get West Los Angeles panel upgrade.
Now that you are aware of all situations under which you might need a electrical panel upgrade or replacement, you should not waste anymore time and call for professional guidance as soon as possible. If you suspect any kind of overheating, it’s the best hint to call for professional inspection today!
Certified with the department of industrial relations
West Los Angeles (often referred to as West L.A.) is a district in the Westside region of the City of Los Angeles, California.
The district lies in a small part of what the larger region by the same name, when locals use the name they may be referring to the district or the larger region known as the “Westside.”
According to the Mapping L.A. feature of the Los Angeles Times, the location of the neighborhood is Beverly Glen to Sepulveda and Santa Monica to Pico Blvd.
It abuts Sawtelle neighborhood to the west and Century City to the east. Westwood to the north and Rancho Park to the south.
Geography and transportation
The district’s geographic boundaries are the Santa Monica Freeway (I-10) on the south, and the green borders composed of hedges and green space with the neighborhoods of Century City (Century Park West) and Rancho Park on the west. The northern border of the portion of West L.A. that is east of the I-405 is Santa Monica Boulevard (north of which is Westwood). These parts of the district are represented by the Westside Neighborhood Council, a council shared with Century City, Cheviot Hills, and Rancho Park.
The Big Blue Bus (Santa Monica’s municipal bus network) using UCLA as one of its terminals, provides public transit within the region, especially along east-west routes, as does the LACMTA to a lesser extent.
This district contains and is adjacent to an area of Japanese-American culture along Sawtelle Boulevard which is sometimes called Sawtelle.
There are other areas included by locals as part of the West Los Angeles subregion but are not part of the neighborhood called West L.A. itself.
History
After colonization by the Spanish, most of what is now West Los Angeles became part of the Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica. With the arrival of Anglo settlers after the Mexican-American War, the original Californio landowners sold out, or were forced from their holdings, and by the beginning of the 20th century the area was mostly bean and wheat fields. Many Japanese immigrants settled in the district, establishing orchards and nurseries in the process. Some of these nurseries are still in business today, along the stretch of Sawtelle Boulevard between Olympic and Santa Monica Boulevards.
The core of what is now West Los Angeles, including the West Los Angeles government center at Santa Monica and Purdue, was incorporated as the City of Sawtelle. In the 1920s, West L.A. was annexed by the City of Los Angeles.
By Todd Penna
