5 Electrical Upgrades for Your Older Home

If you have an older home or are thinking about purchasing one, you may want to consider these fiveelectrical issues:

If you have an older home, you have probably noticed there are not as many outlets as in newer places you have lived. The electrical needs of earlier generations were not as high or widespread as our needs today. With the increase in electronic devices and appliances, we have a much higher demand for outlets and plugs. If you wish to update your home with more outlets to meet your needs, call our Handyside electricians today!

If you have plugs with only two prongs in your house, this means you have plugs that are not grounded. While smaller appliances such as basic coffee grinders, toasters, and phone chargers will fit into these types of plugs, they will be unusable for more modern and high-powered appliances such as microwaves, electric kettles, instant pots, and more. In addition to the inconvenience of not having three-pronged plugs, it can also be dangerous as two-pronged plugs are severely outdated and obsolete.

In addition to upgrading from 2-prong to 3-prong plugs, you should also consider upgrading to Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter, or GFCI, plugs. A GFCI plug is one that will automatically shut off if there is a fault from the device, for instance if an electric shaver is dropped in water or another device comes in contact with water. A GFCI is a safety upgrade which should happen in all bathrooms, kitchens, basements, and anywhere that water could come into contact with your electronics.

In an older home, the electrical panel will most likely need a major upgrade. If you ever blow a fuse in a fuse box, they often prove to be a major pain to replace. You can’t just flip a switch to fix it, one must have a new fuse to put in. You could also have an electrical panel that has a lower power capacity than what our modern appliances need to function properly. You could also have issues with not having enough outlets, and if you choose to add more, you will need to upgrade your panel as not to constantly trip your breakers and/or overload your system.

Lastly, with an older home, there are likely concerns regarding the types of wiring that may exist within the house. For one, with wiring being old, there is a higher likelihood that it could break as wires often become brittle over time. A broken wire can result in power loss, but, more importantly, can also start fires in your home. If you have aluminum wires (a severely outdated mode of wiring), you will need to have Handyside come take a look at your home.