Hawthorne Panel Upgrade

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When Is It The Right Time For An Electrical Hawthorne Panel Upgrade?

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 Hawthorne 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.

Electrical Service Size and Panel

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 Hawthorne 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.

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Hawthorne Panel Upgrade Or Replacement?

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 Hawthorne 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 Hawthorne 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.

When Additional Electrical Capacity Is Required

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 Hawthorne 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.

Hawthorne is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. The city at the 2010 census had a population of 84,293, up from 84,112 at the 2000 census.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 6.1 square miles (16 km2), over 99% of it land.

To the north of Hawthorne is the unincorporated community of Lennox and the city of Inglewood. To the east is the unincorporated community of Athens and the city of Gardena. To the south is the unincorporated community of El Camino Village, and the cities of Lawndale and Redondo Beach. Manhattan Beach is at the southwest corner of Hawthorne, and the city of El Segundo is to the west of Hawthorne. The unincorporated community of Del Aire is surrounded on three sides by the city of Hawthorne along western edge of Hawthorne.

The Century Freeway (Glenn Anderson Freeway, I-105) runs along the northern boundary of Hawthorne, with the LACMTA Green Line light rail line running down the center of the Century Freeway. The San Diego Freeway (I-405) runs along the western boundary of Hawthorne. Major east-west streets in Hawthorne include Rosecrans Ave., El Segundo Ave., and Imperial Highway. Major north-south street include Aviation Blvd., Inglewood Ave., Hawthorne Blvd., Prairie Ave., Crenshaw Blvd., and Van Ness Ave.

Hawthorne is five miles (8 km) from the Los Angeles International Airport.[14]

Hawthorne comprises ZIP codes 90250 and 90251. It is in 310 area code, except for a small portion of northeastern Hawthorne, which is located in 323 area code.