If you love older architecture and home design, when the time comes to purchase a home, you may find yourself looking exclusively at older houses. While older homes do have a great deal of style and charm, the ones that are affordable may fall under the category of "fixer-uppers."
But the heart wants what the heart wants, and you may have fallen in love with one of those houses in need of fixing up. One of the major systems in your new older home that will need to be updated and upgraded is your electrical system. Find out a few of the electrical updates your home will likely need so you can get a hold of an electrical contractor and get started as soon as possible.
Look at and Consider Replacing Your Breaker Panel
The breaker panel is essentially the central hub of your home's electrical system. This panel controls all of the outlets in your home.
Because your home is older, the circuit breaker panel is likely older as well. The wiring could be frayed or loose, and the breakers themselves may not be designed to handle the electrical load (or electrical current) needed to run modern appliances, computers, and other electronic devices.
The first necessary step is to take a look at your breaker panel. If you can see damaged wires or breakers that appear dated and worn down, call an electrician to determine if you need to repair or replace the breakers.
Have All Ungrounded Outlets Replaced
There are different types of outlets that you may have in your home. Ungrounded electrical outlets were the norm in older homes.
Older televisions, appliances, and lighting systems did not require as much electricity to operate as current ones. This is why you may find outlets throughout your home with only two prongs rather than three. These two prong outlets are ungrounded outlets.
When you have ungrounded outlets in your home, they can cause numerous problems. First, you will not be able to plug in many of your appliances or potentially even your computer or television. And even if you do plug in your devices, you run the risk of overloading the outlet due to the power needs of those items.
Many people also plug adapters into two prong outlets to get their three prong electronics plugged in quickly. However, if you do this, at best, you could throw a breaker, and at worst, you could cause a major electrical fire. Take an inventory of all ungrounded outlets in your home and replace them to prevent such issues.
Install New Outlets to Improve Convenience
Again, older homes were built with the needs of the time in mind. Because of this, outlets may be few and far between in your home. Make installing new outlets in key areas and rooms a priority in your home renovations and repairs.
Walk through your home and count the number of outlets in each room. Then, think about and list all of the electronics, appliances, and other devices you will need to plug into the outlets in each room.
If your devices greatly outnumber the available outlets, even if you use a power strip in one outlet per room, that room needs new outlets to accommodate your needs and lifestyle. An electrician can help you to rewire your house and install new outlets to give you more options and spare outlets to plug in devices.
Keep in mind that even if you have just enough outlets to accommodate the devices you have now, you will likely need to plug in additional devices at some point such as a vacuum. It is important always to have at least one unused outlet in each room.
Take these steps to update and upgrade your electrical system in your newly purchased older home, and you will be well on your way to getting your home fixed up the way you want it. The professionals at
Express Electrical Services
can help you with this task.
