How To Renovate Your Home's Electrical System To Make It Work Like New

Your home’s electrical system may not be on the top of your renovation project list, but as the years pass, it should climb up the list. The longer you leave your electrical system as it was, the more outdated and worn out it becomes. While not all old and faulty electrical systems are fire hazards, they can be bothersome most of the time. Your electrical utilization changes over time and the number of appliances you have at home has increased as of late. 

To save you the trouble of buying extension wires and tripping over them because you have too few outlets, it’s time you thought of renovating your home’s electrical system. As a smart homeowner, you want to make your renovations cost-efficient and useful are we’ll share here some ways on how to renovate your home’s electrical system to make it work like new.

Update Your Outlets

It’s not just the number of outlets that you have to consider when renovating your home’s electrical system. A professional electrician can assess if you need to update your outlet, especially if you are living in an older home. If your home has two-pronged outlets, they need to be updated to have proper ground wires to prevent electrical surges, shock, and fires. An electrician can do a thorough sweep of your home’s electrical system and look for vulnerabilities, damages, and outdated parts, which can give you an idea of how much to rewire a house costs and how you can proceed with the electrical system renovation. Rewiring can be as extensive as replacing the entire electrical system or can be as minimal as replacing old and worn-out wiring or adding switches or outlets to different locations in the house. Since your renovation budget should also be considered, you can discuss with your electrician which wiring system to prioritize and update first, and which ones to update next if your budget cannot cover the wiring system renovation of your entire home.

Have GFCIs Installed

Another upgrade that’s needed in an older home is the installation of Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs). These are safety devices that turn off the electricity if a plugged-in device comes in contact with water and other types of moisture. Modern homes have GFCIs installed as a standard, but if your home was built a few decades back, you need to have your electrician check your wiring system and have them installed in your kitchen, basement, or bathroom. This upgrade can keep you and your family safe from electric shocks and other electrical accidents.

Install Charging Stations

Making your home look new and ready for the digital age can be possible by having charging stations installed. Many modern households have occupants owning more than one handheld device, and these devices will require charging from time to time. Charging stations can free up the outlets in the house and help organize your home by having devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other mobile devices charged in one area instead of having them charged in various places in the house.

Have Your Electrical Panel Upgraded

Over the years, the appliances and electronic devices accumulate in your home as you and your family’s needs grow. While modern homes are constructed to be energy efficient, not all devices and appliances at home have energy-efficient consumptions. Thus, you need to have your electrical panel upgraded to handle the increased power demand of the devices inside your home. Upgrading the electrical service is needed to increase the capacity of your home’s electrical service. With your home and other modern households consuming 30% to 50% more energy than the previous decades, it is high time to replace your electrical panel and breaker box to keep up with the increased energy demand and have a stable, safe, and surge-free electrical service.

Update Your Electrical Wiring 

As your home gets older, your wirings also become older, and they need to be updated to avoid having various electrical problems ay home. The modern appliances we own now require a stable source of power, and wiring can get overloaded, which can affect fuses and breakers by also overloading them. Upgrading your electrical wiring can be done along with your home renovation, where open walls can allow better access for your electrician in changing your home’s electrical wiring. This is a cost-effective and safe strategy as you are simultaneously renewing your walls and wiring and avoiding tearing up a good walling to update your wiring.

Upgrade Your Light Switches

Your modern home has more options than just turning your lights on and off. Many homeowners these days are looking for lighting and switches that create the perfect atmosphere for the different rooms of their homes. Making your home look not just new but also comfortable and ambient can be achieved by selecting a lighting type that suits you and your family’s needs for every area in your home. 

You can select from single-pole, double-pole, three-way, four-way, or dimmer switches for your home lighting. To make your home look and feel futuristic you can install sensor lighting to reduce the need for switches. You can discuss with your electrician about light switches that best meet the needs and lifestyle of your family.

Install Whole-House Surge Protection

Having a whole-house surge protector is a wise investment in keeping your appliances and electronics safe and functioning properly. It safeguards not just every outlet in your home, but also your telephone lines from voltage spikes caused by power outages, short circuits, tripped circuit breakers, inductive spikes, power company-caused voltage spikes, and lightning strikes. Your whole-house surge protector can also extend the lifespans of your electronic devices and appliances by preventing small, frequent power surges that damage electronic systems. 

Your home’s electrical system is the hidden treasure that makes your home comfortable and convenient to live in. All the modern appliances, devices, and amenities in our homes that run on electricity are connected to our electrical systems. Thus, it is wise to keep our wiring and electrical systems updated to make them look like new and keep our family safe for years to come. 

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