Unless it trips all the time or has other problems, it’s easy to ignore your electrical panel. Yet, seasonal maintenance is important, especially when you consider how vital this equipment is to the safe functioning of your home. Here’s a maintenance checklist to consider.
Spring Maintenance
Checking your electrical panel should be part of spring cleaning. In the spring, your electrical system might not work quite as hard as it does the rest of the year. There may be days when you need neither heat nor cooling. Longer days mean you won’t have to turn on indoor lights as early. Still, it’s time to make sure that your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors work. It’s also time to check your GFCI, or ground fault circuit interrupter, outlets in your wet rooms. Inspect your electrical panel for strange smells, burn marks, or damaged wires.
Don’t neglect your outdoor lighting. Test your outdoor lights and clean away dirt and dead bugs. Make sure the exterior outlets and their waterproof covers, outdoor wires, and extension cords are in good working order.
Summer Maintenance
Summer is the time for thunderstorms. These storms bring lightning that can fry your electrical system. As with springtime maintenance, you should check the electrical panel for signs of damage. Test breakers and reset those that have tripped. If the breakers aren’t labeled, label them. This makes maintenance and repair so much easier for both you and the electrician. You might also want to have an electrician add more circuits if you’ve added more electrical appliances, including an EV charger, to your house. An electrician can also add whole-house surge protection to guard against those summer storms.
Fall Maintenance
Like spring, the earlier days of fall might give your electrical panel a bit of a break as temperatures moderate, and you won’t need either heating or cooling on some days. However, late fall brings shorter days, the need to turn up the heat, and holiday celebrations. This makes your electric panel work especially hard. Again, check the CO and smoke detectors, and think of replacing them if they’re over 10 years old.
Winter Maintenance
Even without the stress of running heating, lights, and appliances, wintry temperatures can affect your wires and their connections. Even battery-operated systems can be affected by the cold. If you start to smell burning wires, see signs of scorching at the electrical panel or outlets, or if lights constantly flicker or the panel trips, call in an electrician.
Contact Us if Your Electrical Panel Needs Maintenance
Regular maintenance is important for your electrical panel. If you need pointers on how to do this yourself or want a professional to check your electrical panel, don’t hesitate to call our electricians at R Buck Heating in Pueblo, CO.