Electrical Panel Inspections & Updates

Experienced Red Deer electricians who can quickly and professionally inspect, install, and upgrade your electrical panel.

Are your breakers constantly tripping? Do you still have an outdated fuse box (these went the way of the dinosaurs in the 1960s) and your fuses keep blowing?

If you answered yes, it is probably time for a new electrical panel. And if you still have a fuse box, it is definitely time for an upgrade.

What Customers Are Saying

“Installation of a condo unit surge protector by Marc was completed knowledgeably and efficiently. Gentleman Pros always guarantee top notch service and skill level, regardless of the task required. Julian has completed extensive upgrades as well, including a dedicated circuit, installation of hallway pendant lights and two ceiling fans, and a remote Kidde smoke detector unit. Miscellaneous tasks were also addressed, such as LED ceiling replacements and furnace room wiring cleanup. He is always invested in his work, striving to make the residence as comfortable and safe as possible. Gentlemen Pros looks at the big picture with regard to home maintenance, and their work is meticulous.”

Laurie

Electrical Inspections and Upgrades in Red Deer, Edmonton and Red Deer

Your electrical panel is a very important part of your electrical system.

Not only does it connect your house to the electricity grid and break down the power supply for your branch circuits, but it is also a critical safety measure. Circuit breakers inside the panel trip when your electricity is behaving dangerously, such as when electricity is travelling outside the designed circuit or when you are trying to use more electricity than the circuit is designed for.

Because it is such an important safety feature, if you have any concerns about your panel, please call an electrician immediately. Our helpful customer service agents are available 24/7 to answer your calls, or you can reach out through our online form.

What Is an Electrical Panel?

An electrical panel is your home's electrical command centre. It connects your house's internal electrical wires to the grid. It is where the electricity enters your home and then splits along branch circuits to provide electricity to different areas of your house.

People call the electrical panel by a lot of different names, including fuse box (even when it does not contain any fuses), electric panel, distribution panel, breaker box, and breaker panel. Electricians often use the technical term “load centre.”

Electrical Panel Parts

To safely distribute electricity throughout your home, the electrical panel has several components.

Electrical Panel Main Breaker

Electricity from the grid enters the home through the electrical meter and then into the main breaker. It is usually rated for 100 amps or 200 amps.

The main breaker is the switch you flip if you want to turn off the power to your entire house. It is also a safety feature and will trip and shut off power to your entire house if it detects a problem, such as if your home uses too much power, if a short circuit occurs that is big enough to trip the main breaker, or if there is a short in the panel.

It is a large switch usually located at the top of the panel, though sometimes it is at the bottom of the panel or along the side.

Electrical Panel Bus Bars

Electricity from the main breaker runs to two bus bars. They are metal bars that run parallel to each other down the middle of the panel and are connected to the main breaker by two thick wires.

Each bus bar carries 120 volts of electricity from the main circuit breaker to each of the individual circuit breakers. The circuit breakers attach to the bus bars, and each breaker pulls power from the bars to supply its circuit.

There are two types of circuit breakers. A single-pole breaker connects to one bus bar. A double-pole breaker connects to both bus bars.

Single-Pole Circuit Breakers

From the bus bars, electricity is divided to supply different electrical circuits in your house. Each circuit has its own breaker.

You can turn the power off to one circuit by flipping the circuit breaker. Breakers are also safety features and will automatically turn power off to that circuit if they detect a short or if the circuit becomes overloaded.

A standard residential circuit is typically rated 15 amps or 20 amps and designed to carry 120 volts. A circuit breaker typically should not carry more than about 80% of its rated load, meaning a 15-amp breaker can handle around 12 amps and a 20-amp breaker can handle around 16 amps.

Double-Pole Circuit Breakers

A double-pole circuit breaker is typically rated between 20 amps and 60 amps and carries 240 volts. It supplies electricity to appliances that need more power than a standard circuit, such as your dryer, air conditioning unit, or electric vehicle charger.

Electrical Panel Hot Wires

From the circuit breaker, electricity is distributed to different circuits on hot wires, which are usually black. Secondary hot wires are often red.

Neutral Wire

Electricity runs on a loop and always returns to its source. The electricity that comes from the grid into your house through the main panel must come back to the main panel and then back out to the grid.

To complete the loop, electricity flows back to the main panel on white neutral wires. A white neutral wire also carries electricity, so you need to be as careful with it as you are with black and red hot wires.

Neutral Bus Bar

The neutral wire connects to the neutral bus bar, which returns electricity to the grid.

The neutral bus bar is usually located on the right side of the electrical panel.

Grounding Wires

Grounding wires are part of your electrical safety system. They are green-coated or bare copper wires running parallel to the other electrical wires in your home.

They connect conductive elements of the circuit that are not supposed to carry electricity, such as junction boxes. They create a safe path for electricity that has escaped the designed circuit to return to its source, either the grid or the earth.

Electricity outside of a circuit is very dangerous because it will find and use all routes back to its source. If it cannot use its designed circuit, it will use anything conductive, and that includes you. Grounding wires help prevent injury and damage.

Grounding wires carry escaped electricity back to the source through the electrical panel to the bonding bus bar. Then it returns either through the neutral bus bar back to the grid or through the main grounding conductor into the earth through a grounding rod or plate. This reduces shocks and fire risk. Grounding wires are also called bonding wires.

Grounding Bus Bar

The grounding wires enter the electrical panel and connect to the grounding bus bar. The grounding bus bar is usually located on the left side of the panel, though it can also be on the right side. It is connected along the bottom of the panel to the neutral bus bar.

The grounding bus bar is connected by a copper wire to a grounding rod driven into the earth, a buried grounding plate, or a metal rod from the house connected to an underground water supply.

If the electricity's source is the grid, electricity will travel along the connection between the grounding bus bar and neutral bus bar back to the grid, and the circuit breaker will trip to shut down power to that circuit.

If the electricity comes from an indirect lightning strike, it will travel from the grounding bus bar through the copper wire to the grounding rod or plate and into the ground.