Nothing inside a home can last forever, although homeowners often act as if something like the electrical wiring will never feel the touch of time. Unfortunately, no matter how much you’d like the electrical wiring in your home to never need replacement, wires age like everything else to the point where you’ll need an upgrade.
But how can you tell if your home is ready for rewiring, either partial or whole house? It’s a good question and we’re going to explore it further in this post.
If you’re searching for “electricians near me” who can tell you if you need rewiring, as well as do the full job if you do need it, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll work hard to see you have a hassle-free experience when we take care of your rewiring needs.
The Age of Your House
The best measure of when a house needs rewiring is its age. Wiring standards have changed over the decades, and the strain of the passage of years can also cause deterioration. Modern wiring can sometimes last 40–70 years, but older wiring has a shorter lease of around 25. That will give you a good idea of whether your house is old enough to need new wiring.
Other Signs You Need Rewiring
Your house may already be telling you that it has wiring that’s too old or is in bad shape:
- Frequent Electrical Issues: If power outages and tripped circuit breakers are becoming a common occurrence in your home, your wiring is probably having trouble handling the electrical load.
- Flickering Lights: No, your house isn’t haunted—it likely has old wiring.
- Hot Outlets or Switches: This can indicate overloaded circuits or faulty wiring that needs to be replaced.
- Buzzing or Crackling Sound: When you hear this sound coming from the walls, don’t ignore it. This often indicates damaged or old wiring that can lead to a fire hazard if not corrected.
- Burning Smell: An acrid burning odor from outlets, switches, or walls is warning you that the wires are overheating. We recommend shutting off power at the electrical panel first to prevent fires.
- Old Electrical Panel: You can use the age of your electrical panel to help gauge the wiring as well. A panel that’s more than 20 years old is a candidate for replacement, as is some of the wiring. If you have a fuse box rather than a breaker box, you definitely need to make some significant upgrades to the electrical system.
Home Renovation or Selling Your Home
There are situations where you might wish to consider extensive rewiring, such as when you’re planning extensive renovations. Adding onto your house will increase the electrical load and your older wiring and panel may not be able to handle it. If you’re planning to sell your home in the near future, we strongly recommend having an electrical audit done to see if you need to upgrade the wiring. New wiring can help tremendously with increasing the value of your home.
JN Electrical Temperature Control, Inc works hard to ensure customer satisfaction with custom comfort solutions. Schedule service with us today for your home wiring needs.