Upgrade is the term that is now known by many of us in terms of smart phones, applications and other online matters. But when it comes to a switchboard upgrade, then it is something that is serious. If you are living in a house that is as old as 20 or 30 years, then you need to surely call the electricians and get your switchboards checked. If the switchboards still have the ceramic fuses and other older versions, then you should immediately go for its upgrade this time.
But, of course, depending totally on the electricians may not be a fair deal. So, it is wise to know a little bit about the switchboards and about when they need an upgrade.
Talking About the Switchboards
Switchboards are boxes that are responsible in distributing electrical power to all the electrical appliances in the house. A few years back, such as a decade or so, the number of electrical appliances were less and hence the switchboard had to manage a limited number of appliances. But now with so many electrical items in a household, such as computers, television, refrigerators, ovens, air conditioner and many others, the pressure on the switchboard has increased.
The ceramic fuse wire can easily catch fire due to this pressure and hence it is always suggested for the old houses to get switchboard upgrade as per the recent standards.
Also, the meter box in older times were smaller according to its requirement then, but now it has to be made in such way that it could shell out extra space for the extra appliances. Also, some safety measures such as installation of the safety switches is necessary for which its upgrade is quite mandatory.
When Should You Get the Upgrade done?
Of course, the electrician can come and have a check whether your switchboard needs an upgrade or not. But if you wish to know on your own about the need, then here are some symptoms that you can notice.
Some of the symptoms that can ask you for switchboard upgrade are:
- Frequent flickering of the lights at different places in the house,
- Power tripping from time to time,
- Frequent short circuits without any reason.
If you are facing such issues at your home, then you should surely contact an electrician and ask him to have a detailed check of your switchboard.
Is the Upgrade Costly?
Many may think that an upgrade may cost a huge amount of money. But in actual, the cost is much lower than any other renovation work at your home. More importantly, the loss that you may face, if the house catches fire, will be saved by this minimum expenditure that you make for the upgrade of your switchboard.
How to Go for The Upgrade?
There are a few people who may take this work to be simple one and hence may try to do it themselves. This can be hazardous. The older switch boards were small and lesser complicated in comparison to the newer boards. Hence, leave the work on the modern electricians who are aware of the various parts of the switch board and they can provide it a new look with newer features, too.
Getting an upgrade in your house switchboard will not just protect your house and your electrical appliances, but will also protect you from getting electric shocks now and then. So, if you are staying in a house that is quite old enough, then this can be the proper time to get an upgrade so that you can avoid many of the accidents and misshapen.