Are you a resolution kind of person? If so, we've come up with a few electrical resolutions that are good ideas to keep your home safe and sound. So this year, instead of making a bunch of resolutions you’ll give up on by February, take a look at these smart ideas to start 2022 off safely.

Old homes, such as many in DC's historic neighborhoods, have their charms to be sure. We love them! But the purpose of any home is to provide a safe and comfortable shelter and living space for your family. Outdated electrical wiring is a particular concern to new owners of old houses.

Your electrical service panel is the brain of your home’s electrical system. It is the dedicated place where the hardware of your electrical circuits is located. The electrical service panel is most often found in a basement or a laundry room, convenient but not primary living space. The service panel is always located on an outside wall. A proper assessment of your electrical service panel for capacity and proper function can save problems and aggravation in the future.

You might think it’s kind of odd that we dedicate this post to air conditioning when that’s not our gig. (You need an HVAC pro for that!) But we know you either have or want to air-condition on those hot DC summer days, and there are some electrical issues to consider. So we’ll look at central air conditioning, window air conditioning, and mini-splits so you can decide what is most suitable for your home and budget.

Have you ever found that when you turn on a window air conditioner to cool a stuffy or too-hot room, your lights go off? The typical issue here is that the AC unit flipped a circuit breaker.

With everyone at home more often during the holiday season, you may notice that your electrical system is not operating as efficiently as it should. If your home is more than 30 years old, you may have an electrical system that cannot meet all your electronic devices and holiday lights’ demands. An upgrade to your electrical panel, referred to as a heavy up, resolves issues from not carrying enough power. Here are three reasons why you should heavy up for the new year.

If you own a home that is 10 years old or more, you may need to consider some electrical upgrades for better safety and service. We recommend the following as you create your 2020 plan for electrical updates to your home. 

If your home is older – built before 1990 – or has not had an electrical upgrade since then, you may have a split bus panel that is not safe.

Maintaining a home is an ongoing process, yet many people wait until something stops working in the home before addressing these maintenance issues.  However, it can save you time, money, and unnecessary stress to prevent problems before they occur. Your home’s electrical system is an excellent place to start.

If your home is older – built before 1990 – or has not had an electrical upgrade since then, you may have a split bus panel that is not safe. Federal Pacific split bus electrical panels lost their UL rating about 25 years ago, due to a high failure rate in the effectiveness of its panel breakers.  If you own one, it needs to be replaced immediately.