Summerville, SC began in 1847 as a resort area with well-appointed homes, and when electricity first arrived in nearby Charleston in 1882, you can be sure people were thinking about getting connected. That means wiring in Summerville, SC homes could be over a century old, and if your home has seen a few decades, it may have fairly outdated wiring, outlets, fixtures, and fuse boxes. Our electrical services team at Mister Sparky of Charleston, SC, can inspect your home and identify legacy electrical gear, creating a plan to update it to modern safety and capacity standards. We’ve come a long way since the United States Electric Illuminating Company of Charleston started generating power only a month after Edison did at Pearl Street in New York. In honor of our area’s significant role in early electric power, let’s bring your older home up to date with 21st century technology and safety. Some homes may still have older wiring styles like “knob and tube” present, or decades-old aluminum wiring, while others may simply have older copper wiring that needs careful review. In addition, today’s safety features include grounded outlets which are essential, GFCI outlets near water such as in bathrooms and kitchens as well as outdoors. A full suite of shock, fire, surge, and lightning protection devices are now available for installation in your circuit breaker panel for centralized protection as well. Our electrical services team can provide the care you need to protect your home against hazards and help you enjoy modern electrical conveniences safely.

Starting With an Electrical Inspection

If your home has identified electrical safety hazards, let’s tend to those right away, and then begin the overall update with an electrical inspection. Our experienced electrical services team includes licensed electricians with a focus on upgrading older wiring, ensuring code compliance, addressing electrical emergencies, and other areas. Together, they can look for specific issues that homes like yours typically have, and perform a thorough check for areas that need attention throughout your home. One example might be a home that was built when electrical needs were simple. The power company may only be supplying 60 amps, compared to 200 amps for many modern homes. The circuits may be wired to supply multiple rooms or even a whole floor of a smaller house, resulting in fuses blowing frequently when modern appliances like blow dryers and microwaves are used. That can be a real pain if there’s also a computer on the circuit that keeps losing power! During the inspection, we can also talk about any new features you’d like to have, such as a workshop, EV charger, outdoor or yard accent lighting or power, and smart home connections. In some areas, you’ll benefit from a whole-house upgrade or rewiring, but it’s quite reasonable to make electrical services plans for the future at the same time.

Whole-House Rewiring for a Fresh Start

Fresh electrical wiring in an older home is a big plus for many home buyers and insurance companies, and there’s a good reason for it: you know where you stand. Any issues that have developed over the years, DIY wiring, leaks in the walls, or wear and tear on outlets all get addressed at once. For older wiring like knob and tube or aluminum, while it may still work, there are known problems that make a compelling case for replacement. If you don’t have proper grounded outlets, you’re also facing a number of risks including shock hazards that you may not realize. Homes with fuse boxes not only require purchasing and replacing fuses when a circuit overload or other issue arises, they also prevent the installation of many modern protective devices. Even a newer, but corroded or otherwise risky circuit breaker panel may need replacement in some cases. While rewiring may sound like a big job, it’s something we do fairly often and so we’ve got the process down to a science. For many homeowners, after rewiring there are far fewer calls for emergency electrician visits and other urgent electrical services.

Protective Devices for Whole-House Peace of Mind

Once you have a modern electrical panel installed, our electrical services experts can easily install protective devices that are quite popular with homeowners. Whole-house surge and lightning protection devices cover all your home’s electronics without resorting to specialized power strips. GFCI protection for kitchens and bathrooms is now available in a circuit breaker for wider coverage and convenience, keeping the risk of shock low. In addition, separately or in conjunction with GFCI breakers, AFCI protection is now available, which protects against arcing from loose wires and other concerns, which create a fire risk.

Energy-Saving and Smart Home Upgrades

Our lighting electrical services team can update your home’s lighting for style and energy savings indoors and throughout your property. With efficient LED lighting, homeowners are feeling a bit more free to provide outdoor accent lighting to beautify their home, and indoor recessed lights that don’t have the heat concerns of traditional bulbs. We also install smart home light fixtures and bulbs to work with your preferred control system, for easy, convenient operation such as shutting off the lights from your bedside. When we’re upgrading your wiring and outlets, it’s a perfect time to add strategically located outlets such as in the kitchen for plugging in a smart display to read recipes and video chat while you’re working. It’s up to you and based on your ideas, and our electrical services team makes it happen.

Your Home Electrical Upgrade Specialist

When you’re updating, renovating, or simply making your home in Summerville, SC safer, let Mister Sparky of Charleston provide the experienced electrical services you need. Our team is locally based, and well-versed in the wide range of home construction methods used here over the years. When it’s time for enhancements to embrace today’s technologies, we’re here for you as well! Call today and let’s talk about your older home and new tech electrical service needs.

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