Your home’s electrical system is the backbone of its functionality, connecting outlets, light switches, and fixtures to the electrical panel. However, wiring doesn’t last forever. Over time, it can wear out or become outdated, requiring an upgrade to ensure your home stays safe and efficient. When it’s time to rewire, hiring a professional is essential to guarantee the job is done correctly and safely, giving you peace of mind and reliable performance.

What Is Professional Home Rewiring Service?

Professional home rewiring service includes updating all the electrical components throughout your home. This includes wiring, receptacles, light switches, and even sometimes your panel box. The extent of rewiring your home is going to depend significantly on your individual preferences and what you hope to achieve with the service. There are many different reasons that homeowners may need to invest in rewiring service for their homes.

Aluminum Wiring

Because of a shortage of copper in the mid-1960s, residential electricians turn to using aluminum for household wiring. Over the years, aluminum has been shown to break down much quicker and won't be as durable to abuse like bending as copper is. Additionally, aluminum will oxidize over time and loosen up its connections. When aluminum comes into contact with copper wiring, this oxidation process can occur much quicker. This can create an extreme fire hazard for any home. Typically, the best option is to replace all aluminum wiring with modern-day copper wiring.

Upgrade Amperage

It was very common for homes built before the 1980s to have only between 60 and 100 amps of power going to them. While this did suffice many of our electrical needs in those days, it typically doesn't meet our demands nowadays. Most modern-day homes will have between 200 and 250 amps of power going to them. It's no surprise that we need more power to run all our electronics and appliances. Whole-home rewiring can include increasing the amount of amperage going to your home, such as switching from 100 to 200 amps. This is particularly ideal for homeowners who are constantly tripping circuit breakers or are dealing with flickering lights and other signs of electrical overload

Prevent Electrical Hazards

Over the years, many different materials have been used for home wiring. Unfortunately, some weren't the greatest and have been shown to deteriorate over time. For example, old knob and tube wiring typically had cloth as an insulating layer over the bare wire. This cloth absorbs moisture, becomes brittle, and eventually falls off, leaving the bare wire exposed. This can be highly dangerous as anything that comes into contact with the bare wire can be electrocuted, such as human beings. Upgrading any outdated wiring can be a great way to help prevent electrical hazards in your home.

Have More Outlets Installed

Another common problem that many older homes have is they only have a minimum amount of outlets. It was commonplace for there to only be one or two outlets in every room. This simply isn't enough to meet our modern-day demands and many homeowners try and remedy this problem by using power strips and extension cords. Instead of relying on these devices that can be potentially unsafe whenever loaded, it's best to opt for upgrading all the wiring in your home. A licensed electrician will be able to wire in more outlets throughout your home and ensure that you have GFCI outlets in all of your wetrooms for optimal safety.

Add Grounding to Your System

If you look at a modern-day electrical outlet, there will be a bottom slot for a grounding wire. Unfortunately, grounded receptacles did not become standard for homebuilders until the early 1970s. Many older homes have either two-prong outlets or modern outlets that don't have the ground wire hooked up. Both of these are problems as there is nowhere for the excess electricity to run when there is an overload. It's best to consider upgrading your electrical system to include a ground wire to offer enhanced safety for your home and your family.

Eliminate Fuse Box

Homes built prior to the mid-1960s were given a fuse box that was responsible for housing all the electrical circuits in your home. Whenever a circuit experienced an overload, the fuse would blow to prevent a problem. The main issue with fuse boxes is they require you to install a new fuse every time your circuit gets overloaded. When you opt to have your home rewired, you'll get an upgrade with a new electrical panel box. This will allow you the convenience of using circuit breakers that you can easily reset when you have an overload problem.

Dead Outlets

One irritating issue that you may deal with in an older home is dead outlets. In some of these cases, the outlet may be faulty. However, in others, there may be wiring missing or the outlet may be controlled by a light switch. This is very common in older homes where there was DIY electrical work done. Getting your home rewired can help provide consistent power to your outlets and get rid of switch controls for your outlets.

The Various Benefits of Whole-Home Rewiring Service

Opting to have all the wiring in your home redone can provide you with many great benefits. First and foremost, it gives you more peace of mind about the safety of your electrical system and those who interact with it. Second, upgrading your electrical system can help to reduce your homeowner's insurance policy and increase the resale value of your home. Modern wiring will help to ensure that your home is up to current code standards for your area.

A Note on Permitting

When you decide that rewiring your home is in your best interest, it's best to rely on a professional to do the job for you. Most home rewiring will require permitting from your local government. In pretty much all cases, a licensed electrician will need to file for your permitting as local municipalities won't issue permits directly to homeowners. This is to ensure the work gets done by a licensed electrician so it's completely up to local codes.

How Invasive is Rewiring a Home?

When you take a look at all the parts of your electrical system, it's very obvious that most wiring runs behind your walls and under your flooring. In order for an electrician to run new wiring, they'll likely have to cut out areas of your wall or floor. It isn't uncommon to have a contractor come in after the rewiring service to patch up any open areas and return your home back to looking like normal.

Expert Home Rewiring Service

Mister Sparky® is proud to provide trusted home rewiring services to the Northern Minnestota area. Whether you need emergency repairs, electrical inspections, or installation of smart home systems, our team of skilled, local electricians is here to ensure your home's electrical system operates safely and efficiently. Don’t settle for anything less than professional, reliable service backed by our 100% satisfaction guarantee. Play it safe—contact Mister Sparky® today and let us take care of your home rewiring needs!