A Guide to Your Home's Circuit Breaker Panel

A Guide To Your Home's Circuit Breaker Panel

Summary

Your home’s circuit breaker performs two vital roles. First, it distributes the power coming into your home into circuits that provide electricity everywhere you need it. Next, it protects these circuits from overloads with circuit breakers that interrupt the flow when there’s danger. In this article we’ll examine what circuit breaker panels do, plus when and why you may want to replace or upgrade them.

Table of Contents

A Guide to Your Home's Circuit Breaker Panel

One of the most crucial parts of your home’s electrical system is one you probably don’t think about very often. Whether you call that part a breaker panel, circuit breaker box, breaker box, electrical panel, or electric service panel, it's an important part of your home's electrical power system.

It’s crucial because all the electricity that your home uses flows through this unobtrusive piece of hardware and the circuit breakers inside. Properly configured, you’ll probably give it very little thought.

But if it isn’t up to the job, you may find its failings not only very inconvenient, or even find that the safety of your home is compromised.

In this article, we’ll examine what the electrical panel is, how it works, and more. And we’ll look at some of the reasons you may want to have your main breaker panel checked by qualified electricians or maybe even have your panel replaced or upgraded. Let’s start by learning the basics of the breaker box.

What is a breaker panel?

Your circuit breaker box is the connection between the power grid outside of your home and the wiring inside. This main service panel is the central distribution point that ensures that all the electrical outlets, appliances, lights, heating, and more get the necessary power.

Power comes into the breaker box from the outside through what is known as a service drop, either from buried power lines or power poles. From there electricity is routed to branch circuits that power your home.

Other names you should know

The term “breaker panel” comes from the breakers that control power to each of the branch circuits leading out of the panel. There are a variety of other names. You may find it referred to as the circuit breaker box, breaker box, electrical panel, or electric service panel. Whatever it's called it works the same way.

How it works

The circuit breakers perform an important safety function by shutting off power to branch circuits when they detect an overload. That’s why you may have experienced a circuit breaker tripping (shutting off) when you’ve plugged in one too many appliances in your kitchen.

If you’re old enough or live in a much older home, you may be familiar with the older version of this, the fuse box. Fuses performed the same function in protecting your branch circuits from overloads, but a blown fuse has to be replaced to reestablish power to the circuit, while a circuit breaker can be reset just by throwing a switch.

Breaker box capacity

The most important stat to consider about your electrical panel is the amperage capacity. Amperage, or amps, is a measure of the amount of electricity used. As homes have grown bigger and use more electrical appliances, the amperage capacity of the home’s breaker panels has increased. 200-amp circuit breaker panels are now common, but you may find electrical panels or fuse boxes with ratings as low as 60 amps in homes built before the mid-1960s.

Where will I find my main breaker box?

If you’ve never had to use your breaker panel, you may wonder where it’s located. There are a few common locations.

The garage is a common location, usually placed against an outside facing wall where the power feeds in via the service drop. 

If you have a buried power line, it’s common to find the breaker panel in the basement

Other locations that aren’t as common for single-family homes, but that may be more likely in a townhouse or duplex are in lower-level hallways, a kitchen pantry, or a utility closet

A less common location that you may find with some older homes is on an exterior wall.

A look inside your electrical panel

Open the door of your electrical panel and let’s take a tour. 

What you can't see

When you open the box you see the main breaker panel, with a number of switches. Beneath that is the hot bus bar and a ground bus bar. The powered and ground wires are routed to each of the individual switches that you'll see.

Main switch

You’ll notice a single switch at the top of the panel. This is the main breaker. Set this to OFF, and you’ll shut off all the power to your home. 

Individual circuit switches

The first thing you’ll probably notice once you open the door to your breaker panel is two rows of numbered switches. These are your circuit breakers — each controls a single circuit in your home. The breakers are normally set to ON, which allows power to flow through the circuit. If the switch is set to OFF power will not enter the circuit. 

On the inside of the door panel will be a paper card with information corresponding to the numbers. For example, the card may read “1 – Kitchen Outlets.” Flip the corresponding switch from ON to OFF and you’ll cut the power to the outlets in your kitchen.

Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for the card to be poorly written or hard to read! It’s worth taking the time for you and another person to examine what all the switches control and make sure the card is accurate and legible so you’ll know how to shut the power down to circuits if necessary, for example, if you are replacing an outlet or wall switch. 

Single-pole and double-pole switches

There are two types of circuit breakers in your panel. 

  • Single-pole breakers are single switches, usually with an amperage rating of 15 or 20 amps. They’re common for most household circuits of 120 volts.
  • A double-pole breaker is a double switch (two switches connected). These have higher amperage ratings that are made to handle 240 volts. These will be connected to devices like furnaces, water heaters, air-conditioning, EV charging stations, and other circuits requiring high voltage.  

The sub-panel

In some cases, you may have a sub panel next to the main box. This is usually because additions have been made to the home’s electrical system and additional breaker capacity was required, or you have outbuildings that you want to run on a more isolated system. A sub-panel is also common when a backup generator is on the home’s electrical circuit.

The size you need

If you’re reading up on breaker panels and panel upgrades, you may see a discussion of the breaker panel’s rating. The most common ratings you’ll see discussed are 100-amp or 200-amp. These ratings are a reflection of the electrical capacity of the panel.   

100-amp

These are only suitable for small homes that don’t use electricity for heating or central air conditioning. With a 100-amp panel you can provide power to lights, receptacles, and appliances, but not much else.

 200-amp  

These are the standard for most new construction and are suitable for average electrical needs. If your home is particularly large or requires more electricity, you may need to upgrade to a larger panel box.

250-amp

These panel boxes are used for larger homes with extensive electrical needs, particularly if electricity is used for home heating. If you’re upgrading the electrical system of your current home to accommodate an addition, a workshop, or an outbuilding that requires a subpanel, you may also need to upgrade the main panel to a 250-amp model or larger. 

Signs that your current electrical panel isn't up to the job

If you’re like most people, you’ve experienced a circuit breaker tripping. Time to unplug the blender, go reset the breaker, and get on with life. That’s an example of your breaker panel doing its job, and if it’s only an occasional problem, you don’t have anything to worry about.

But there are other times when this isn’t OK, and some other signals that your breaker panel may be getting overloaded or not operating properly. Let’s take a look at some of these. 

Frequent breaker tripping

The occasional trip of a circuit breaker shouldn’t be a cause for alarm. But if one or more of your home’s circuit breakers have to be reset regularly you do have a problem. In some cases that can be fixed easily by replacing the problem breaker with a higher amperage model. But it’s wise to check with an electrician to make sure that this is a viable option for you. 

You still have a fuse box

If your home is old enough that you still have a fuse box, it’s high time to get it replaced. Not only are circuit breakers safer and easier to use, but it will also be a good time to have a comprehensive survey of your electrical system done by a qualified electrical contractor. 

Black spots or scorched areas on the panel or wall outlets

If you’ve observed this, get things checked out right away. It’s likely you have a short circuit or failing wiring in your panel box. Electrical issues are a major cause of home fires, so please don’t allow yourself to be a victim. 

Burning smells near the panel

As discussed above, this may be a sign of faulty or hot wires in your electrical panel. Get it checked out immediately.

Wiring that appears melted

The job of your circuit breakers is to ensure that excess current doesn’t enter the circuits in your home. If wiring is overheating and melting, your circuit breakers aren’t doing the job and hot wires may be deteriorating. Get them checked out right away. 

Hissing sounds or hot surfaces

An electrical system in proper working order should work quietly and without excess heat. Don’t delay if you detect these danger signs.  

Flickering or dimming lights

These are a sign that an uneven flow of power is coming through your electrical panel. This can happen when the wiring in the panel or some of the individual circuit breakers are in poor shape. 

In all of these cases, your first step should be to contact qualified, well-trained electricians and have them take a look at the problem right away.

When should you upgrade your home's electrical panel?

Besides the issue of safety brought on by an old or defective breaker panel, there are some great reasons for upgrading, and a new breaker panel installation can fix some potentially serious problems. Let’s examine some of the most common reasons new electrical panels are installed. 

Your current panel is outdated or can’t handle your current needs

We’ve touched on this issue before. If your home still has a fuse box, or if you find that you can’t handle your home’s electrical needs, you should upgrade. In the case of fuse boxes, age alone is a smart reason to upgrade.

If you find that you’re constantly overloading circuits and using a lot of power strips and extension cords, your system seriously needs an upgrade, starting with the breaker panel.  

You're adding a home generator

Adding a home generator and using it safely will require some new wiring and the addition of a sub-panel to your existing panel. This sub-panel will separate the power coming into your home from the generator from the power grid, providing separate electrical circuits to connect the generator and ensuring the safe operation of the generator when necessary. 

Home additions are in your plans

You’ve decided to add an addition to your home? Congratulations! But don’t forget that along with your increased square footage you’ll also be consuming more electricity.

Be sure to have your existing panel evaluated and see if you’ll need to resize it to add more electrical capacity or room for more circuit breakers for the new wiring. 

You're adding a dedicated home office

If you’ve added a home office you may have increased your electrical demands significantly. It’s a smart idea to contact an electrician or electrical contractor to see if you need to replace or improve your existing panel.

There's an in-law suite in the works

Adding an in-law suite to your home may be a wonderful solution for your family’s needs. But if you planning on adding an independent heating and cooling system to the suite with the use of a multi-split system, you’ll want to be sure that your existing electrical system can handle the increased power needs of it and any other electrical additions. 

Upgrading to an EV charging station

Electricity might very well be the future of transportation. But you’ll need to charge that new EV, and the fastest way to do it at home is with the use of a Level 2 charger that uses a 240-volt circuit. That could be a big addition to your home’s electrical system, particularly if you’re starting with a smaller circuit breaker panel.

Always play it safe

Being a do-it-yourselfer can be very satisfying. But it’s smart to know your limits. If you decide you want to replace or upgrade your electrical panel, consider very carefully whether it’s something that you can do yourself. 

Home electrical fires and deaths are an unfortunate fact. If you’re not completely certain you know what you’re doing when installing electrical systems it’s smart to leave the work to the experts. At Team Enoch, all of our technicians are highly trained, and we’re used to taking on projects ranging in scale from minor residential improvements and repairs to major commercial projects.

If you want to evaluate your home’s circuit breaker panel for current safety, or if you want to upgrade our system to handle current or future demands, contact us to set up an appointment. We’ll be in touch fast, and estimates are always free.

Adding a circuit yourself

Be realistic about working on your electrical panel. But if you're handy and willing to take basic safety precautions it can be a do-it-yourself job.

First, turn off the main panel switch, then remove the screws holding the panel and remove it. Inside you'll see two large lugs with black wires connected to them, near the top of the panel. Don't ever touch those, since they're still live!

Remove the metal "knockout" on the panel at the point where you want to install the new breaker. Feed in the cable for the new circuit. Route the cable to the location where the new breaker switch will be installed and strip the wires to the length indicated by the breaker switch documentation.

Connect the wires to the new switch and snap it into the panel location. Replace the panel cover, turn the power back on and test the circuit.

A small panel with a big job

Your little-noticed breaker box plays a big role in your home. But if you find you’re noticing it more than you have in the past, it could be a sign of trouble. If your system isn’t keeping up with your demands, or you’re noticing unusual activity, don’t hesitate to contact an electrical professional.

And if you’re planning on doing some home improvements that involve your electrical system, the first place to check should be your breaker panel. If it doesn’t have the necessary capacity, you could run into trouble and further expense down the road. Start with your breaker panel when you’re upgrading and you’re making a wise move!

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8 comments on “A Guide to Your Home's Circuit Breaker Panel”

  1. I found it helpful that you mentioned how 200-amp breaker panels are typically best for spacious homes that need plenty of electricity. Now that my wife and I have moved into a new home, we would like to install a quality breaker panel that will allow us to install an air conditioning system in our living room next summer. Maybe we should find a professional that can help us install what we need.

  2. Hi there. Was wondering if you could do an update explaining exactly how the wires work in the electrical panel and how electricity works.. it would be just as popular as this article I'm sure. I for one would enjoy reading it.

    1. Hey Travis, Thanks for the input, we will definitely consider writing an article about the wiring inside the electrical box. Please be sure to subscribe to our blog to be notified of new articles.

  3. Thanks for the reminder that I will also have to think about circuit breaker panel installations when planning a home addition project. I'm thinking about having a sunroom in my home but I'd still like for it to have light fixtures in case of gloomy days. As such, some strategic wiring will have to be planned for it.

  4. I want to replace some light switches and outlets in my house, but I’ve tried to locate which circuit they are on in my breaker box and they don’t seem to be connected to any breakers. I’ve turned off every circuit breaker in the box but the power remains on.

  5. Good to know that flickering or dimming lights is really a sign of uneven power flow passing through the electrical panel and this happens when wiring or individual breakers are not in a good shape. I was really wondering about that since I already changed the light bulbs in my bedroom and it is still flickering. In this case, I should get in touch with an electrician to ask for repairs.

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