Electrical Sub Panel Installation Santa Barbara
Your electrical panel helps to organize all the electricity flowing through your home. A sub panel, looks and works just like a regular electrical panel. Similarly, it helps to control a portion of your home’s electricity. You may be looking into an electrical sub panel installation in Santa Barbara for any of the following reasons.
When to Install a Sub Panel?
Not everyone needs a sub panel. The main reasons people consider them are for space, convenience, and efficiency.
- Space for new circuits: A service panel only has so many spaces for circuit breakers. If you run out of space in your original breaker box, you’ll need a sub panel to add more circuits. There is a poor practice of double tapping 2 wires to a circuit when an electrical panel runs out of space. This is a short cut and a dangerous practice because it can cause an overloaded circuit. Overloaded circuits in the worst case cause fires! If you believe one of your circuits are double tapped, you should get it fixed by an electrician.
- Convenience and different users: If you have a work space that is far away from your main circuit breaker box, it is very inconvenient to have to go to that spot to reset a tripped breaker. This is probably not the main reason to install a sub panel, but this is why sub panels are often found in high electricity usage areas that are distant from the circuit breaker box. A better example for installing a sub panel for convenience reasons occur when an occupant is not able to reach the main electrical box. In duplex houses, it’s possible that there could be 2 living units, but only one electric meter. When there is only one electrical meter, there may also be only one electrical panel. If the resident of one unit can’t reach that main circuit breaker box, then having a sub panel installed in their unit makes a lot of sense.
- Efficiency: If the main circuit breaker box is far away from your work space, a sub panel will better distribute electricity usage in the area it powers. A garage where electrical tools are used or an exterior AC condenser may be good uses for needing a sub panel in your home.
Sub panels are usually installed for specific reasons and are not needed for everyone. If you want to talk to someone to see if getting a sub panel makes sense for your situation, let us at Top Electrician Santa Barbara walk you through every step of the way.
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Should I install a New Electrical Panel, or a Sub Panel?
It can get confusing and that is why we exist! We can answer your questions and direct you to the best solution. Basically, if you need to distribute power to a particular area of your home or business you need a sub panel. Common examples are a garage, upstairs, or a room addition. It is important to note that a sub panel will not give your more power, it will just help to get it to the area that is far from the main circuit breaker box.
If you need more power you may need an electrician to upgrade the electrical panel in Santa Barbara. That will give you more power for bigger appliances and solve problems such as lights dimming or flickering, or the frequent tripping breakers. For example if you are going to install an EV charger station you may benefit from one.
Why Choose Our Electricians for a Sub Panel installation in Santa Barbara?
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Service Panel vs Sub Panel
Imagine the power of your home as a networks of connections and circuits. The service panel is the connection between the power from the electrical company in your city, to your house. In that box you can control each circuit through the circuit breakers.
A sub panel is much like a sub division of your electrical system in which you organize other circuits in it. Usually circuits away from the main panel. You will also have breakers that control those specific circuits you have created. You can control a sub panel via the main panel box, but the opposite is not true. Please note that adding a sub panel will not add more power to the circuit. If you are looking for a sub panel installation in Santa Barbara reach out to us for a FREE no obligation quote!
Get a Free Quote For a Sub Panel Installation in Santa Barbara
Our Santa Barbara electricians are the experts when it comes to sub panel installation. Residential and commercial. We provide FREE no obligation quotes in Santa Barbara, Goleta, Isla Vista, Carpinteria, Montecito, Guadalupe, and nearby cities! Call us today!