Browse Our Most Common Electrical Questions

There are several signs that your panel may be due for a replacement. 

The most common ones include:

• Breakers that trip frequently and won’t stay reset
• A panel that feels warm or shows signs of scorching or rust
• A fuse box rather than a circuit breaker panel
• Flickering lights throughout the house
• A panel from a manufacturer that has since been recalled or lost its safety listing

If your home is older and the panel has never been replaced, it’s worth having a licensed electrician take a look. An outdated or undersized panel is one of the most common and overlooked electrical hazards in a home.

A breaker that trips repeatedly is telling you something is wrong, and simply resetting it isn’t the fix. 

The three most common causes are:

• An overloaded circuit (too many devices drawing power from a single circuit)
• A ground fault (electricity finding an unintended path)
• A short circuit caused by damaged wiring or a faulty device
• The breaker itself has worn out and needs to be replaced

If a breaker trips more than once, stop resetting it and call a licensed electrician. Repeatedly resetting a faulty breaker can cause damage or create a fire hazard.

GFCI stands for Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter. A GFCI outlet is designed to detect dangerous imbalances in electrical current and cut power within milliseconds, fast enough to protect against electric shock.

Per the National Electrical Code, GFCI protection is required in any area where water is present or likely; including kitchens, bathrooms, garages, outdoor outlets, laundry rooms, and pool and spa areas.

In most cases, yes. Florida requires permits for the majority of electrical work beyond simple like-for-like device replacements, including panel replacements and upgrades, new circuit installations, home rewiring, generator installations, EV charger installations, and service changes. 

Unpermitted electrical work can create problems when selling your home, void your homeowner’s insurance, and leave you with work that hasn’t been verified as safe. Always make sure your electrician is pulling the proper permits.

These two terms are often used interchangeably, but they mean different things. A panel replacement means removing your existing breaker box and installing a new one of equivalent capacity. 

A panel upgrade means going beyond a standard replacement by adding smart features, increasing service capacity (for example, from 100-amp to 200-amp service), or installing a smart panel like SPAN that gives you app-based control and real-time energy monitoring.

The most common indicators that a home needs rewiring include:

• Knob and tube or aluminum wiring 
• A two-wire system with no ground
• Frequently tripping breakers
• Outlets or switches that don’t work
• Burning smells or discoloration around outlets and switches
• An insurance company that has flagged or declined to renew your policy due to the wiring. 

The best way to find out is to have a licensed electrician inspect the system. Veterans Electric offers full electrical safety inspections and can tell you exactly what you have and what, if anything, needs to be done about it.