Electrical Contractors: Is The Kitchen The Focal Point Of The Home Or Is It Really The Electrical Service? | Arlington, TX
At Tioga Plumbing & Electric, we’re electrical contractors that help families live better together. Our customers in Arlington, TX, and the surrounding Tarrant County area love their new electrical panels and upgraded electrical service. It gives them so many more ways to welcome guests to a home-cooked meal made on the new induction stove, enjoy family events with amazing movies on their home theater system, and play interactive games with friends online while they should be doing homework but someone’s busy in the home office on a videoconference and not checking upon them. Not to mention there’s a new charging station for the EV, 240 Volt power in the garage for the new shop tools, and great lighting and audio out on the patio, with GFCI-protected power outlets for convenience.
Actually, the kitchen is pretty cool too, with a smart screen for chatting and recipe videos, a smart fridge, and plenty of GFCI outlets for appliances or just conveniently charging phones while people chat and taste test the food. As electrical contractors, we can make it all happen, or just get it started with a new electrical panel. So, what got this hypothetical family started on such an important electrical project? It’s like needing more living space at home.
When You Need Rewiring as Well as a New Panel
If you buy a nice appliance with a three-pronged plug and your first thought is, do I use one of those adapter things, or another trick to make it fit in my old two-pronged outlets? then you need to think about rewiring and new outlets. We’ve gone several generations beyond switching to three-pronged grounded outlets, now using special child-resistant outlets that only take plugs, not knives and forks. By the way, if you’re replacing an old outlet with a three-pronged one, because that’s what the store has, you’re telling people that the outlet is now grounded. Is it? Can they rely on the safety of the ground? There really needs to be a ground wire connected or another acceptable solution that gives you the right protection.
When you have electrical contractors rewire your home, you make sure that the power capacity matches the wire, so everything stays safe. You also replace old-style wires that may not be right for you anymore. That includes aluminum wiring, which was a fine idea in its time but presents so many problems it’s worth replacing with copper. We probably don’t need to talk about “knob and tube” since that’s not really common around here, but some people still have that quaint and functional but oh-so ancient stuff behind their walls and in their attics, fascinating to look at.
Going Beyond Outlet Count and Light Switches
New construction requires plenty of outlets in each room, about six feet apart, in part to ensure that there’s little need for extension cords. In some rooms like home offices and teenagers’ rooms, those should probably be quad outlets with other accommodations for power access and even network and cable TV connections. If you’re going all out with a home theater system and aren’t using a rack and PDU (power distribution unit), our team can put their commercial experience to work for you and provide ample power access convenient to your equipment. Don’t forget that our wiring experts can also run other wiring professionally and to code including network and audiovisual connections.
Working with your electrician, you can create a renovation or multi-step plan to renew your home and take advantage of new electrical possibilities. For lighting, things get a little bit more complex these days, with different types of dimmers available depending on the type of lights you’re using, plus remotely controlled smart switches and smart lights. One big plus with modern LED lighting is there’s less concern about heat when installing recessed lighting, providing lots of great options for interior design.
Replacing Old Fuse Boxes and Breaker Panels
The heart of an electrical makeover for your home is having your electrical contractors install a solid, standardized breaker panel to replace your fuse box and even certain types of circuit breaker installations from years ago that have been determined to be unreliable. Our electrical contractors can inspect your installation and let you know if a replacement is a good idea. If you have older equipment like these, you probably have a lower capacity connection to the power company, which is worth thinking about as well, especially if you’ve got higher-current equipment on your mind including EV charging stations. Modernizing your breaker panel and electric service together is an important way to step up your home’s electrical possibilities for the future, too.
Extending Your Capacity with a Sub Panel
If you’re already expanding, running power to your garage or outbuildings, building an addition on your house or otherwise adding a bunch of electrical capacity, a sub-panel is sometimes a good option, adding on your main breaker box with a smaller one. Your electrical contractors can tell you whether expanding your current box is a better option for you or adding a sub-panel. One thing to bear in mind is that leaving extra room for future circuits is an important part of breaker box upgrades. With a few blank spots at the bottom, adding a new kitchen circuit or power for your woodworking shop is a quick matter of running the wire and installing the breaker, assuming your electrical service has the capacity. Your electrical contractors can help you plan ahead.
Electrical Contractors for Your Family’s Lifestyle in Arlington, TX
Safety is an important reason to have electrical contractors provide adequate modern power access in your home. It’s also about your lifestyle, and easily using the gadgets and adding the features that your family enjoys, from computer equipment to smart lighting, a professional home office, home theater, and smart kitchen. Call Tioga Plumbing & Electric to get started on your home in Arlington, TX.
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