Does Your Electrical Switchboard Need a Switchboard?

Vaultage Electrical & Security Solutions

Having the right type of switchboard at home is important for the safety of your family members and the longevity of appliances that you use. The choice of switchboard also matters while moving to a new house. If you need sophisticated devices or have smart home appliances, it is necessary to get a conventional switchboard upgraded with the right kind of fuses and circuit breakers.

Generally, professional electricians need to be contacted for switchboard upgrades in Melbourne for three prime reasons:

Electrical standards in Australia mandate safety switches

The rules for Australian Electrical Standards are reviewed and revised from time to time. This is essential to comply with demands, usage patterns and safety electrical equipment. The regulations at present require that all lighting and power circuits have safety switches configured to protect buildings from electrical hazards.

Safety switches are installed to quickly cut off the supply of power to your house in case there is an electrical fault. Although circuit breakers and fuses also secure a switchboard against electrical problems, it is important to have safety switches that protect the whole building and your life by cutting off the power supply in less than a second if an abnormal change the flow of current has been detected.

If your switchboard was not upgraded recently, it is advisable to thwart the risk and call an experienced electrician for necessary works.

Old switchboards are unable to handle new power demands

Older switchboards were made to control conventional appliances such as table fans, ceiling fans, electric bulbs and minor kitchen appliances. Today however households use a variety of electrical devices including alarm & security solutions Melbourne. Some of these drain a lot of power even when they are not in use.

If newly devised appliances are fit with older wiring, it can result in short circuits, electrical shocks and other hazards. Switchboard upgrade is therefore important whenever there are additional devices to be connected at home.

Fire risks

Old electrical switchboards have replaceable cables and fuses that can pose greater risks of fire. If your house has an older switchboard and you have been frequently experiencing blown fuses, it is usually due to high power demands that come from modern devices as explained earlier. The real issue is that if fuses keep blowing every now and then, the circuit breaker will need to do its job and that will ultimately overload the system.

In outdated switches, electrical overloads can affect the safety factor, making the switchboard and associated appliances risky for use. The switchboard elements tend to melt when they overheat and can also catch fire.

To check if your existing switchboard is suitable for the appliances that you use, it is prudent to call professional electricians. If the board needs an upgrade, you can get the job done on the same day and be assured that the appliances can be used safely.

Even if you do not sense any of these problems at your home, there is no harm in getting things checked. It will only help you make your building safer.

Author's Note

Based in Melbourne, Vaultage Electrical & Security Solutions offers specialist services for electrical, security and audio-visual systems that are vital to the functioning of different appliances in homes and offices. We are committed to exceed the expectations of our clients at each of the projects entrusted to us.