The basement electrical upgrade in wiring has needs and requirements, and to do it in principle, you must be familiar with these criteria to avoid being caught in a loss. These requirements are:

Skill Level: Intermediate to Advanced- Best installed by a licensed electrical contractor or qualified electrician such as the technicians on the KCS Group.

Tools needed: Hand tools for rough wiring, power and twist drills, wire rope and a ladder.

Estimated Time: Depends on the extent of the basement wiring project and the available access to the project area.

Caution: You must identify, turn off, and tag any existing wiring in the immediate area that may interfere with the new wiring.

Note: With a permit following local and national electrical codes, you should always install and inspect additional electrical wiring in the basement.

Upgrade basement electrical panel and circuit wiring

Note: Upgrading the electrical wiring is necessary for older homes to make them safer and more reliable.

You may need parallel feeding, where more than one cable supplies power to a bus or power phase. Sometimes we use this to power a main breaker where two cables are more easily terminated than one larger cable. Consider the following information prepared by the experienced team of KCS Group. These may apply to your home improvement project.

• Upgrade the electrical system

Home wiring improvements are necessary for older homes to make them safer, and you should always start by evaluating your existing electrical service.

• Electric panel upgrade

You must connect the electrical distribution system, which includes the fuse box or circuit breaker box, to the leading electrical service or have a separate switchboard in another location.

• Parts and materials

A professional licensed electrical contractor should carefully inspect and evaluate the age of the home’s electrical system and the methods and materials used.

• Planning for basement electrical upgrade

You should consider plans to add new basement electrical circuits or update electrical wiring to bring your home’s electrical system up to current codes that ensure a higher level of safety for your home and its occupants.

How much does the basement electrical upgrade cost?

Upgrading your basement wiring is a messy and expensive project, but it’s necessary to pay for it to protect your home’s value.

You don’t just suffer from insufficient power; voltage drops can damage sensitive electronics, so you must have enough power to keep your home electrical safety. Even with sufficient power, you may need additional outlets to avoid relying on piles of power strips and cords that are a potential safety hazard.

The cost of upgrading the basement wiring

The standard for household electricity used to be 60 amps. But modern homes may require 200 amps to run air conditioners, computer equipment, high-definition televisions, and high-tech home automation devices. Upgrading your existing electrical service panel to a 100 or 200-amp panel costs $800 to $3,000.

New basement wiring: Open up your walls and your wallet

You’ll likely need to upgrade your basement wiring to handle the increased electrical loads, especially if your home is over 40 years old.

Upgrading the electrical wiring is a big job because the wires are inside the walls; they are difficult to access without opening the borders. A whole-house wiring job, including extending walls, running new wires, connecting switches, outlets and appliances, and then repairing the damage, costs between $3,500 and $8,000 for an average-sized home.

For a larger home with limited access to a crawl space and exterior walls, labour and materials may cost $20,000 or more.

When is the right time for the basement electrical upgrade?

Rewiring is a messy and expensive proposition, but with a bit of planning, you can minimize disruption and even turn the job into an opportunity to add features that increase the value of your home.

When subcontractors open up your walls, the best time to rewire is during a remodelling project, such as remodelling a basement or adding a family room. This way, your electrician will easily access the walls, and the wall renovation will be part of a larger renovation project.

Plan for your future needs

Structural wiring is a smart investment and may be a marketing advantage if you sell your home. Structured cabling is a general term for heavy-duty power and data cables designed to work with the latest entertainment and communication devices, including telephone, Internet, and home heating and lighting systems.

One way to estimate the cost of structured wiring is to multiply the square footage of your basement by $2.

The basement electrical upgrade to a standard will preserve your home’s value, and adding structured wiring can increase it. According to a 2009 study by the Consumer Electronics Association and the National Association of Home Builders Research Center, nearly 50 percent of homes built in 2008 included structural wiring, a sure sign of its growing value to homeowners.

When should you upgrade your electrical panel?

Most homeowners upgrade their electrical panels for two main reasons. Typically, a customer needs to upgrade their panel when they need to add new circuitry for an appliance such as a new range, hot tub, or electric vehicle charging station or when existing circuits cannot handle the additional loads.

Another common reason is that the electrical panel is old. Replace electrical panels every 25 to 40 years. Even if the panel isn’t that old yet, you may see warning signs that it needs to be replaced. These symptoms include:

• Flashing lights
• Circuit breakers that keep tripping
• The small electric shock when handling the equipment
• Burning smell
• Burn marks or sparks coming from electrical outlets
• Feel the heat around the switchboard

If any of these severe problems occur, I recommend you contact the expert technicians of KCS Group as soon as possible. Our licensed electricians will inspect your electrical system, trace the source of the problem, and recommend solutions to ensure the system is working correctly.

Even if the current condition of the panel is good and not too old, it may not follow today’s technology according to the needs of the house. Smart devices, constantly charging phones and laptops, screens in every room, and new electrical gadgets always demand more electricity than 20 years ago. The lack of sockets is one of the common symptoms of a house with low electrical capacity.

Fuse box in front of the circuit breaker panel

The main difference between fuses and circuit breakers is that fuses are disposable. When the current is too high, they melt. Replacing fuses is more expensive and time-consuming than resetting the circuit breaker. Fuses can also be a fire hazard if not correctly matched to the circuit.

A fuse box in the house is one of the main reasons for upgrading the modern electrical panel. While electricians no longer install fuse boxes, they are present in some older homes and are a genuine safety concern. In some cases, insurance companies refuse to cover your home; if they do, they won’t pay for power outages and fires.

Can I do the basement electrical upgrade by myself?

Upgrading the panel should only be done by a licensed electrician. It is hazardous to upgrade an electrical panel without familiarity with electrical wiring. If you need to upgrade the electrical panel in your basement, you can guarantee the safety of your home and family with a simple call to KCS Group.