Is Your Federal Pacific Circuit Breaker Panel Dangerous?
Most people have an electric circuit breaker panel or fuse box in their home. The circuit breaker panel is designed to direct electricity to the individual places that it needs to go. Think of it like a GPS for your electricity. The electricity comes in through the utility lines and electrical meter and then the fuse box tells the electricity where to go.
Sometimes electricity can act in an unexpected way. Power surges can come in through the utility lines, or the electrical circuits in your home can overload. The electric circuit panel is designed to protect your home from these potentially dangerous surges by “tripping”, or shutting off the power to the appliances, lights, or other electrical devices where the surge is happening.
While many electric fuse boxes are very effective at their job and keep the home owner and residents safe from electrical disasters, the Federal Pacific circuit breaker panel has proven to be dangerous in the event of a power surge or circuit overload.
Homes built between 1950 and 1990 are most likely equipped with a Federal Pacific circuit breaker panel. These panels use a circuit breaker called Stab-Lok and over time have proven to be ineffective and even hazardous when it comes to tripping the power to overloading circuits and power surges. Studies have shown that approximately 25% of Federal Pacific circuit breaker panels are defective and can cause serious harm to both the home itself, as well as the owners and occupants.
Because Federal Pacific fuse boxes don’t effectively cut off power when surges and circuit overloads happen, electrical fires can happen very easily and there is also the risk of appliances being destroyed because of the overload. Unfortunately, no product recall was sent out at the time and millions of homes have had these dangerous circuit panel breakers installed with their owners unaware of the danger.
Federal Pacific is now out of business but that doesn’t mean their products can no longer hurt people and damage property. If your home was built between 1950 and 1990 it is very possible that you have a dangerous Federal Pacific circuit breaker panel. Check your panel to make sure that is not the case. If you find that you do have one installed, you should call your local home services company immediately and schedule an inspection.
Having a certified expert technician come out to inspect and replace a Federal Pacific circuit breaker panel can save you thousands of dollars in the long run. It can also give you peace of mind that you won’t be dealing with an electrical fire due to a malfunction with your breaker panel.
Aiello Home Services technicians are experts at dealing with electric fuse boxes and are standing by to help you now! Give us a call or click the banner below to schedule your service and get peace of mind!
