Straight Answers
Common electrical questions
These are the questions we get asked most often, answered plainly. Each page starts with a short answer up top and goes deeper underneath: what it means for your home, what to check yourself, and when it's time to call.
Panels and service
- Do I need 200-amp service?Not necessarily. 100 amps is the NEC minimum for a single-family home, and the real answer comes from a load calculation, not a rule of thumb.
- Are Federal Pacific and Zinsco panels dangerous?Both are widely flagged by home inspectors and insurers. Here is how to identify one, why it gets flagged, and what replacing it involves.
- Why do my breakers keep tripping?The pattern tells you the cause: immediate trips point to a short, trips under load to an overload, and random trips to a loose connection or failing breaker.
Wiring and safety
- Is knob-and-tube wiring safe, and does it have to be replaced?It isn't automatically dangerous, but age, alterations, and insulation contact change the picture, and insurance often forces the question.
- Is aluminum wiring safe?Aluminum branch wiring (roughly 1965–1973) isn't inherently unusable: the connections are the issue, and remediation usually beats a rewire.
- Where is GFCI protection required?Wherever water and electricity are likely to meet (kitchens, baths, garages, basements, laundry, outdoors), and the list grows with each code cycle.
Permits and inspections
Backup power
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