3 Electrical Upgrades For Your Home Before Winter
As the vibrant colors of fall begin to fade and the crisp chill in the air signals the approach of winter in Idaho Falls, our focus naturally shifts to preparing our homes for the colder months ahead. We think about servicing our furnaces, insulating our pipes, and ensuring our homes are ready to provide a warm, safe sanctuary from the snow and ice. In this flurry of preparation, however, one of the most critical systems in your home is often overlooked: your electrical system. The foundation of your winter safety and comfort is entirely dependent on the health and capacity of this unseen network.
The winter season places a unique and significant strain on a home’s electrical system. Our reliance on interior lighting increases dramatically with the shorter days, and the constant, heavy load from our heating systems runs for months on end. An electrical system that was perfectly fine during the milder seasons can be pushed to its limit, revealing underlying weaknesses that can lead to inconvenient or even dangerous failures. At Minuteman Services, we believe that a proactive approach to your home’s electrical health is essential. The following are three strategic electrical upgrades to consider before the first snowflake falls, ensuring your home is robust, safe, and ready for the demands of winter.
Upgrade #1: Add Dedicated Circuits for High-Demand Appliances
The winter season is the season of high-powered electrical appliances. The single biggest culprit is the portable space heater. While these can be a great source of supplemental heat for a chilly room or a workshop, a standard space heater can draw up to 1,500 watts of power or more. This is a massive electrical load that can easily overwhelm a standard 15-amp circuit, especially if other devices, like a television or a computer, are running at the same time. This is a leading cause of frequently tripping circuit breakers in the winter.
The safest and most effective solution for this problem is the installation of a dedicated circuit. If you know you will be relying on a space heater to warm a specific area, such as a basement, a home office, or a garage workshop, a licensed electrician can run a new, dedicated circuit with its own 20-amp breaker and a dedicated outlet for that purpose. This ensures that the heater has all the power it needs to operate safely without interfering with the rest of your home’s electrical system.
This principle applies to other high-demand winter and year-round appliances as well. If you are considering adding a hot tub to enjoy during the snowy evenings, or a sauna for a warm retreat, these also require their own dedicated, high-amperage circuits. Planning for these additions and having the necessary circuits professionally installed by the team at Minuteman Services is a key part of a safe and functional home electrical system.
Upgrade #2: Upgrade Your Lighting for Darker Days
The shorter days of winter mean that we rely on our home’s interior and exterior lighting for many more hours each day. This increased usage makes the pre-winter season the perfect time to consider a modern, energy-saving lighting upgrade. If your home is still using old incandescent fixtures, upgrading to energy-efficient LED lighting can have a noticeable impact on your electricity bill during a season when it is already high due to your heating costs. LEDs use up to 80 percent less energy and have a much longer lifespan, and they also provide a superior quality of light.
The increased darkness of winter also brings a heightened focus on safety and security. A well-lit exterior is a powerful deterrent to potential intruders and is essential for safely navigating your property after dark. Consider upgrading your outdoor security lighting with modern, motion-activated LED floodlights near your doorways and driveway. You can also enhance both beauty and safety by having a professional install a low-voltage landscape and pathway lighting system to ensure your walkways and stairs are always clearly illuminated.
Finally, for many families, winter means holiday lighting. The dangerous practice of running extension cords through a cracked-open window or a slightly ajar door is a significant source of heat loss and a potential safety hazard. A simple and effective upgrade is to have a dedicated, GFCI-protected outdoor outlet with a weatherproof cover installed specifically for your holiday lights and decorations.
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Upgrade #3: Perform a Full Electrical Panel Tune-Up and Inspection
Your home’s main electrical panel works harder during the winter than at any other time of the year. The constant, heavy, and sustained electrical load from your furnace or electric heating system places a significant amount of strain on your circuit breakers and all the internal connections within the panel. A circuit breaker or a wire connection that was perfectly fine during the lighter loads of the summer can be pushed to its limit and fail under the constant demand of the heating season.
A professional electrical panel inspection and tune-up is one of the most important preventative measures you can take before winter arrives. This is a detailed service that goes far beyond a simple visual check. A licensed electrician from Minuteman Services will carefully remove the panel cover and perform a series of crucial safety and maintenance tasks. We will check for any visual signs of overheating, arcing, or corrosion on the breakers and the main bus bars.
Most importantly, we will use a calibrated torque wrench to tighten every single screw connection for the circuit breakers and the main wiring. Over time, the natural expansion and contraction of the metal from temperature changes can cause these connections to become slightly loose, which can lead to dangerous arcing and overheating. We will also test the performance of the breakers to ensure they are functioning correctly. This comprehensive tune-up ensures that the heart of your electrical system is safe, reliable, and ready for the strain of winter, preventing a no-heat emergency caused by a simple panel failure.
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The Minuteman Services Promise: Your Safe Winter Partner
All of the winter-focused upgrades we have discussed, from installing a new generator transfer switch to performing a detailed panel tune-up, require the skill, tools, and expertise of a licensed and insured professional electrician. These are not do-it-yourself projects. The risks associated with improper electrical work are simply too high, and your family’s safety should never be compromised.
At Minuteman Services, we have a deep, firsthand understanding of the unique challenges that our cold and snowy Idaho Falls winters present for a home’s electrical system. Our team of licensed electricians is committed to providing our neighbors with the highest level of safety, quality, and craftsmanship. We can provide you with an honest and expert assessment of your home’s electrical readiness for winter and can recommend the specific upgrades that will provide the most significant safety and value for your family.
A safe, warm, and comfortable winter begins with a robust and reliable electrical system. By taking a proactive approach and considering these key electrical upgrades before the cold weather sets in, you are making a powerful investment in your home and your family’s peace of mind. A generator transfer switch provides security during an outage. Dedicated circuits provide the power needed for modern appliances. An upgraded lighting system provides safety and efficiency. And a professional panel tune-up ensures that the heart of your system is ready for the season.
Do not wait for a winter storm to reveal the weaknesses in your home’s electrical system. We encourage all homeowners in the Idaho Falls area to be proactive about their winter preparations. Contact the trusted local experts at Minuteman Services today to schedule your pre-winter electrical safety inspection and to get a free, no-obligation estimate on these important and valuable home upgrades.