{"id":432,"date":"2019-09-02T11:00:16","date_gmt":"2019-09-02T15:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/?p=432"},"modified":"2023-06-09T11:32:42","modified_gmt":"2023-06-09T15:32:42","slug":"electrical-panel-vs-fuse-box","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/electrical\/electrical-panel-vs-fuse-box\/","title":{"rendered":"The Electrical Panel vs. The Fuse Box: What You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An electrical panel<\/a>, a fuse box \u2026 what\u2019s the difference? To many non-electricians, they may sound like the same thing, and people often talk about them as if they were interchangeable. They aren\u2019t, however, and knowing the difference between them is important if you have an older house with the outdated version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

How the Two Are the Same<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before we get into the differences between the electrical\npanel and the fuse box, we\u2019ll look at what\u2019s the same between them\u2014which is the\njob they do in a residential electrical system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The electricity entering your house from the grid must divide\nup into different circuits to be directed around the building. An electrical\npanel or fuse box is the central hub of the house\u2019s electrical system where the\nincoming voltage is separated into the various circuits. The panel or box is\ndesigned to cut off electricity to one of the circuits in case of overload on the\ncircuit indicating an electric short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Makes Them Different<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Where an electrical panel and a fuse box are different is\nhow they control voltage flow. When you open an electrical panel (also known as\na circuit breaker panel<\/em> or a breaker box<\/em>), you\u2019ll see rows of switches.\nThese are breakers, each for an individual circuit. In case of a short, a breaker\nwill trip and cut off electricity to its circuit. To reset the circuit only\nrequires resetting the breaker. (We recommend you label each breaker for the\npart of the house it controls. Use paper labels and put them beside the switches.\nThis makes it easier to troubleshoot problems if you have multiple breaker\ntrips.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you open a fuse box, you\u2019ll see what looks like a set\nof colored knobs rather than switches. These are the fuses, which contain a\nfilament that melts when it experiences voltage overload, and then cuts off\nelectrical power to the circuit. When this happens, the fuse must be discarded\nand a new one put in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Should You Upgrade a Fuse Box to an Electrical Panel?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In almost all cases, the answer is yes<\/em>. On the\nsimplest level, an electrical panel is more convenient. When a breaker trips in\nyour house, you only need to reset it, not replace it. And nobody wants to be\nfumbling around in the dark attempting to replace fuses! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But more important is that electrical panels are better suited to modern electrical loads in homes. They can handle higher amperage, and with the higher number of electrical devices in today\u2019s homes, this is vital. Electrical panels are also compatible with GFCI outlets<\/a>, which we strongly recommend all homes have installed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuse boxes can<\/em> handle higher electrical loads if\nlarger fuses are put in place. The trouble with this is it\u2019s a fire hazard!\nThere aren\u2019t any serious upsides to keeping a fuse box, and too many downsides.\nWe advise having a full upgrade to an electrical panel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you need work for your home\u2019s electrical system in Buffalo, NY<\/a>, reach out to us. We\u2019re available 24 hours a day and you\u2019ll always reach a real person, not a recording.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scherer Electric is Western New York\u2019s Favorite Electrician. Contact us 24\/7 for whatever electrical assistance you need.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Where an electrical panel and a fuse box are different is how they manipulate voltage flow. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[87],"tags":[91,95,94],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":916,"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432\/revisions\/916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schererelectric.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}