Federal Pacific Electrical Panel Box

If your home was built between 1950 and 1990 and is equipped with a federal pacific electric fpe circuit breaker panel with stab lok circuit breakers you run a significant risk of breaker malfunction and fire.

Federal pacific electrical panel box.

Electrical boxes and panels aren t the same thing even if some sites use them interchangeably. Federal pacific electric will likely be written on the door of the breaker box. Reliance electric the parent company for federal pacific electric company or fpe was producing some of the most widely used circuit breakers in north america in the period between 1950 to 1980 and they can be found in properties built up until the year 2000. Moving an electrical panel outside costs 1 500 to 2 500.

A federal pacific electrical breaker box works like other home electrical panels. The panel was well known in the building community as a cheaper alternative to some of the more recognizable panel companies such as general electric i t e and square d. A federal pacific electrical panel as well as other brands and derivatives of fpe breakers are supposed to function as follows. How federal pacific electrical panels or breaker boxes work.

Between the 1950s and 1980s home installed millions of these panels. The most popular breaker panel installed was the federal pacific stab lok breaker. And canadian homes were built with circuit breaker panels that one expert has questioned as a potential fire hazard. Federal pacific panels also known as fpe panels were a popular residential electrical panel choice in the mid to late 20th century.

Inside look for the name stab loc the brand name of the circuit breakers. Federal pacific electric panels are most common in homes built between 1950 and 1980. A circuit gets overloaded this often happens when plugging in too many high powered devices and appliances into a low voltage circuit. This typically includes equipment rated for outdoors and wiring to reach the new location.

Other names for a federal pacific electrical panel include federal pacific electrical breaker box or fpe stab lok breaker. If you need to move your electrical box as well you ll pay on the higher end. How to identify a federal pacific electrical service panel. The breakers inside the panel are designed to guard your home against serious electrical problems by preventing circuit overload short circuits and outside power surges coming into.

But experts warn that if a federal pacific electric panel experiences an overcurrent or short circuit it may not keep the electrical circuits from overheating and could possibly pose a fire hazard.