Federal Pacific Electrical Panel Box

Federal pacific electric panels are most common in homes built between 1950 and 1980.

Federal pacific electrical panel box. If you have one you ll want to call a pro as soon as possible to upgrade. How federal pacific electrical panels or breaker boxes work. All have experience working on potentially unsafe federal pacific breakers with stab lok panels. Federal pacific electric will likely be written on the door of the breaker box.

It depends on how many circuits you have the existing conditions whether it s a single family dwelling multi family dwelling and the amperage of the panel. 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. The cost to replace a federal pacific or zinsco panel ranges from 1 500 to 4 000. 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.

Inside look for the name stab loc the brand name of the circuit breakers. A federal pacific electrical breaker box works like other home electrical panels. We contacted several angie s list super service award winning electricians about how much it costs to replace circuit breaker boxes. It will generally cost around 1500 2500 to upgrade your home s electrical service and get rid of the federal pacific panel.

A federal pacific electric fpe circuit breaker panel can appear to be working properly for years. Federal pacific panels also known as fpe panels were a popular residential electrical panel choice in the mid to late 20th century. How to identify a federal pacific electrical service panel. Summary of federal pacific panels i believe that these panels are not safe and that the best course of action would be to get rid of a federal pacific panel if you have one in your home.

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. Other names for a federal pacific electrical panel include federal pacific electrical breaker box or fpe stab lok breaker. The breaker box door usually says federal pacific electric or fpe once you open the door you will usually but not always see the words stab lok in the center or. Federal pacific zinsco panel replacement costs.

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.