Electricity consumption habits have changed significantly in the past decades. If you are about to start major renovations to your house, make sure that your electricity installation suits your needs. Nowadays, houses have 200-Amp electrical panels. Years ago, standard installations provided 100 Amps and were designed with breakers and fuses. Fuses are not as safe as breakers, because 10 and 15-Amp fuses can easily be replaced by 20 and 30-Amp fuses. Replacing a blown fuse with a higher rated fuse can burn up the wire. With the arrival of new appliances, power consumption in our houses have increased. These appliances can cause electric circuit overloads and start an electrical fire. Always ask a master electrician to evaluate your needs and execute the work safely.

Quebec Electrical Code

• Installation of electrical panels:
• Panels must be installed in a proper location other than a wardrobe, bathroom, staircase or room kept at high temperature.
• Panel height:
• In housing units, electrical panels must be installed in a manner such that the distance between breaker control handles and finished floors do not exceed 1.7 meter..
• Bare spaces under voltage:
• The electrical panel must have a cover; unused openings must be obstructed by an appropriate device. .

Aluminum wiring

Contrary to copper wiring – this type of wiring lasts easily 20 to 25 years – aluminum wires are found in houses built between 1965 and 1979, and their expansion coefficient makes them hazardous over time. All connections – even those performed properly – can come loose, cause wire oxidation and provoke short circuits. If you have aluminum wiring in your house, have your electrical installation checked regularly by a master electrician.

Contact a master electrician operating in your region for more information.

www.cmeq.org

• For safety reasons, have your panels checked by a master electrician if they fit the following description:
• Installed more than 40 years ago
• 60-Amp panel
• Panel designed with Pushmatic buttons
• CEB made, 150-Amp / 200-Amp (see notes below)

Important

C.E.B. ELECTRICAL BOXES, 150 and 200 Amps

The electrical boxes listed below are considered dangerous. Aluminum terminals, after repetitive insertion of fuses, tend to make contact with the steel electrical box, thus causing electric arcs to form and fire to start inside the box.

Serial numbers:

• MB 40-10
• MB 40-10A
• MB 40-QA
• MB 40-QB
• MB 400A
• NH 70
• A-60-36

These boxes must be replaced or checked by a master electrician.