When to Upgrade Old Electrical Wiring
Being an electrician doing residential work, you are bound to run into some old existing electrical wiring in older homes in your travels, not to mention some sketchy electrical wiring installation.
Best practices with renovation jobs are to replace any existing electrical wiring and upgrade to today’s standard, but what about those service calls or when someone wants to add an electrical outlet, replace a standard switch with a dimmer, replace a ceiling light or install a switch leg or circuit extension? What then?
As an experienced electrician, you must follow electrical codes and do your electrical installations to avoid liability issues, especially when working with customers with old existing wiring that may or may not have visible problems.
In such cases, as an electrician, I adopt a cautious approach and prefer not to add new wiring to existing old wiring methods, especially if the old wiring is knob and tub, two-wire BX, or Romex-type cable without a ground wire, or the wiring shows signs of overloading.
Alternatively, if the existing wiring is in good visible condition and does not show signs of degradation, such as brittle wire insulation or overheating issues, a solution could be the installation of a combination AFGF (arc fault, ground fault) circuit breaker on the circuit. Installing an AFGF circuit breaker helps ensure the wiring and personnel will be safe when the electrical circuit is in operation. By installing an AFGF breaker before starting any work will let you know if there is an existing issue with the electrical circuit so you’ll know if the electrical wiring should be replaced.
Testing your existing electrical circuits before starting any work can save you from frustration when installing new electrical wiring. It can be downright disappointing to find out later there is an issue with your new installation when you install an arc fault or ground fault circuit breaker.
