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What You Can Expect When You Upgrade the Electrical Service on Your Apartment Building

Many apartment buildings in New York City are from the pre-war era and may have seriously out-of-date electrical systems for today’s demands and safety codes. If your property has never been updated or hasn’t been brought into the 21st century, you’re due for a change. Here’s what you can expect when you upgrade electrical service.

Electrical Panel Replacement

Increased capacity

Older apartment buildings frequently have two problems with their electrical panels (aka circuit panels or fuse boxes): they may be unsafe and they may not provide enough power supply for a modern residence. Let’s talk about the safety issues first. Many older panels have been recalled and must be replaced. Otherwise, when it’s time to do their job and cut electricity to prevent a fire, they won’t work.

Older panels are also difficult to service, as the parts for repair may not even be available any longer. Replacing your panel will give you improved safety, easier service, and increased capacity as well.

Old panels can’t handle the demands of today’s electrical appliances and home electronics, as these items weren’t common when the electrical system was first installed. We’re talking about entertainment centers, computers, large capacity washers and dryers, gourmet kitchen stoves and countertop appliances, huge refrigerators, air conditioners, and portable electric heaters.

We increase the amperage capacity to accommodate contemporary loads and put large appliances on their own dedicated circuits. Your tenants will appreciate being able to use these items without pesky power strips or tripping breakers. And reducing the load on each circuit gets back to improving safety and reducing fire hazards too.

Safety Improvement

Rewiring and new outlets

Along with dangerous electrical panels, old wiring is another common problem in New York City apartment buildings. We correct a number of issues related to this when we perform upgrades:

• Quality and material of wiring
• Wiring insulation
• Wiring connections to switches, outlets, and fixtures
• Number and type of electrical receptacles

Sometimes, we still find wiring from the early days of electricity in the city, which must be completely replaced. Rather than trying to drill through heavy pre-war floors and walls, we usually run the wiring along the exterior of the walls, covering it with a conduit that can be made to match the building’s architectural style and remain relatively unobtrusive. If old copper wires are still in good condition, we double-check all the connections and add insulation where appropriate.

Another common problem with old apartments is two-prong, ungrounded electrical outlets. We replace these with three-prong outlets that provide greater safety for tenants and more convenience too (no more “cheater plugs,” electrical shocks, or smoke from outlets). This is the ideal time to increase the number of outlets in any given room. We also install GFI (ground fault interrupter) outlets in the kitchen and bathrooms for increased safety where electricity is used around water. Smart outlets work with smart home technology (see below), and you can add outlets with USB ports for charging small electronics.

Energy Savings Updates

Environmental and cost efficiency

As a property owner, you will like being able to balance some of the up-front cost of doing an electrical upgrade with energy savings over time. There are many ways you can cut the cost of your electrical bill, which is also good for the environment, as that energy is generated at a cost to the planet. Some of the most popular upgrades we help clients with include:

• Replacing incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs that last longer and use less electricity
• Adding dimmer switches, automatic switches, and photocell fixtures for reduced electrical demand
• Installing new, energy-efficient appliances (preferably ENERGY STAR models)
• Adding programmable thermostats (they make models now that work with steam radiators)
• Switching to submetering versus one electrical meter for the entire building (each unit has its own meter, which the city is rolling out over the next few years)

Not only will you be able to save on your bills with these changes, but you may also qualify for rebates or tax credits. Be sure to talk to your accountant about your upgrade so you don’t leave money on the table.

Luxury Upgrades

Smart technology

While adding smart technology to your building isn’t a must, many tenants expect it now. It’s cheaper to add smart features while you’re already doing an upgrade anyhow, and you can attract better tenants for higher rents with built-in smart technology.

Smart home hubs are ultra popular right now. These let occupants control things like heat, lights, window treatments, and security via voice command or proprietary app. If you’re not ready to go all out on a smart apartment, adding a smart door lock can be a great investment.

These locks replace traditional models with keypads for which the entry code can be changed any time and can be controlled remotely by mobile phone when necessary. Tenants can allow nannies and house workers entry without having to give them a key. When an apartment turns over, you can simply change the code with no worry about the tenant returning keys or old keys circulating out there somewhere.

If your building is in need of an electrical upgrade, you don’t want to wait until you have a safety issue or irritated tenants to take action. Call Bolt Electric today at 212-434-0098 or use our easy online form to set up a consultation to plan your upgrade.