Many older houses are inadequately wired for today’s lifestyles. Before consulting an electrician about an electrical update, determine how you use electricity now. Make an “electrical map” of your house, showing all outlets, lights, and “hidden” electrical consumers (such as dishwashers, garbage disposals, or exhaust fans.) Then, determine the circuit every item is on, add up the wattage load for each circuit, and compare that total to its capacity: for 12-gauge wire, 2400 watts; for 14-gauge wire, 1800 watts. (Assume old circuits are 14-gauge, especially if you have knob & tube wiring.)

Armed with this information, create a master plan, even if you’ll complete it in stages. Start with the wiring. You don’t have to replace wiring simply because it’s old (only if the insulation is in bad shape), but from your map you’ll know what circuit(s) may be overloaded.

Consider your service panel (fuse box), too. Fuses are as safe as circuit breakers, but your old box may not have enough capacity to divide up overloaded circuits. If your fuse box can’t handle more circuits (or if several subpanels were added to it), replace it with a new circuit breaker panel – with room for expansion.

You may also need more electrical service to the house. (Call your utility company to determine the service you now have, or consult a licensed electrician.) 240-volt/100-amp is presently considered residential service minimum. You’ll have to coordinate any increase with the utility company; they are responsible for the lines to your mast, but you are responsible for the wiring to the meter socket and service panel.

Finally, consider incorporating into your plan safety devices (such as Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters) now required by the National Electrical Code, and try to anticipate future needs – like the electric cars already in some garages.