I've run across quite a few Federal Pacific Electric Panels while inspecting homes, so I thought I'd share some information about the hazards of having these panels installed on your home.
What does your electrical panel do?
An electrical panel distributes electricity throughout your house. The circuit breakers within your panel should be labeled and "protect" each appliance and outlet in your home. The breaker monitors the electrical flow that travels to the appliance and if there's an unsafe current overload or surge, the breaker is suppose to "trip" or shut off. When the breaker trips or shuts off, it's preventing overheating and fires.
Dangerous Panels and circuit breakers
Between the 1950's to the 1990's Federal Pacific Electric sold millions of panels. The breakers used inside of these panels are called Stab-Lok breakers. Testing has shown that these breakers have an unacceptably high rate of failure and fail to trip as much as 70-80% of the time. Testing has also shown that 1 out of 3 breakers are defective. When the breaker fails to trip when it should, fire or electrocution can occur. In the 1980s, a New Jersey court ruled that Federal Electric Pacific committed testing fraud and a cover-up by labeling the breakers as meeting the standards set by the UL when in reality, they were defective. FPE panel breaker malfunctions cause an estimated 2,800 fires each year. There is no practical way that an electrician, inspector, or engineer can determine which breakers in an electrical panel are defective internally, therefore we recommend replacement of the whole panel.
Other outdated and unsafe electric panels are the Zinsco or GTE-Sylvania panels. These panels were installed in homes throughout the 1970's and the circuit breakers inside these panels melt to the main ‘bus bar’. Not all Sylvania branded panels are dangerous so an electrician would need to come out and access it.
If you aren't sure if your panel is a Federal Pacific Stab Lok, Zinsco or GTE-Sylvania, don't hesitate to give us or your local electrician a call. This safety concern as well as any other issues can be addressed during an Annual Home Maintenance Inspection.
Jason Lipman, Certified Home Inspector
(303)709-6288
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