Is My Federal Pacific Electrical Panel Safe

The panel was well known in the building community as a cheaper alternative to some of the more recognizable panel companies such as general electric i t e and square d.

Is my federal pacific electrical panel safe.

Federal pacific electric panels may not meet today s updated safety codes. Federal pacific stab lok breaker panels are normally easy to recognize. Furthermore their breakers are thinner than modern ones. Federal pacific electric panels were produced from the mid 1950s well into the 1980s.

There has been and continues to be a lot of discussion about the safety of federal pacific fpe stab lok circuit breaker panels and the fact that they may have inherent defects. Your circuit breaker panel ensures your home s electrical safety but is the panel itself safe. They are typically clearly labeled with the words federal pacific electric or fpe also when you open the door you will often see the words stab lok in the center or on the side of the breaker panel. If your home was built between 1950 and 1990 and is equipped with a federal pacific electric fpe circuit breaker panel with stab lok circuit breakers you run a significant risk of breaker malfunction and fire.

You can identify a zinsco electrical panel with its brightly colored breakers pink yellow red blue and green. And canadian homes were built with circuit breaker panels that one expert has questioned as a potential fire hazard. Issues about federal pacific electric s stab lok. A federal pacific electrical panel as well as other brands and derivatives of fpe breakers are supposed to function as follows.

Federal pacific breakers fpe if your home was built between 1950 and 1990 there s a chance that it has a federal pacific electric panel with stab lok breakers. Federal pacific panels also known as fpe panels were a popular residential electrical panel choice in the mid to late 20th century. Experts say that fpe panels produced during that time frame would not conform to today s updated safety codes and would no longer be allowed to be sold to the general public. The result of the defect has linked them to numerous electrical fires.