Electrical Panel Placement Tips for Safety and Style
Your electrical panel serves as the brain of your home’s entire electrical system. Every light switch, outlet, and electrical appliance gets its power from your panel. Yes, your panel is primarily about functionality, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t make it a stylish part of your home, too. We’ve put together a list of tips to help you place your panel in a way that promotes safety, functionality, and style.
Nothing Matters More Than Accessibility
Of course, you want your panel to look good and work correctly, but being able to access it is the most important part of the equation. You should be able to access your electrical panel at any time. Accessibility means that you can turn a breaker on once it kicks, but it’s also part of virtually every safety ordinance.
Covering your panel, which we’ll discuss more in just a bit, is fine. However, that cover shouldn’t keep you from being able to get into the panel itself.
Make Your Panel Part of Your Cabinetry
If you don’t want your panel to stand out in your home’s design, use the fact that it’s essentially a cabinet to camouflage it with other cabinets. This approach means that your kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, or mud room may make the most sense for panel placement.
Remember, if you put a door like the doors on the surrounding cabinets over your panel, it doesn’t mean that you should use it for storage. The cabinet door is just there to help the panel blend into the surrounding design.
Add an Artistic Touch to Your Panel
If you’re not looking for another cabinet door or you don’t want to put your electrical panel in a room that has cabinets, there are some other ways to camouflage it. Placing a piece of art over the panel can hide an ugly metal door with something more appealing.
If hanging a piece of art over the panel seems like too much of a hassle, shop around for decorative panel covers. These covers come with hinges so you can open up the artwork like the door to your panel.
Panel Placement Matters
Most people want their electrical panel to be in a space where they don’t have to look at it all the time. You probably also want to keep it somewhere where visitors won’t notice it. Keeping your panel accessible and stylish may be as simple as putting it in a room that guests don’t go to and where you don’t spend a lot of time.
Safety First, Style Second
Keeping your electrical panel safe is the most important thing to keep in mind. However, you can still make it a stylish or hidden part of your home. If you live in Cedar Falls, IA or a surrounding area and need electrical panel services, make your first call to Henninger Electric.
