As the month of April draws to a close, you may be exhaling deeply and wiping your brow, thinking you've made it through without being the butt of another April Fools' Day prank.

While you may be safe from toy snakes in your chair or trick packs of gum, you may still be at risk of being the fool if you neglect important parts of your home's electrical system that can lead to electrical emergencies. One sure fire way to cause a fire or some other electrical emergency in your home is to neglect your electrical panels.

Don't Forget the Importance of Electrical Safety

You may be reading this and saying to yourself "I would love to get my electrical panel in order to avoid emergencies, but I have no idea what an electrical panel even does!"

If that sounds like you, here's what you need to know:

• An electrical panel (sometimes referred to as a breaker panel) divides the electrical power entering your home into secondary circuits. It also provides a protective fuse or circuit breaker for each circuit on the panel.
• It is essential to note that circuit breaker panels can be extremely dangerous when handled by an amateur. In order to keep your home safe from electrical emergencies, always call a technician for issues with your electrical panel.

You Could Cause a Power Shutdown

As we mentioned, circuit breakers and fuses are there to help you! They help to prevent individual circuits from becoming overwhelmed with the electrical current flowing into your home.

We're sure you've heard the expression "blow a fuse" at some point in your life. Blowing a fuse is what happens as a result of a malfunctioning electrical panel, and believe it or not, it can knock out all of the electricity in your entire house!

Remember to Practice Fire Safety at All Times

Believe it or not, a power shutdown is not even remotely close to the worst thing that can happen as a result of neglecting your electrical panel. That's right! There are far more dangerous consequences, like devastating electrical fires.

Fires are especially common in cases where the electrical panel is old, outdated, and needs replacement. If that sounds like your panel, call Snappy Electric, Plumbing, Heating, & Air right away! We hope you had a good time on April Fool's Day this year, and that all your pranks had their desired outcome.

While it may be fun to laugh about the tricks and jokes of April Fools' Day, and while there are other silly things we may like to laugh at, electrical work is not something that should ever be taken as a joke. That's why it's best to leave electrical work to the professionals. Give Snappy Electric, Plumbing, Heating, & Air a call for any electrical repairs, installations, or other services you may need.