Home Office Electrical Upgrades

Is Your Home Office Ready for an Extended Stay-at-Home Order?

Only a few months (barely even weeks) ago, adding a home office to your house was considered a “low-ROI” project that didn’t do much for your home’s resale value. However, in this new and unsettling world of stay-at-home orders and quarantines due to COVID-19, all of that thinking has been turned on its head. Suddenly, a huge number of people are now finding that they have to work or do school at home. And whatever they previously thought would pass for a home office or schooling space (the kitchen, the living room, the basement...) just isn’t cutting it. Many families have discovered that they need more electrical outlets and data outlets than they have. They need electrical upgrades so they can power the work they need to do, even though work and school now have to happen at home.

4 Critical Home Office Electrical Upgrades to Keep You Working While You Stay at Home

If you’re in this boat, you may be wondering if it’s OK to call an electrician to have these necessary home office electrical upgrades done. Fortunately, the answer is yes. Electricians are considered essential service providers because we keep things working and help keep people and their homes safe. Root Electric has a strict COVID-19 policy in place in order to protect you and our employees whenever we need to come and do important electrical work in your home. So, if you need assistance, please don’t hesitate to call us: (703) 494-3989.

1. Surge Protection

In addition to having everyone working from home now, we’re also getting to that time of year when wild weather and thunderstorms are a frequent possibility. In addition to seasonal bad weather, sometimes sudden electrical spikes come from the power grid anyway. These sudden power surges can damage the sensitive electronics that you need to keep working or studying from home. Sometimes those surges cause enough damage to ruin the equipment. And just plugging everything into a power strip isn’t always enough, especially if you’re competing with others in the family for those limited outlets. Your home’s electrical system still has the final word on whether or not there is enough juice to power all of the devices you need to use on any given “day at the home office.”

This is why installing whole house surge protection is a good idea. We can install whole-house surge protection directly to your electrical panel, as well as into new outlets in your home office space. Not only will whole-house surge protection protect your office equipment, but all of the other electronics and appliances in your home as well.

2. Outlet Upgrades and Additions

Speaking of outlets, if you’ve got the whole family working and schooling from home, you’re probably noticing that you don’t have enough outlets available to keep everyone plugged in. Many older homes in Northern Virginia need new outlets that can handle the needs of all of our modern office electronics without causing safety hazards. Root Electric can update older outlets, add extra outlets and also upgrade your electric panel if that’s a concern, which it might be.

We suggest observing your outlet use and needs during the day. Make a note of these things and we can help you decide how many extra outlets you may need, and where they should go to make your home office electrical use more efficient while keeping everyone plugged in and working. Usually, making sure that each wall in the office has outlets is helpful. This enables you to rearrange the space so that you can plug in from different areas in the room to accomodate more people or equipment working together at once.

In addition to newer, extra electrical outlets with surge protection, we can also install a number of USB charging ports into the walls of your home, providing an easy, convenient way to charge all of your devices without trying to find the nearest charger.

As a small business owner, these guys have done excellent work for me and I refer them to my clients and anyone else who needs electrical work. They have an excellent reputation among business owners in the area for the quality of their work and their integrity.

Michael B.
Fairfax Station, VA

3. Extra Circuits for Extra Electronics

If you have several computers running at once during the day, you may notice power problems in your home electrical system, or problems with the computers. The electrical circuit that supplies energy to those outlets may simply not have enough power to give for all of your current needs. Root Electric can add extra circuits to power your home office area, while also splitting up the outlets to different areas to balance the energy usage. If your home office electrical needs are significant, you may need an electrical service upgrade, but often, adding the extra circuits will do the trick. We can help you figure out what type of upgrades will best serve your home office needs while everyone is working at home.

4. Upgrade Data Cables

New CAT6 data cables may also take some of the hassle out of your home office operations as well. New data cables installed in different areas of the home can speed up your internet connection, which can give you the option of creating your own home network that connects everyone. This can make telecommuting, large file transfers, video conference calls and streaming services run much more smoothly.

How to Upgrade Your Home Office:

Contact Root Electric today. If you’re struggling to keep everyone working and studying efficiently, upgrading your electrical outlets, data outlets, circuits and data cables can remove the headaches of everyone having to work at home for the foreseeable future: (703) 494-3989.