Electrical Service / Panel Upgrades

A main electrical service is the incoming wiring into a dwelling, from the wiring into the meter base (usually located outside near the front of the building). From the meter base, the power continues to a main disconnect switch or breaker panel with a main disconnect switch or breaker panel with a main breaker (mostly located in a garage or basement). The panel is where the branch circuits of the house are terminated to a fuse or breaker panel with multiple circuits.

There are various sizes of electrical services (measured in amperage), with typical sizes being 60 Amp, 100 Amp, 125 Amp and 200 Amp (the size is indicated on the main breaker of the panel or on main fuses the disconnect switch.) 

There are two types of electrical services, those which are fed overhead, and those which are fed underground. Nowadays, the local utility will run the incoming lines underground for longevity and overall less maintenance requirements.

Safety

As the heart of your electrical system, your electrical service / panel contains essential circuit breakers that are designed to trip if there is a grounded or short circuit condition. We get a lot of service calls for tripping breakers in our line of work, but the more serious issue is when the breaker doesn't trip. Deteriorated and/or faulty breakers may not trip when they should. This is how electrical fires can start. Wires can burn, connects can arc and shorting occurs.

To Accommodate a New Install

If your existing panel is full, or doesn't have enough space to install a breaker for your new circuit (eg - dishwasher circuit). If the ampacity of your existing service is too small to handle a new load (eg - a new 50 Amp hot tub with only an existing 60 Amp service).

Buying or Selling a Home / Insurance

When buying or selling a residence, take note if the electrical service looks up to date. If not, be aware that there will be costs associated with the inevitable electrical service upgrade / panel upgrade. If selling, you will probably get more for your investment if it is modern and code compliant. If it is not, you leave yourself susceptible for the price of the home to be leveraged against you on this point. Also, insurance companies are now more stringent than ever and demand fuse panels and 60 Amp services be upgraded (many give 90 days notice for compliance before they deny coverage). Insurance companies deem these equipment a high risk of fire, as the equipment is obsolete and often in neglected condition.

Fuse panels, by themselves, are not unsafe. But most fuse panels are quite old, and a lot of the time, in poor state of repair. In good condition, fuses work great, if they are sized properly. The other issue with a fusible panel is that too often someone can easily unscrew a 15 Amp fuse that is blowing and replace it with a 20 Amp or 30 Amp fuse because it will not trip the circuit. And now the circuit wiring and what it is powering will not be suitably protected.

60 Amp services have been deemed inadequate in single family dwellings and are normally found in smaller homes built decades ago when it was sufficient power for the demand. Nowadays, electrical code has evolved with larger housing being the norm, standard wiring can include dishwashers, microwaves, garages, air conditioners, hot tubs, etc. The capacity needs to be greater to accommodate today's lifestyle and a 60 Amp is just substandard.

• Furnace
• Water heater
• Fridges / Freezers
• Microwave
• Stove
• Well pump
• Submersible pump