Service Repair & Upgrade

Upgrading a home’s electrical service to 200 amps is one of the most frequent requests we receive. There are several reasons that you as a homeowner might consider doing this.

1. The service conductors on the outside of the house are damaged

2. More power is needed

3. More space is needed in your current panel

4. The panel you have is dangerous

5. There has been water leaking into the panel

6. You are going to sell your home

Different situations require different solutions. Sometimes, just replacing the breaker panel and circuit breakers is in order. But this is not upgrading your service. It is not possible to upgrade from 100 amps to 200 amps simply by replacing your breaker panel. To upgrade to 200 amps from a smaller service, you will need a new breaker panel, circuit breakers, meter socket, service conductors, grounding electrodes and bonding conductors. It should also be noted if you have an overloaded circut that trips, upgrading your service is not a solution. It will still trip.

Many times, the service cable that comes from the top of the house and enters the meter or the cable that exits the meter and enters the electrical panel can be damaged. This often occurs when the electrical service has a lot of sunlight exposure. The UV rays can cause the outer jacket of the cable to deteriorate and crack. Once this happens, water can travel through the inside of the cable into the meter socket and/ into the panel. This will cause the boxes to rust out from the inside and oxidation to appear on the buss bars. When this happens, entire service needs to be replaced.

Sometimes you just don't have enough power. You might be getting central air conditioning, a hot tub, a swimming pool, an addition or anything else that requires more power than you are currently consuming. This will require the whole service to be upgraded.

If all you need is more space in your panel because you can’t add any circuit breakers, then you might be able to just have the panel replaced without upgrading the entire service –  the rest of your service is in good condition.

If you have a Federal Pacific or Zinsco breaker panel, you need a new panel. Most insurance companies will not even insure your home with these panels.The circuit breakers are known to not trip during an overcurrent situation and cause fires. As long as the rest of your service is in good shape, you can just have the panel replaced. But don’t wait, do it as soon as possible.

Water usually enters your panel in one of two ways. One way is mentioned above – the service cable is damaged and water is running through the inside of the cable into your panel, in which case the entire service will need to be replaced. The second way is when the sealant used to seal the hole in the house that the service cable goes through has been compromised and the water travels on the outside of the cable into your panel. In this case, you could just have the panel replaced.Water usually enters your panel in one of two ways. One way is mentioned above – the service cable is damaged and water is running through the inside of the cable into your panel, in which case the entire service will need to be replaced. The second way is when the sealant used to seal the hole in the house that the service cable goes through has been compromised and the water travels on the outside of the cable into your panel. In this case, you could just have the panel replaced.

Having a nice, new 200 amp panel seems to be a selling point for homes these days. It seems to be one of those things that buyers are looking for. Buyers with electric vehicles are not going to be in the market for a home not capable of charging their vehicles.But really, whether or not you are planning to sell soon, this is definitely a good investment to make.

To replace or upgrade an existing service with a new 200 amp service can cost anywhere from $4,400 to $5,200. To replace an existing 100amp service with a new 100amp service can cost anywhere from $2100 to $2900. To replace an existing panel with a new panel and circuit breakers can run from $900 to $2,600.

Why the range? There can be many variables such as logistics of doing the work, length of wire runs, type and number of circuit breakers required, etc. And if you want to get into the new high tech, wi-fi connected smart breakers, the price will be significantly higher.