Panel Repairs & Replacements

A lot is riding on your electrical panel and subpanels. Let me help keep your home safe and the electricity functioning properly. Circuit breaker repairs, panel upgrades, subpanel additions, and more are available below.

Unsafe Panels

There was a rash of poorly designed electrical panels installed in the 20th century, primarily of two designs: Stab-Lok (Federal Pacific) and Zinsco. These designs do not perform as they should and are fire risks. Testing has shown that the breakers may fail to trip when exposed to high currents, which can create dangerous overheating and fires both inside the panel and at the outlet where the load is connected. Field evidence has shown that these breakers can become welded into the panel due to the heat, and may have poor contact with the panel due to their design flaws, leading to arcing, which eats away at the panel bus and leads to a rapid increase in fire risk.

Federal Pacific was further found to have falsified its in-house test results, ultimately leading to the bankruptcy of their company. Zinsco also eventually went out of business, with its models and poor designs being purchased first by Sylvania, and then Challenger (and these brand lines were later purchased by others during industry consolidation in the late 20th century). However, not all Sylvania or Challenger panels utilize the Zinsco design, and it is purely the Zinsco design that we have strong evidence for being dangerous. Simply having a Sylvania or Challenger panel (common in the West Suburbs) is not cause for immediate replacement, but you should have the panel checked by an electrician to see whether it is of the dangerous design type or has taken damage.

As a further concern, many insurance companies are starting to refuse coverage for homes with these problematic panels, and even if you are willing to put up with the increased risks, you may find one day that your insurer is not, leaving you in a bind and without coverage until a new panel is installed. Additionally, many home inspection companies will fail an inspection if they come across these panels, making the eventual sale of your home difficult. It is best to get ahead of these concerns, as well as increase the safety of your home, rather than at the last minute, or before it's too late...

The standard solution to having one of these panels is a full replacement with a time-tested brand, such as Eaton or Siemens.

Electrical Panel Replacement

Upgrade your home's electrical system with a new panel. Old panels can be undersized for new additions, EV chargers, and other electrical upgrades.

Old panels can also have bad corrosion from water infiltration or weak contacts. These bad contacts can be a fire hazard. Old circuit breakers can also fail (as in, fail to trip) when overloaded after a few decades of use, leaving your house's wiring vulnerable and unprotected.

Upgrade to a newer panel for added functionality and safety after having a technical load calculation performed to see exactly what capacity you require. Add more circuits with an expanded panel, or increase the total amperage of the panel to handle new, large loads.

A failing panel can produce major whole-house light flickering and other serious problems, and can risk starting a fire. If you are experiencing such symptoms, consider it an emergency! Rush service is available for a failing panel.

Inspection: I offer free visual inspections and estimates for panel replacements.

Replacement: costs can vary based on total amperage, number of circuits, location, and on whether the existing grounding and conductors are up to code. If no wiring upgrades are needed, a ballpark price range for replacing a typical panel is $1200-1800 total.

electrician - electrical service upgrade

Electrical Service Upgrade & Load Control

New additions to your home can require upgrades to your existing service to accommodate the added loads. Service upgrades are involved projects, likely requiring alterations including:

Panel Upgrade (eg 100A to 200A)
Utility Service Conductor Upgrade (ComEd or City)
Meter Box Upgrade
House Grounding Upgrade (including bonding for water and gas systems)
Service Entrance Upgrade (wiring and conduit)
Surge Protection

It's also a good time to consider upgrading your circuit protection to GFI and AFI.

The total cost varies considerably from home to home, with the majority of the cost often being for the utility company (upgrading the underground wiring and transformer), which is often in the mid-5-figure range.

LOAD CONTROLLER

A cheaper alternative, if only a single load (such as an EV charger or induction stove) is exceeding your home's capacity, is a load controller. Installing a load controller or load shedding device for a single high-amperage circuit can cost 10% as much as a full service upgrade.

Subpanel Installation

Need more capacity, but don't want to upgrade your main panel, or do you need additional capacity in just one location? Add a subpanel to support that location. Subpanels can be a great alternative to whole-house upgrades, and can make for a tidier electrical system and easier future additions.

Some customers prefer to DIY for their outlets in garages or sheds, but want a proper electrical contractor to perform the main job of bringing power out to that location and building in a new subpanel. This is a fine way to save money yet ensure that the important work is done properly.

Whatever your reasons, let me help you upgrade your home's panels knowing it is done right by an experienced professional.