ELECTRICAL PANEL UPGRADES
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. Some old panel brand such as ITE and Federal Pacific panels are generally considered unsafe and may be required to be replaced prior to sale of your home (sooner is better!).
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.
ELECTRICAL SERVICE UPGRADE & LOAD CONTROLLING
New additions to your home can require upgrades to your existing service to accomodate the added loads. Service upgrades are involved projects, likely requiring alterations such as:
- 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 usually over $6000.
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 ADDITION
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.