| How Much Does Upgrading an Electrical Panel Cost? |
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| | | Power from the electrical company's line flows through a home's outside meter and into the electrical service panel, which controls the flow of electricity into the house. Total electrical usage cannot exceed the panel's capacity, which can be 100, 150, 200 or 400 amps. Homes may also have sub-panels that are located elsewhere, which are smaller versions of the main panel and wired through it. | | |
| Typical costs: | - Typically it costs $800-$1,200 to have a qualified electrician upgrade an existing panel to 100 amps, or $1,500-$2,500 if a new panel is needed.
- Expect to pay $1,300-$3,000 to upgrade to 200 amps, or $2,000-$4,000 to go to 400 amps.
- Installing a new sub-panel runs $500-$1,000.
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| What should be included: | - Electrical panels in an older home might have a lower capacity, but 100 amps is the current minimum required, while 150 amps is common. Many new homes are being built at 400 amps, which usually is achieved by using a 400-amp meter and two 200-amp panels.
- HomeTips.com describes and illustrates a typical main electrical panel, while HomeTime.com provides a detailed glossary of electrical terms, which helps in understanding exactly what is included in a quote or required in a specific situation.
- This is not a do-it-yourself project; major wiring changes should be done by a licensed electrical contractor. Check with your local planning department for any local restrictions or requirements; generally a permit is needed. Permit costs vary widely nationwide.
- If needed, the upgrading process can include repairing old wiring, adding a copper grounding pole, and removing and replacing the old panel.
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| Shopping for upgrading an electrical panel: | |
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Article updated May 2007 |
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Recent Posts |
| Amount: $2,100.00 |
Glad the work's finally done
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| Posted by: First Time Homeowner in Los Gatos, CA. | Purchased: June, 2007 |
| Amps: 200 amp | Electrician: Don Wade |
| We bought a 50 year old house with old, ungrounded 2-prong outlets, old wiring, and little capacity, so we decided to upgrade to a 200 amp panel. We got estimates from $1,600-$2,100 before permits, with most people quoting us an additional $400 for permits. We went with the $2,100 quote from Don Wade because they seemed the most experienced and honest and we wanted a quality outfit for our electrical work. We saved some money on the permit because they said they'd charge us $400 for the permit work, or we could do it ourselves. Getting the permits myself was a 20 minute visit to the local county office and cost just $80, so that saved $320. I don't think this reflects the electrician, but I was surprised at how much time the upgrade took. First, the electrician came out two times to finish the work (we had some other work done, too). Then, the inspector came out and looked everywhere -- at all the goundings, in the crawlspace, at the panel, etc., and had some comments -- he even made note about a missing smoke alarm in a bedroom. Then, the electrician came out to address the comments. Then the inspector came back to inspect the work before the stuccoing. Then the contractors came to stucco the area around the panel (which they broke off to install the panel). Next, the inspector's coming back for a final inspection. I was happy with the quality of the work of the electrician, but the whole operation took longer than I thought. |
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| Amount: $2,900.00 |
Cost of Replacing a 5 meter panel
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| Posted by: Marcylogan@speakeasy.net in Washington, DC. | Purchased: June, 2006 |
| Amps: 4 meter panel | Electrician: |
| I received a number of bids for replacing a 5 meter panel in a condo. The old aluminium panel had burned out. The beds ranged from $2900 to $8000. I am trying to research the background of the low bidder but may take one of the middle bids just to be safe. Do not know where to go for advice. Any suggestions? |
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| Amount: $2,100.00 |
Choosing an Electrician
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| Posted by: First Time Homeowner in Los Gatos, CA. | Purchased: 2007 |
We went with Don Wade because our real estate agent recommended him. Also, we just got a positive vibe because he seemed the most honest when he gave the estimate. Also, he's been around a really long time, I think over 45 years. One thing I wish I had done with our fencing contractor was to actually look up the license number with the state website. For Washington, D.C. electricians, it looks like it's at:
https://www.asisvcs.com/services/licensing/DCOPLA/search_page.asp?CPCAT=3609STATEREG |
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| Amount: $2,100.00 |
panel change cost
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| Posted by: family's choice in summerfield, FL. | Purchased: 2008 |
| Amps: 150 | Electrician: family's choice electrical |
| $2,100 is a good price to replace a 50yr old service panel and mater and service wire. Just the panel should be about $750-1,200 |
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| Amount: $2,950.00 |
200 amp service upgrade
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| Posted by: Chris from CT in South Windsor, CT. | Purchased: May, 2008 |
| Amps: 200 | Electrician: Newington Electric |
| I think we had an unusual situation with out electrical. We just purchased a 50 year old house with some crappy electrical. The line comming into the house was only a 60 amp wire (obviously original to the house), with a 20 or so breaker panel. The problem was someone actually put a 100 amp main breaker in the panel and with a 60 amp rated service line, there was the real possibility of fire, obviously. So we decided to upgrade to 200 amps. It turns out that in CT the power company requires the meter to be on either the front of the house or one of the sides and ours was on the back. Also, the weatherhead cannot be over any roof, as ours was since an addition was put on the house. So we had to have what was called 200 amp remote service, which I have come to find out means that the main 200 amp breaker is in the meter instead of in the panel. Because of the roof under the weatherhead we had to have the service moved from one side of the house to another side of the house. We ended up paying $1300 for materials and $1650 for labor. The material cost was high because it was remote service and the distance from the new location of the weatherhead to the panel was so far. I actually got a list of all the parts that were needed from the electricians and ordered them from the local electrical supply 5 minutes from my house, so I didn't have the markup of the electricians (oddly this was suggested by one of the electricians, but I'm not complaining). |
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| Amount: $2,950.00 |
200 amp service upgrade
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| Posted by: Chris from CT in South Windsor, CT. | Purchased: May, 2008 |
| Amps: 200 | Electrician: Newington Electric |
| continued... The 75' of 200 amp 4/0 was about $300, the meter can with main breaker was about $600, alone. We went with a 30 circuit panel that is now about 2/3rds full, so we have room to grow. I am very happy with the quality of work... they even put everything on the exterior of the house in PVC and the panel is nice and neat and well labeled. Now I just have to wait for the inspector to come out, and once he approves wait for the power company (CL&P) to come out and and move the point of attachment from one side of the house to the other side of the house where the new weatherhead and meter area. Right now there is a temporary 200 amp wire running from the old point of attachment over the length of the roof to where the new point of attachment will be. The new point of attachment will require CL&P to do a mid-span tap since it is smack dab in the middle of two telephone poles. Now we jus have to get the interior electrical up to par, since most of the first floor has open grounds as they were originally two prong outlets that someone just replaced with 3 prong outlets even though there was no ground wire (not to code of course, and dangerous at that). |
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| Amount: $2,000.00 |
Upgrade from fuses to 100amp braker service
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| Posted by: jackie in Minneapolis, MN. | Purchased: February, 2008 |
| Amps: 100 | Electrician: Affordable Electric |
| I bought an 80 year old house that still had the old 60amp fuse box. As soon as I moved in I upgraded to a 100amp breaker service. My house is small so 100amp is enough for me. |
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