Upgrading Service


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Old 02-18-09, 09:06 AM
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Upgrading Service

Hello all, I'm new to the forum, and need a little help.

My home was built in 1969, about 40 years ago. It has a 100 amp circuit breaker panel. This was probably common at the time. I have natural gas hot water, furnace, stove and dryer.

A relative on my wife's side, told me he could upgrade my home to a 150 or 200 amp service by changing out the breaker box.

Is this correct?

No new meter or wiring required?

Currently, some of the individual breakers in the box are 15 amps and some are 20 amps.

Please advise.
 
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Old 02-18-09, 09:18 AM
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To make a long story short, yes he's incorrect.

Upgrading to 150-200 amps will require upgrading everything to support that. Including getting the POCO involved to possibly upgrade their end.

And of course a permit because the POCO won't do anything until it's inspected.

Is there a reason you want to upgrade? Adding any significant loads? Just need more space?

Feel free to ask follow up questions.
 
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Old 02-18-09, 10:24 AM
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The reason for upgrading:

One of the circuit breakers would pop if too many appliances were on at the same time. Say a 1500w space heater, tv, and an iron.

I will be adding to my aquarium collection, and the lighting ranges from 150-200 watts each. So far, I have not had any issues with my aquariums popping breakers.

I am considering getting a natural gas standby generator in the future, but that is a whole other issue.

I didn't think the POCO would be involved, he made it sound like he would do it all (replace the box) in a matter of a few hours.
 
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Old 02-18-09, 10:37 AM
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If all your major appliances are gas, I see no need for an upgrade.

An upgrade won't solve the breaker tripping issue. Those circuits would just need to be split up or new ones ran.

Just for general purpose receptacle and lighting circuits, I just don't see the need for an upgrade. If you need more space, a subpanel will suffice.

However, if you do, it's not as simple as the relative stated (safely and legally)
 
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Old 02-18-09, 11:38 AM
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I agree with wirenut, a total upgrade is probably not necessary.

However, I would also not let that relative do any electrical work in your home, from this very limited description he sounds like he is not a licensed electrician and is not well-versed in the legalities of doing electrical work, especially in someone else's home.

You need more individual branch circuits and while that may require adding a subpanel it is something that a competent DIYer can do in his own home. You WILL need a permit from the local Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) i.e. the electrical inspection department.
 
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Old 02-18-09, 02:09 PM
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I also agree that no upgrade is needed. Now if you had fuses or were tripping the main breaker that would be a different story. Even if you were out of spaces you could just add a sub panel. You just need to split up your loads. A 1500 watt heater and an iron will never make it on any 120 volt circuit. (1500 heater +1200 watt iron = 22.5 amps)
 
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Old 02-18-09, 02:41 PM
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If gas fueled range , dryer , waterheater then you can get by with 100 amp service. { it depending on how big the house is and also if garage is attached or detached and the useage of garage will affect it some }

Most case all you need to just a circuit or two if the exsting box is full most case you can go with subfeed panel { most common route } or get 30or 32 space 100 amp main breaker box { yeah they are around but a little hard to catch that item but Big box store or electrical supply centre should able get this one without much issue } ( IMO I really rather have a electrician to do this for safety sake )

Merci,Marc
 
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Old 02-19-09, 06:19 AM
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I wouldn't let that relative anywhere near my house!

There can be all sorts of problems with doing electrical work which is not up to code, is dangerous (overloading service), and is not done with a permit. These problems can be...

Legal / liability (what if you sell your home and something nasty happens to the new owners like a fire and someone dies because of this?)

What if this damages the electric company's equipment? Will you be liable?

If your home burned down because of this, would your insurance company pay for damage caused by electrical work not done to electrical codes? Ask them!

My advice is to have a licensed electrician install a larger 100 amp panel with plenty of free slots available and a transfer switch for your future generator. Call for quotes from several electricians. This should not cost very much and you will sleep better at night knowing this was done right. With this you will be able to add new circuits or offload existing circuits.
 
 

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