What’s the difference between a panel and a service upgrade? We get this question all the time. Here’s a little article on the differences and why you would choose either of them.
What is a “Panel”?
Also referred to as the loadcenter, breaker box, fuse box, electrical panel, the electrical panel in your house is the main distribution and protection location for all of the electrical outlets, switches, lights, and wiring in your home. The electrical panel contains all the circuit breakers that are meant to turn off the circuit if there’s a problem.
Here is a link to Home Depot’s selection of electrical panels to get an idea what they are.
What is a “Service”?
The electrical service is where your home connects to the electrical grid. It is the most dangerous part of your electrical system as it is high amperage and not protected the same as your lights and plugs. The electrical service can enter your home through one of two ways; an electrical service mast that sticks above your roof or an underground conduit that goes underground to the hydro utilities transformer. The electrical service also has an electric meter connected to it and that’s what the utility company uses to see how much power you’ve consumed.
Why would I upgrade my service?
Upgrading the electrical service in your home is one of the more expensive electrical upgrades you can do. But because of the increased use of electric vehicles more and more homeowners are upgrading their electrical service to 200 amps.
You would upgrade the electrical service in your home? If it’s not currently large enough to add things like hot tubs, EV car chargers, baseboard heaters, rental suite, and more.
As more and more people by EV vehicles and as time goes on and EV Vehicles become a larger portion of cars on the road home owners will be looking to buy houses that have an electrical service large enough to charge their car, or large enough to have a EV car charger installed when they move in. If you are here because of an EV installation, check out more information here.
Looking to determine the capacity of your electrical system? Check out our how-to article here.
Why would I upgrade my panel?
In some cases your electrical service may not be overloaded and you may not have any plans to increase your demand in the future. But your panel is old and outdated, which we see often. It’s very common that the electrical panel in a house is the same one from when it was built, we see panels that are 30 or more years old. If your electrical panel is this old it’s a great idea to upgrade it to get new circuit breakers and to clean up all the wiring that gets messy over the years as other people go in there to do work.
The electrical panel and Breakers is definitely not something you think about as it just sits there and you never really use it. But when do you need your electrical panel? Well it’s when something happens that causes an electrical short. It’s the circuit breakers job to stop an electrical short and prevent the wires from burning.
Fresh new circuit breakers with new technology is a great way to make your home safer and bring it up to date. there’s also other cool little add-ons that you can do in a panel upgrade like surge protectors, power monitors, afci circuit breakers, and more that make your system safer, more efficient, and smart.
We have recently been introduced to a awesome new electrical panel called Span that can turn your entire home electrical system smart. We think it is super cool, check out more information on it here.
Are there downsides to upgrading my electrical panel?
Although upgrading your electrical panel from an old one to the new one is a great idea there’s one consideration you really want to make.
The only time that upgrading your electrical panel only can be a problem is if you end up needing to upgrade your service in the future. If you were to spend the money to upgrade your panel you would have to do it all over again to upgrade the service to 200 amps.
So when you’re looking at upgrading your panel or if you should upgrade your electrical service and panel at the same time think in the long-term. What are you going to be doing with your house in 10 years or more? Are you going to be getting an electric vehicle or a hot tub? Could you see yourself doing something like that? You really want to make sure that your future proofing your home when you’re doing this kind of renovation and not putting yourself in a situation where you have to spend money twice.
You also want to make sure that you hire a competent electrician that has done this many times before to avoid disruptions like being left without power in your home. Check out how our article on what is the difference between a good electrical company and a bad electrical company here.
Ready to get some more personalized information on a service or panel upgrade for your home?
We have done tons of these upgrades for homeowners just like you. Our technicians are experienced in changing out your electrical panel efficiently and without long power disruptions. Click here to be directed to our services page to see more and book a quote.
