Electrical panel upgrade 200 Amp vs 300 Amp?

Question

Hi,

I need to upgrade old electrical panel which is 100 Ampere for house rehab project. The house will be rented out for the foreseeable future but maybe in another 20+ years I would move into it. I may also add an ADU to the house, depending on how is my situation in post pandemic world.

Since it will be a few months before I upgrade it I haven’t gotten any quotes from any electricians yet.

Meanwhile, I want to figure out if I should upgrade the panel to 200A or 300A. What are some of the considerations I should make besides the cost. I am also not sure what would be the cost delta between the two?

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

Account Closed · Answer

I just upgraded a 1630 sq ft flip in Phoenix from 100amp aluminum wire subpanel to 125amp copper wire subpanel for $3500. The bids for the subpanel upgrade (not including the part of changing the aluminum wire to copper throughout the house) ranged from $3500 to $7400. I think the $7400 bid came complete with a new car or something but I didn't call them back. I went with the $3500

200amp service is more than enough for most normal houses The 1630 sq ft house has an additional 960 sq ft shop in the back with AC, Bathroom, compressors, and was used to renovate automobiles. It was 200amp main service total.  We just closed and I made about $100,000 on the flip. I'm happy. ;-) I simply ignored Covid-19 and went about my business or it would never have gotten done. The smart Governor of Arizona declared real estate "a necessary business". I refuse to participate in nonsense.

Dan H. · Answer

Do you know how large of an upgrade (amps) you can do with the existing input feed?  That is the place to start because getting a new input feed often has added costs to get to current code.  Increased risers if above ground.  Trenching if below ground.  Overhead can require moving/trimming trees.   Even ones that seem to be no impact.  The new feed is typically more than the fee the utility provider charges.

If there is any way your needs can be met by not needing to increase the input line, that would be the preferred way to go.  I just had two panel upgrades without needing to increase the line in.

Good luck

Jaysen Medhurst · Answer

Well, more is always better, @Jeff Cliff. It would, of course, depend on the difference in price for each level of upgrade. I'd also want to know if there is a difference in the monthly service charge from the utility company.

What are the power needs? A/C, electric heat, electric HW, any other big-ticket items?

That said, 200 amps gives you plenty of power for most SFH needs. Having the addition 100 amps for the ADU (or workshop!) will be well worth it.

For what it's worth, when I was underwriting renovations to a potential apartment complex I estimated $2k/unit to upgrade from 100- to 200-amp service. I may have figured in a bit of a bulk discount, since there were 12 units.

Nick Rutkowski · Answer

@Jeff Cliff

Before you upgrade, make sure your service drop can handle the extra electricity coming to

your box. It’s a good question to ask an electrician. I had to upgrade a 300 to 600 amp, (replaced 3 100 amp boxes to 200 amp). I had to upgrade my meter box, electric box, my service drop, and the wires going from the meter to the electric box. Turned into a bigger job than I originally planned.

Pat L. · Answer

We have always gone to 200 amp but then again 300 amp would definitely be a plus for a geothermal configuration, or the 240v 3x50amp breakers for a LARGE on-demand HW system or maybe the HVAC of a discreet 'grow' facility :)

Admittedly the extra amps would adequately supply the future ADU BUT assuming it's allowed I would be inclined to install a separate meter/feed for that.

The $3500 sounds reasonable...the last 200 amp upgrade I did myself ran about $800 in materials as those 'code required' AFCI beakers will 'break' you $$$.

Caleb Heimsoth · Answer

@Jeff Cliff cost to upgrade

Jeff Cliff · Answer

@Caleb Heimsoth

Are you saying the difference from 200 Amp to 300 Amp would be around that or just the cost of upgrade from 100 to 200amp?

Caleb Heimsoth · Answer

@Jeff Cliff probably 1200-2k for labor and material

Electrical panel upgrade 200 Amp vs 300 Amp?

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