Electrical panel upgrade 200 Amp vs 300 Amp?

[Jeff Cliff]

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.

[Jaysen Medhurst]

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.