Is There an Electrician in the House?

[Carbo]

I want to upgrade my electrical service, from 100 amps to 200. This ain't no do it yourself job for the weekend warrior types. So, I'm wondering what a job like this might cost me, and how big a deal it is. (South Florida location, if it matters.)

 

Anywhere from $900 to $2,000.

 

[Analog]

yes, you need an electrician. I would say about 4-6 hours of labor, plus materials. I recommend Square-D NQO breakers / box with integral surge supression.

 

[Carbo]

$900 to $2K? Yikes! Are they using 24K gold connections? And why such a discrepancy in price?

 

Labor, depending on the experiance and schooling and the size of the electrical contractor's business.

 

[Analog]

Originally posted by: Carbo
$900 to $2K? Yikes! Are they using 24K gold connections? And why such a discrepancy in price?

most of it is labor.

 

[Commish]

Originally posted by: yellowfiero

Originally posted by: Carbo
$900 to $2K? Yikes! Are they using 24K gold connections? And why such a discrepancy in price?

most of it is labor.

And if they're union or not.

 

[Karsten]

Once you figure out where to turn the main breaker off (biggest problem I had) it really is not that big of a deal!
I figure you will have to have a chat with the power company and see if they need to drop a bigger cable to your house. They can probably also point you to a Electrician. Get some estimates!

 

[Armitage]

$900 to $200 sounds high to me.
Depends on the specifics of course, but I had some work done last year that involved:

- Upgrading to 200A service
- Adding a new main panel & making the old panel a sub.
- Removing the old overhead line, and putting in about 100' of underground line.
- New meter

IIRC, that cost me about $1500. I'll check tonight to make sure.

 

$900 to $200 sounds high to me.
Depends on the specifics of course, but I had some work done last year that involved:

- Upgrading to 200A service
- Adding a new main panel & making the old panel a sub.
- Removing the old overhead line, and putting in about 100' of underground line.
- New meter

IIRC, that cost me about $1500. I'll check tonight to make sure.

That falls right in the middle of the price range I quoted 😕

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: Roger

$900 to $200 sounds high to me.
Depends on the specifics of course, but I had some work done last year that involved:

- Upgrading to 200A service
- Adding a new main panel & making the old panel a sub.
- Removing the old overhead line, and putting in about 100' of underground line.
- New meter

IIRC, that cost me about $1500. I'll check tonight to make sure.

That falls right in the middle of the price range I quoted 😕

But for alot more work then just upgrading from 100A to 200A

 

But for alot more work then just upgrading from 100A to 200A

When upgrading the service, he is going to need a new line to the pole to handle the increased current, you just don't go and replace the box. (unless the existing line can handle the load)

 

[MrDudeMan]

why would you want to do something like this?

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: Roger

But for alot more work then just upgrading from 100A to 200A

When upgrading the service, he is going to need a new line to the pole to handle the increased current, you just don't go and replace the box. (unless the existing line can handle the load)

What's ussually involved in this sort of upgrade?
I'd expect a new main breaker, probably new lines from the meter to the panel, maybe a new meter, right? Bigger ground as well.
I don't think you generally need a new panel do you?

In any case, in my situation, it seemed that putting in the underground line (vs. replacing the existing overhead line) & new panel were the big ticket costs.

 

[Antisocial Virge]

Parents had it done. The house is pole fed and because of the extra weight of the new line they had to install a another pole.

 

[feralkid]

Originally posted by: ergeorge

Originally posted by: Roger

But for alot more work then just upgrading from 100A to 200A

When upgrading the service, he is going to need a new line to the pole to handle the increased current, you just don't go and replace the box. (unless the existing line can handle the load)

What's ussually involved in this sort of upgrade?
I'd expect a new main breaker, probably new lines from the meter to the panel, maybe a new meter, right? Bigger ground as well.
I don't think you generally need a new panel do you?

In any case, in my situation, it seemed that putting in the underground line (vs. replacing the existing overhead line) & new panel were the big ticket costs.

Yes, new panel rated at 200 amps. Well, my local code requires it anyway. Codes vary.

 

What's ussually involved in this sort of upgrade?
I'd expect a new main breaker, probably new lines from the meter to the panel, maybe a new meter, right? Bigger ground as well.
I don't think you generally need a new panel do you?

A new panel is mandatory, most likely he is going to need the following ;

New breaker box (Panel)
New lines to the pole
Upgraded grounds
New breakers for the box

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: Roger

What's ussually involved in this sort of upgrade?
I'd expect a new main breaker, probably new lines from the meter to the panel, maybe a new meter, right? Bigger ground as well.
I don't think you generally need a new panel do you?

A new panel is mandatory, most likely he is going to need the following ;

New breaker box (Panel)
New lines to the pole
Upgraded grounds
New breakers for the box

Ok, then I guess it isn't much smaller of a job then what I had done. They didn't have to populate the new panel on mine except feeding the old one from it. So trade that cost against putting in the underground line. And when he does the upgrade, they'll probably have to put in the new arc-fault breakers for the bedrooms, and those are expensive! (about $30 to $40 each vs. about $4 or $5 for regular breakers).

Hmm ... they didn't replace my old panel (it became a sub-panel), so I guess they just fed it @ 100A.
But my detached garage power (comes off of the old panel, 30A(?)/220V) seems much improved (less dimming/flickering of lights when machinery is turned on).

 

[MrDudeMan]

Originally posted by: MrDudeMan
why would you want to do something like this?

hello?

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: MrDudeMan

Originally posted by: MrDudeMan
why would you want to do something like this?

hello?

You'll get fewer/less severe "brown-outs" from high-amp loads, like big motors starting up with 200A service.
My 100A service used to be so bad that my air compressor would reset all the clocks if you plugged it into a circuit on the wrong leg of the 220. But there were problems upstream of the house as well that have been improved also.

 

[MrDudeMan]

oh, well we dont have anything around here that requires near that power, so i was wondering if this was a common "upgrade"


but i guess not...this seems a little unreasonable for anyone not needing the power

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: MrDudeMan
oh, well we dont have anything around here that requires near that power, so i was wondering if this was a common "upgrade"


but i guess not...this seems a little unreasonable for anyone not needing the power

Well, it's not just you needing that power.
My neighbors arc welder would kick off my clocks as well, but doesn't anymore. But then, we're on a relatively old rural grid.

 

[Carbo]

Originally posted by: MrDudeMan oh, well we dont have anything around here that requires near that power, so i was wondering if this was a common "upgrade"


but i guess not...this seems a little unreasonable for anyone not needing the power

Actually, it is a fairly common upgrade these days. Houses that were built, say, 15 years ago or more, probably have only 100 amp service. I've even seen 60 amp service still floating around.
In this day and age of bigger, better, and more appliances and high tech components, that just doesn't cut it. So, I don't see this as a luxury upgrade but, rather, a necessity.

 

[mattgyver]

My landlord is building a new house and he's putting 400 amp service to it, split into two 200 amp circuit panels. I asked him why he needed that, and he said he wanted plenty room to expand in the future. But this guy does everything overkill. . .

 

[MrDudeMan]

Originally posted by: mattgyver1
My landlord is building a new house and he's putting 400 amp service to it, split into two 200 amp circuit panels. I asked him why he needed that, and he said he wanted plenty room to expand in the future. But this guy does everything overkill. . .

how does one person on a street pulling 400 amps affect the rest of the people? how much current is in a given powerline from the power company?