400 Amp service upgrade
ylmzm
10 years ago
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petey_racer
10 years agoylmzm
10 years agoRelated Discussions
200 amp service upgrade
Comments (14)The panel I found was the Siemens� 200 Amp 8-Space 16-Circuit Outdoor Main Breaker Trailer Panel Model PW0816B1200TC. Do you happen to know the model of the Square-D one? My current panel is a QO, and I have some HomeLine breakers left over from my last house. Seems simpler to keep everythig the same. I might put a 220V outlet in my garage if I have the panel to do it, better to run my dust collector, and hopefully my new jointer. I was avoiding a small panel cause the largest breakers I could find to power the sub were 125A or so, but if they have feed through lugs, that is no longer a concern....See MoreHow much to upgrade to 200 amp service?
Comments (21)Service up grades in most States require the homeowner to be responsible from the weather head down. When considering upgrades it is better to remove any splicing in attics, crawl spaces and any other place that those splice may be located at. A splice is a weak link in the wiring and with the amperage involved it is not a good idea ever to splice. Electrical power will always take the least resistance to ground if properly grounded with a 8' ground rod or rods. When updating the Meter Base and Main Breaker panel consider whole house surge protection to be placed into the 1st Main Breaker panel not out laying subpanels. Also consider ATS (automatic transfer switch) for auto start fueled generators and alternative electrical energy like solar and wind. The ATS will not backfeed utility grid power when it goes down from fault due to storms or other grid issues. But the ATS will feed onsite requirements as designed to do so or until the grid power comes back on and then the ATS once again does its job and shuts the generator cycle down. There are grid quality off the shelf products in today's market from various vendors that are designed to be mixed and matched (battery banking, inverter power, solar, wind) to form your own grid quality electrical power. So as for the cost of what it takes to upgrade a electrical service what are your onsite wattage needs and voltages? Along with a host of other considerations to account for. Alternative electrical power is an investment that pays for itself and is safe, reliable and efficient. the old days are gone when you had to wait 10 seconds for the fueled auto start generator to kick in. High end grid quality inverter power now is so fast that clock or computer resets from electrical power transfers is not necessary. www.dbelectric.us...See MoreUpgrade 200 amp service?
Comments (6)Have you ever tripped your main breaker? Rather than us guessing, why don't you take an inventory of the major appliances, along with their wattage and voltage rating (120/240). The wattage will be on a plate. If you can't find it or it's not easily accessible, Google it. Major appliances would be those things that use electricity to heat or run a large motor. Stove, water heaters, pool motors, spas, clothes dryers, electric heaters, air conditioners etc. are all in this category. Doing the math would take a few hours and is certainly cheaper than a new service. A better way to do this is just to hire someone with an amp-clamp to measure the current on each leg of the main with a representative number of appliances working at the same time. A more valid test would be to record use over a day or two with a meter that records and charts the data (fluke 289, for example. Just getting the peaks will be deceptive because of motor start-ups). You want to be less than 80% of your breaker rating. If you are close, you should consider ways of reducing energy use - it could be a lot cheaper than a new panel. If you have a lot of incandescent lights, replace the bulbs with energy saving florescent bulbs, for example. Consider high efficiency AC units too. You might even consider changing your water heaters to gas (perhaps gas tankless), since it's available....See Moreupgrading to 300 amp service
Comments (16)Thank you ronnatalie. I will do that. I've wanted a geo thermal system for over 25 years. Yes, its expensive upfront - I hesitated long over that, but thanks to the new Federal Tax Credit of 30% which is making it possible for me (Thank you Pres. Obama), plus a thousand back from my local utility company, its ROI through fuel savings looks to be about seven years. If I replaced my conventional system with another one and added a/c, which I do not have now, it would cost me a bundle too - I got estimates on several before making my decision. But, and this is the important factor - I would never get my money back because I would keep paying for oil or gas to run it even if I bought the most efficient system available. Nothing is as efficient as geothermal. It does run on electricity, but it doesn't take much to keep it humming. Yes, the solar voltaic panels are also expensive, and I thought long and hard about them too, but between NY state giving a tax credit, the federal government giving one and my local utility offering a generous rebate, I can just swing it, though it's going to be tight. The pay back on it will be about six years. After that, the majority of my annual power use will be covered by what is generated. I know others who are putting it in too, for the same reasons. The lady who cuts my hair and her husband put one in several years ago and love theirs. They have only four years to go before their power is free. Meanwhile, they love the days their meter runs backwards. I can say with confidence that the tax credits are putting a lot of people to work in the geo and solar fields. Installers from both are doing good business around here and are actively hiring, which is nice to see. As this is our forever home, I decided it's time to make it more up to date and functional. We've been making do with one bathroom for four people, a 6' x 9' kitchen and no closets as antique homes never had bathrooms or closets. The addition will allow me to put in two bathrooms and a downstairs bedroom for us as we age - and closets, finally. What I'm doing is not extravagant. No home theaters, no big garage, no pool. I will be putting in a foundation, shelling it in, then finishing it as we can. I spent today insulating part of what will be our new kitchen one day. I'm itching from fiberglass bits. You can bet that when the addition is uo and ready to be insulated - by me - I will be using ... denim. It's treated with boric acid so that it's fire resistant, bugs won't live in it and mice won't either. Which is a lot more than I can say for the dirty old fiberglass and rock wool insulation I have been pulling out. Yuck....See Morepetey_racer
10 years agoionized_gw
10 years agoylmzm
10 years agoRon Natalie
10 years agoUser
10 years agoionized_gw
10 years agoylmzm
10 years ago
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