Residential Panel change out.?

Question

Hi, I'm hoping I could get some pointers on how to replace my main panel at home. I have a 100 amp breaker panel and want to bump it up to 200. I am very competent in the electrical field however, I have never done a panel change out. I do plan on getting permits and the electrical company to shut power, however I don't know what it physically consists of or what to look out for. Thanks for all your help!

Answer 1

YOu will have to after getting the permits do a number of things, If you don't know how to change the panel than should not do so, It's dangerious, and you can't be competent in this branch of the field and not know how to change a panel.
I know Electreical engineers who can't wire a simple switch in their home. but can design a plant electrical system.

!-See the local inspection department/ they should give you a diagram or list of how they wish the wiring to be done per their codes as it varries form city to city , from power company to power company.
You would have to be able to have the power shut off , do the change, and inspected and turned back on before the city inspection dept. and electricity company closes.
i f posible move you new meter scocket and you can install the new one, and have the wire feeding from it to the new panel in place before removing the old service and panel. This way all y0u have to do is remove the old panel, install the new and rewire.
Install your new meter can(best to use a meter/breaker combination here with six spaces; most inspections require it so the fire department can turn it off in case of a fire)
Install it where you can come out of the top with a 10 ft joiont of redgit conduit at least 2 inches in size. Run this conduit though a hole you cut in the roof. this conduit should be where the power company approves or in the old location .
Install a 2 inch roof flange over the conduit. seal the flange good with tar or some other sealent, and screw it to the roof. cover the screws with small amount of tar or sealent. (silicone could be used, but tar is better.
Push 4 wires though it if single phase 120/240 volts. as follows.;
2 will be #4/0 al. or copper or better.(these are the hot wires.)
1 will be 3/0al or copper or better .taped white. this is your neutral.
1 will be #4 bare copper or better this is the ground wire.
These are the same number and size you will run from your meter to your new panel inside the house.
Connect the 2 hot wires from the conduit to the lugs on the meter . Connect the neutral to the neutral bar. the ground should go from the top of the weather head/conduit over the roof. (allow 4 ft of all 4 wires hanging out of the conduit) to a ground rod in the ground. The ground wire also should go though the ground bar in the meter socket or run a second wire from the meter to the ground.The ground rod should be at least 8 feet long, 5/8 diameter. galvanized or better. make all wires up.
Fasten a 2 inch weather head on the end of the conduit after pushing the wires wire in it, (leaving 4 ft, of wires hanging out.)

Run a quardex cable or 4 wires in a conduit(metal/pvc/emt) from your new panel location to the metersocket . wire this cable to the meter neutral bar and to the ground bar., and two hot wires to the lugs there for that purpose.
The quardex cable will have corresponding wires premarked just like the ones in the conduit though the roof.
Run them to the panel inside and remove the old panel . mark all breakers with numbers or soemthing, put them back like you took them off.be sure to rewire all breakers back like you took them off.
YOU should have a tester and unplug all appliances first before appling new power. turn each circuit on one at a time and check them with a meter to be sure you don't cross anything up.
I would recommend wiring your 220 volt circuits from the outside for such things as air/heat/range
You for your money should install a minium 40 circuit with a main breaker inside 200 ampere.
use a power panel with 6 to 8 double spaces outside;a 200 ampere main breaker outside which kills everything. and you have theother spaces for main power loads as air/heat if you wish.

Answer 2

This is one of the more complicated electrical items to work on, and I don't recommend it for someone that doesn't even know what it looks like. But if you insist, it is hard to give details without seeing your situation. If your existing panel is good and the only point of this is upgrading to 200A, consider adding a new 200A panel to be the main and turning the existing 100A into a subpanel. You cannot have ground and neutral connected in a subpanel, so that separation might be the most work. But swapping the panel would require every connection in the panel to be redone.

Definitely get a permit and talk with the inspector. In some areas, you might not be allowed as another answer said. In some areas there is no inspection and then I would recommend getting an electrician to help. Under no circumstance should you do this installation without getting someone competent to inspect it.

You say competent in the electrical field. I would say that can only be an attribute if you understand the code. If so, reading article 230 on services and 250 on grounding would give you all the rules. If you have never seen the code, reading those parts probably won't make any sense. Books written for professionals might be helpful though (skip the typical book for a DIYer).

Answer 3

My house had a 100amp panel and I rewired the house because of the tube and knob layout, if your not rewiring label everything and make sure of amperage, if you are adding a couple 240v sources no problem make sure everything connected properly for the inspector to just glance at and say datsa good. You will probably need to upgrade the size of the wire from the pole to your house and a new ridged EMT stack and goose neck higher from the roof (find out requirements from power company ), arrange for power company to come out and string it not too expensive couple of hundred.
If you are going to be using a whole lot more power then normally have make sure you inform them you are going into the pottery business to explain the increased amount of power because Big Brother checks for these spikes of increased power

Answer 4

you have to increase the wire size from the panel to the meter box. Tag all the existing wires

Answer 5

U cant pull a permit for it, Period, GL