What an electrical panel upgrade actually involves
Your electrical panel is the point where power from the utility splits into the circuits that feed your home. An upgrade replaces that panel, and often the service feeding it, with equipment rated for how much power you actually use today.
Older homes were wired for a fraction of modern demand. A 60 or 100 amp service was sized for lighting, a stove, and a television. It was never meant to carry an induction range, a heat pump, and a car charger at the same time.
Signs your panel needs upgrading
- Breakers trip regularly, or you avoid running appliances together
- The panel still uses screw-in fuses rather than breakers
- Lights dim when a large appliance starts up
- There is no space left for a new circuit
- You have a Federal Pacific Stab-Lok or Zinsco panel, both known safety concerns
- You are adding an EV charger, heat pump, hot tub, or finished basement
- The panel is warm, buzzing, rusted, or shows scorch marks
What is included in the job
A panel upgrade is more than swapping a box on the wall. Every quote we give covers the full scope, so there is nothing added later.
- Load calculation to size the new service correctly for your home
- New panel and breakers, with spare capacity for future circuits
- Replacement of the service entrance cable, meter socket, and mast where needed
- Grounding and bonding brought up to current code
- Every circuit re-landed, tested, and clearly labelled
- Permit filed with your town and the inspection scheduled
- Coordination with the utility for the disconnect and reconnect
How the work runs, start to finish
- 1
Assessment and load calculation
We look at your existing service, what you run today, and what you plan to add. That determines whether 100, 200, or 400 amps is the right target — oversizing costs money for nothing.
- 2
Fixed quote and permit
You get the price in writing before anything is scheduled. Once approved, we file the permit with your town's wiring inspector and arrange the utility disconnect.
- 3
Installation day
Power is off for most of the day. We remove the old panel, install and land the new one, then bring the service back up and test every circuit before we leave.
- 4
Inspection and sign-off
The town inspector reviews the work. We are present for the inspection and handle anything raised, so you are not left chasing paperwork.
What affects the cost
We do not publish a flat price, because the honest answer is that it depends on your house — and a number that ignores your conditions is a number that changes later. These are the factors that move it.
- Target service size: 100, 200, or 400 amps
- Whether the service entrance, mast, and meter socket also need replacing
- Whether the service is overhead or underground
- Panel location, and how far it sits from the meter
- Condition of existing grounding, and whether a new ground rod or water bond is needed
- Circuits that fail inspection and must be corrected as part of the work
- Town permit fees, which vary across Greater Boston
Permits, code, and inspection
Panel work requires a permit and an inspection by your town's wiring inspector. This is not optional, and it is not a formality we can skip to save time.
Unpermitted electrical work causes real problems later: it surfaces during a home sale, it can void an insurance claim after a fire, and it leaves you responsible for whatever a future inspector finds. We pull the permit as part of the job and attend the inspection.
Ask before you hire
If a contractor offers to skip the permit to save you money, that saving is a liability transferred to you. Any licensed electrician should pull it without being asked.
Rebates and incentives
Panel upgrades tied to qualifying work — heat pumps and certain electrification projects in particular — may be eligible for support through Mass Save, the statewide efficiency program. We are a Mass Save partner and check eligibility before you commit rather than after.
Rebate programs generally require permits pulled and inspections passed before funds are released, which is another reason the paperwork matters.
Related residential services
Jobs we're often asked about alongside this one.
Frequently asked questions
- How long will my power be off? +
- For a typical residential panel upgrade, expect the power to be off for four to eight hours on installation day. We give you a firm window in advance so you can plan around refrigeration, medical equipment, and working from home.
- Do I need 200 amp service? +
- Not automatically. 200 amps is the common answer for a home adding a car charger or heat pump, but the correct size comes from a load calculation on your actual house. We run that calculation before quoting rather than defaulting to the largest option.
- Can you upgrade the panel without rewiring the whole house? +
- In most cases yes. The panel and service are separate from your branch circuits. If the inspector finds specific circuits that are unsafe, those need correcting, but a panel upgrade does not normally mean rewiring the house.
- Do you handle the permit and the utility? +
- Yes. We file the permit with your town's wiring inspector, schedule the inspection, and coordinate the disconnect and reconnect with the utility. You are not left making those calls.
- Is a Federal Pacific or Zinsco panel really a problem? +
- Both have documented histories of breakers that fail to trip under fault conditions. Many home inspectors flag them and some insurers ask about them. If you have one, replacement is worth taking seriously rather than deferring.
- What areas do you cover for panel upgrades? +
- We serve Greater Boston and the MetroWest towns, including Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Needham, Ashland, Holliston, Sherborn, Weston, Marlborough, Sudbury, and Wayland.