We finally had some long-needed electrical panel work in our garage done!
Way back in 2010 when we first bought the house, we were told by the inspector that our existing electric panel would need to be eventually upgraded because the the style of breakers used in the panel were known to be defective and might cause electrical fires. Yikes! We were also told however, that these defective occurrences were pretty slim, and that if we kept our electric use at a normal level (without frequent high usage spikes) then we should be fine…
Well, up until recently, we WERE consistently normal with our electric use. However, with things the way they are now (Bel and I are both working full-time from home, and the kids are full-time distance learning from home also), we are definitely using a lot more energy than before. It was a good time to revisit the electric panel issue, especially since we run a lot more electricity with everyone in the house.
We solicited a few bids and ended up selecting a local contractor, Adam Wade (who I found out lives 10 mins away in Miraloma). Adam was easy to talk to and upfront about everything when walking us though all the options. Originally we planned on just swapping out the panel to a new brand, but once we started, Adam told us out that our existing 70amp service could be upgraded to 125amp with just a simple wire upgrade. This was awesome and totally unexpected, because we were initially told by other contractors that in order to upgrade service in Diamond Heights that since all the electrical wires were underground, we would need to dig a trench in the driveway and that would cost ~$5,000-$7,000! I also thought this would be a good time to replace the unused 30amp dryer outlet (switched to gas dryer), with an outlet for a future EV charger. Future Tesla? Haha
In the end, Adam completed the following electric work in 1 day for $3500:
- Replace existing Federal Pacific panel with new 200amp rated Siemens panel, transfer all existing circuits to new panel and provide new circuit breakers. Panel to remain in same location
- Install complete new grounding (2 ground rods, connection to main water, connection to gas meter, bond at water heater)
- Install 240v 40amp rated wiring for future EV charger beside panel
- Electrical permit and inspection