Service equipment
Electrical panel upgrades and service changes
A panel replacement is inspected work with a utility component, and it is the job most often quoted carelessly. Here is what it actually involves in Los Angeles.
Panel replacement versus service upgrade
These get used interchangeably and they are not the same thing. Replacing a panel swaps the enclosure, bus and breakers while keeping the existing service size. A service upgrade changes the ampacity delivered to the building, which means new service conductors, a new meter arrangement, a grounding electrode system that meets current code, and coordination with the utility for a disconnect and reconnect. The second is a bigger job with a permit, an inspection and a scheduled power interruption.
When an upgrade is actually warranted
We look at the calculated load, not at how full the panel looks. A 100-amp service running a gas range, gas furnace and gas water heater has more headroom than a 100-amp service in a house that has electrified heating, cooking, laundry and a vehicle. The load calculation is what settles it, and we would rather show you the arithmetic than sell you an upgrade you do not need.
Other triggers are physical: rust or water staining inside the enclosure, evidence of overheating at the bus, split-bus panels with no main disconnect, equipment lines that are discontinued so that replacement breakers are no longer available, and panels that have been fed by aluminum branch circuits with no remediation.
Fuse boxes and early panels
Plenty of houses in this part of the city still have a fuse box, sometimes as a subpanel left in place after a partial modernization. Fuses themselves are not the hazard; the hazard is decades of oversized fuses, added taps and ungrounded circuits behind them. Replacement is usually the right call, and it often reveals branch wiring that needs attention too.
Permits, utility coordination and inspection
Inside the City of Los Angeles, a service change is permitted and inspected through the Department of Building and Safety, with LADWP handling the disconnect and reconnect. In Culver City and Inglewood the process runs through those cities. We pull the permit under our own license, schedule the utility, and meet the inspector. Expect the building to be without power for a portion of one working day.
What a panel job includes
- Load calculation before any quote
- Permit filed under our license
- New grounding and bonding to current code
- Every circuit tested, traced and labeled
- Utility coordination for the disconnect
- Inspection scheduled and attended
Problems a panel upgrade solves
No room for new circuits
A kitchen remodel, heat pump or charger each need dedicated circuits. A full panel stops the project before it starts.
Undersized service
Lights dimming under load and breakers tripping across unrelated circuits often trace back to the service, not the branch wiring.
Obsolete equipment
When replacement breakers for a discontinued line are no longer manufactured, the panel is no longer maintainable.
Ungrounded system
Older panels often sit at the head of an ungrounded system. Correcting grounding and bonding is part of the upgrade.
Insurance or sale conditions
Buyers, inspectors and insurers regularly flag original service equipment. A permitted upgrade closes that item with paperwork.
Overheating
Discoloration, a warm deadfront or a smell at the panel means connections are failing. This one does not wait.
How the work goes
Site visit and load calculation
We inspect the existing service, meter and grounding, then calculate the demand for the building as it will be used.
Written scope and permit
You get the scope, equipment and inspection path in writing. We file the permit and schedule the utility.
Installation day
Power down, old equipment removed, new service equipment and grounding installed, circuits reconnected, tested and labeled.
Inspection and closeout
We meet the inspector, resolve any correction items, and hand over the finalized permit record.
Questions about panel upgrades
How long is the power off?
For a typical residential service change, most of one working day. The exact interruption depends on how quickly the utility completes the reconnect after the inspection clears.
Do I need 200 amps?
Not automatically. Many Los Angeles homes are well served at 125 or 150 amps. Where electrification is planned, 200 amps is often the sensible target because the incremental cost at install time is much lower than a second upgrade later.
Can you add a subpanel instead?
Sometimes, yes. If the service has capacity but the panel is out of spaces, a subpanel is cheaper and less disruptive. That is exactly what the load calculation is for.
Will you have to open up walls?
A panel replacement in the same location usually does not require interior demolition. Relocating a panel, or extending short circuits to reach a new enclosure location, may require limited patching, which we identify in the scope beforehand.
What about aluminum branch wiring?
If the house has aluminum branch circuits, they need approved connectors or remediation at every termination. It is handled as part of the panel work, not ignored. See home rewiring.
Where we do this work
Available in West Adams, Mid-City, Culver City, Baldwin Hills and Crenshaw, Inglewood, and Palms and Mar Vista. See the full service area list.
Related services
Panel work commonly runs alongside branch circuit repairs and new dedicated circuits.
Thinking about a panel upgrade?
Call (213) 584-4180 to schedule a site visit and load calculation before anyone quotes you a number.