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Re: OT: 200 amp electric upgrade Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Thu, 23 Dec 2004 17:04:46
In Reply to: OT: 200 amp electric upgrade, NYSaab, Thu, 23 Dec 2004 16:06:53 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Have an electrician do an estimate of your electrical current needs. The size of the panel isn't just the sum of the breakers in the panel - you shouldn't be pulling full current on all circuits at the same time. And remember, a 200 amp panel is 200 amps PER LEG - a total of 400 amps at 115 volts. The central AC is most probably 220, so that uses current from both legs. Other big current draws are electric dryer, electric stove, and blower motors for forced air.
But you've also probably got a bunch of circuits, like bedroom or bathroom, that are 15 amps and driving nothing more than a few lights. So get an electrician to estimate it.
If the panel is full, that's not necessarily a problem, not unless you plan on adding more circuits. And if you do, in some panels you can go to half-height breakers, where you can replace one breaker with two. Not recommended for adding a lot of circuits, but if you only need to add one or two, a cheap alternative.
Yet another alternative is to have a sub-panel put in if 150 amps is enough.
the 150 amps relates to the size of the wire coming in, and the size of the panel. Both count. If you have plenty of current, but not enough room in the panel because you've got a lot of lightly-loaded circuits, you can go to a bigger panel. That would be a decent amount of labor, but no disturbing of the in-wire. Probably about $1200 or so, just a very wild guess.\
As to making the drop wire from the pole bigger, a lot depends on the run. Wire ain't cheap, so the longer the run, the more wire needed. Labor is about the same.
In CT, I'd figure $1600-$2000 for an upgrade.
posted by 12.76.129...
, Thu, 23 Dec 2004 17:04:46 <-- Viewing This Message
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