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Befriend Your Electrical Panel

Befriend Your Electrical Panel

Summary: To electrify your home, you need to be sure your electrical panel is up to the task.

Description

Electrifying everything in your home means you will be using more electricity. Before adding heat pumps, a heat pump water heater, or buying an electric vehicle (EV), you’ll need to understand your current electrical service. 

 

Depending on what you learn, you may either need to upgrade the electrical service to your house, or replace or expand your current electrical panel. There are also ways to expand existing panels and/or split breakers to reduce the need to upgrade electrical service or panel. 

 

Electricity is complicated, but it’s important to gain a solid understanding of your electrical panel, by asking questions like:

 

 

You can explore the answers to these questions, and begin learning more about your electrical panel in our Deep Dive. Our Energy Navigators can help answer additional questions you might have, including helping you to understand the available rebates, tax credits, and financing options, and finding local contractors. 

Deep Dive

Your electrical panel is the foundation to electrifying your home. Many older homes don’t have the electrical infrastructure to support complete electrification, which can be a hurdle to transitioning your home. By learning a little more about your electrical panel, you can make your energy journey smoother and cheaper from the start. 

Before talking to an electrician about rewiring your home for electrification, it is helpful to create a plan of electrification projects you hope to complete so that you know your specific electrical needs. It also helps to acquaint yourself with the terminology used in electrical projects. 

This guide from Rewiring America is a good place to start.

What are Watts, Volts, and Amps?

Watts measure power. They’re the rate at which energy is consumed or generated. 

Volts measure voltage, which is the pressure that pushes electrons through the conductor or circuit. 

Amps measure the current. They describe the speed of electrons through a circuit or conductor.

Amps and Volts combine to create Watts, so Amps x Volts = Watts. 

Still confused? Read this explainer or watch this video. 

Is my panel ready for electrification?

If you have an electrical panel that is 150 Amps or higher, you can probably electrify everything in your home without needing to upgrade your panel (charging a car can be a different matter). If your panel is 100-150 Amps, you may be able to get away without upgrading it. Experts agree that a panel of less than 100 Amps won’t be enough to support a fully electric home.

If you can’t electrify on your current panel, you may need an electrical service upgrade in addition to a new panel. During the upgrade, an electrician will replace the wires that run from your electric meter to the utility pole, install a new panel, and rewire your circuits. 

Electrical service upgrades are expensive, and depending on what kinds of issues the electrician runs into, they may end up taking months to complete. Additionally, upgrading your electrical panel may increase strain on the grid, which is why it can be a good idea to avoid an electric service upgrade if possible.

Read this article to hear more about the pros and cons of upgrading your electrical panel.

How do I determine my panel size?

Locate your main electrical panel, which is located near your electric meter. It may be outside, in the basement, or in a closet on the other side of the meter. Make sure you’re looking at your main panel, not a sub-panel. 

Look for the main breaker, which is the largest switch on the panel. The capacity of the panel should be written on or next to that switch. It could be labeled “Main” or “Service Disconnect”. 

You can also find it written on a label on the electrical panel or on the electric meter. 

What are smart panels?

Smart panels manage the flow of electricity in your home and allow individual currents to be turned on or off so that a home’s electrical demand isn’t too high. Many smart panels include an app or remote that allows you to track your electricity usage and toggle on and off individual circuits. They can make it easy to quickly reduce your utility bills, by minimizing unnecessary electricity consumption. 

Some smart panels entirely replace your existing breaker box, whereas others can attach to a traditional breaker box and manage the flow that way. The latter are less expensive and probably make more sense if you don’t need to upgrade your existing panel. 

Not only are smart panels useful for individual homes, but they can help reduce the electrical load on the grid. If you have a time-of-use plan with your utility, you can use your smart panel to help you avoid pulling electricity from the grid during surge pricing times.

Read more about smart panels and how they relate to the grid here.

Can I pre-wire my home if I plan to buy new appliances over the next several years?

Yes, and it’s smart to do so. Whether you’re building a new home or preparing your current home for future electrification, pre-wiring is a great step to take towards a more efficient future. Hiring an electrician for several projects at once is usually cheaper than hiring them for several smaller projects. Pre-wiring can also help you make changes more quickly in case of an emergency. Say your heater dies and you want to switch to a heat pump, but can’t wait weeks for your home to be rewired; pre-wiring your home would allow you to quickly switch to the electric alternative. 

However, re-wiring piece by piece can spread out expenses, and allow you to be more intentional about which appliances and technologies that you want choose. 

Read more about pre-wiring here. 

Sources referenced: 

Steps to Take

If you need to replace or augment your existing electrical panel, or upgrade your electrical service, you’ll want to work with a professional electrician. 

 

Here are the steps to take:

  1. Develop a full home energy plan that allows you to understand just how much energy you will need for heat pumps, EVs, and other electrical appliances. 

  2. Understand your current peak electrical usage, and which equipment is likely using the most power. Your power company can provide this information. 

  3. Understand your current electrical panel and electrical service. Newer homes are not likely to not need major electrical work to support electrification.

  4. Understand the rebates and incentives available for electrical work required as part of an electrification project.

  5. Find electricians to give you quotes for upgrades if they are necessary. 

  6. Upgrade your electrical panel. Save your receipts for taxes. And take a picture of your old system as evidence that you actually did the project. 

  7. Share your experience. It’s a great way to let others know they aren’t alone, and can motivate us all to electrify! (You’ll need to create an account on the Energy Navigators website to do so).

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