Most people start thinking about panel replacement when they add something big, like a heat pump or EV charger, or when an inspector flags an old panel during a home sale. If your panel is original to a house built decades ago, have a licensed electrician look at it before the next project. See signs you need a panel upgrade.
What changes when a panel is replaced
The panel is a metal enclosure with a main breaker, bus bars and slots for branch breakers. In a replacement, the electrician disconnects power (usually with the utility pulling the meter), removes the old interior and installs a new panel sized for the home's load. Existing circuits are landed on new breakers.
A 200 amp panel upgrade may also mean new service entrance conductors, a new meter base, and upgraded grounding electrodes and bonding. Newer panels also leave room for AFCI and GFCI breakers and whole-home surge protection.
Situations that usually call for more capacity
- You're adding central air, a heat pump, an electric range or a second HVAC unit and the load calculation comes up short.
- An EV charger is on the list and there's no room or capacity left in the existing panel.
- The house has 60 or 100 amp service and you're out of breaker spaces.
- A home inspector or insurance company flagged the panel brand or its condition.
- You're finishing a basement, building an addition or adding a detached shop.
Clues the panel itself is the problem
- Breakers that trip often, feel hot or won't stay reset.
- A Federal Pacific (Stab-Lok) or Zinsco panel, both known for breakers that may fail to trip.
- Rust, water stains or corrosion inside the panel or on the cover.
- Tandem breakers crammed in everywhere, or extension cords doing the job of missing circuits.
- A burning smell, scorch marks or buzzing coming from the panel.
How the work typically unfolds
Before anything is replaced, a good electrician runs a load calculation based on your home's size, appliances and planned additions. That number decides whether the service needs to go up. Most jurisdictions require a permit and inspection, and the utility has to disconnect and reconnect service. On install day, power is usually off for several hours.
- Load calculation for current and planned appliances
- Condition and size of the service entrance conductors and meter base
- Grounding electrodes, bonding of metal water and gas piping, and neutral-ground separation
- Every branch circuit for proper wire size, double-tapped breakers and signs of overheating
- Where AFCI and GFCI protection is required when circuits are moved
Safety first. Don't remove the panel cover yourself. Even with the main breaker off, the lugs where the utility conductors land are still live, and there's no way to shut them off from inside the house. If you smell burning or see scorching at the panel, keep people away and call right away. Noting which breakers trip, and when, is safe and helpful.
How it usually works
Call and describe the project
Call the number on this page to connect with a local electrician, and mention the age of the house and what you're planning to add.
On-site look and load calculation
The electrician inspects the panel, meter base and grounding, then works out what size service the house really needs.
Permit and utility coordination
The contractor typically pulls the permit and arranges the disconnect and reconnect with your electric utility.
Install and inspection
The new panel goes in, circuits are labeled, and a local inspector signs off before the job is closed out.
In Murfreesboro and Middle Tennessee homes
Murfreesboro's housing runs from older homes near the courthouse square to the many subdivisions built as the city grew, and panel needs split the same way. Older houses often still have 100 amp service that was fine before central air and electric everything. Newer homes usually have 200 amps but can run short once a heat pump, an EV charger and a hot tub all share the same service. Long Middle Tennessee summers keep AC loads high, so a real load calculation beats a rule of thumb. For budgeting, see panel upgrade cost factors in Tennessee.
Related electrical problems
Seeing one of these at home? Each guide explains likely causes and what's safe to check before you call about electrical panel upgrade.