Home/Residential/Panel & Service Upgrades

Electrical Panel & Service Upgrades

The panel is the one piece of your electrical system everything else depends on. When it runs out of room — or turns out to be a brand nobody will insure — everything downstream stalls.

Get this handled

Book a visit with an arrival window, or call and talk it through with someone who knows the answer.

Book online (559) 264-3707

Two wall-mounted electrical panels, the upper one open with circuit breakers and wiring visible, the lower one closed.

When a panel upgrade is the real answer

You want an EV charger, a heat pump, or a hot tub and there is no room left
The panel is a Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) Stab-Lok, a Zinsco, or a Zinsco-design GTE-Sylvania. CPSC testing found FPE Stab-Lok breakers failed UL calibration requirements, and insurers increasingly ask about all three
You are on 100 amps and the house has grown past it
Breakers are double-tapped, the bus is scorched, or the cover will not sit flush
You are adding a shop, an ADU, or a second service

What the job actually involves

A service upgrade is not just swapping a box. It means pulling a permit, coordinating a disconnect and reconnect with PG&E, replacing the meter main and service entrance conductors, re-landing every circuit, driving new grounding electrodes, and passing inspection.

Expect the power to be off for most of a day. We schedule the utility ahead of time so you are not sitting in the dark waiting on someone else.

Capacity, not just replacement

Before we quote, we run a load calculation. There is no point paying for 200 amps if what you need is a sub-panel, and no point installing 200 amps if your plans for the property need 320. You get the calculation, not just the recommendation.

Questions we get

Frequently asked

How long does it take?

Most residential service upgrades are a one-day job, plus the inspection. The variable is PG&E scheduling, not us — we book that as early as possible and tell you the honest window.

Do I need a permit?

Yes, and you want one. An unpermitted service upgrade is a problem when you sell, refinance, or file a claim. We pull it and meet the inspector.

Can I finance it?

A panel upgrade is the biggest single electrical expense most homeowners ever face, and paying for it over time is often the difference between doing it now and doing it after something fails. Ask us where our financing partner stands — see the financing page.

Will my insurance require this?

If you have an FPE Stab-Lok, a Zinsco, or a Zinsco-design GTE-Sylvania panel, it is increasingly common for carriers to ask about it, and some require replacement. Check your policy — and if a carrier has already sent you a letter, bring it, it usually names a deadline.

Tell us what is going on.

Call and talk to someone, or pick a day and an arrival window online. Either way you get a real answer, not a callback promise.

(559) 264-3707 Book online