If your home's electrical service panel (breaker box) is full and you need more room to add new circuits, installing a subpanel might be the way to go. Subpanels certainly can add convenience and plenty of room for installing new circuits, but your current system must have enough capacity to support a subpanel.
How much does it cost to add a subpanel?
This make it convenient to work inside your sub-panel box after it is installed without the risk of getting shocked! What will it cost to install a sub-panel? I spend between on average $400.00 to $550.00 to get this job completed.
Is your home in need of a subpanel?
There are plenty of reasons to install a sub-panel in your home, and if you’re remodeling or finishing your basement, you’ll certainly need a dedicated sub-panel to route your basement’s power safely and reliably. With many remodeling projects, you’ll often upgrade lighting and appliances, which may require additional circuits in your breaker.
What size wire do you need for a sub panel?
You need 10-gauge, three-conductor cable to wire a 30-amp subpanel. This cable has two hot wires (usually colored red and black), a white neutral wire and a ground wire, which is usually bare but could be green. It carries electricity at 240 volts, so you must treat it differently than regular 120-volt electric cable.
How to install an electric sub panel?
Part 1 Part 1 of 3: Choosing the Right Subpanel and Location
- Consult with an inspector so you don’t overload your system. ...
- Purchase a subpanel with all of the connections. When you’re choosing a subpanel to install, get one that has all of the connectors, cables, and breakers that you need ...
- Place a subpanel near the main panel to add additional circuits. ...
- Install a subpanel to power an additional room. ...
When should you add a subpanel?
When all the breaker slots in the main service panel are full and cannot accept any more circuits, a subpanel can be an ideal way to add additional circuits. By running a single 60-amp breaker to a subpanel, for example, you can then divide those 60-amps into several smaller circuits.
Is a subpanel necessary?
At least every home contains a main service panel. But smaller panels known as subpanels are also as important. Subpanels allow for adding additional circuits for new electrical appliances, additions, or anywhere you need to run new circuits.
What is the point of a subpanel?
A common reason for installing an electrical subpanel is to separate the electrical functions of one area from another area. When a house is split up as a duplex or if there is an accessory dwelling area on the property, it is beneficial to keep those circuits separate from the circuit that feeds into it.
What is the average cost to install a subpanel?
between $400 and $1,750The average cost of installing a subpanel is between $400 and $1,750, depending on the amperage and number of circuits installed. Typically subpanels have 4 to 20 or more circuits and between 100 and 150 amps.
Does a subpanel need its own main breaker?
The subpanel may be equipped with a main breaker to allow for power interruption without having to go back to the main panel, but it is not required to have a main shutoff circuit breaker, since the feeder breaker back in the main panel serves this function.
Do I need a subpanel in my garage?
In fact, a small breaker box for a garage or a large one is always understood as a subpanel in most cases. Subpanels are the recommended choice because they take the hassle out of accounting for voltage drops, though not entirely.
How big of a sub panel can I install off a 100 amp service?
However, NEC prohibits more than 42 circuits, so you can only choose between 20-42 breakers for a 100-amp panel. Breakers or circuit breakers act as a switch for cutting off power from the main electrical supply.
What size breaker do I need for a sub panel?
Based on your question, since you will be having a subpanel, you want the breaker feeding the subpanel to be sized for the subpanel or slightly smaller. So if you purchase and install a 200A subpanel, then the breaker should be 200A. If you use a 125A subpanel, then use a 125A breaker.
How many wires can be in a subpanel?
The main panel is directly connected to the feeder cables (from the energy meter and distribution transformer mounted on the utility pole). In residential applications, three wires (i.e. Black as Hot 1, Red as Hot 2 and White as Neutral) enters the main panel to provide 120V and 240V single phase supply voltage.
Can I install a subpanel myself?
With a new larger (sub)panel, you can do that easily. If the existing cables won't quite reach, you can splice them inside the existing panel, with that panel eventually becoming a large junction box when the the subpanel becomes your main panel.
Is 100 amps enough for a house?
Most homes require an electrical service of at least 100 amps. This is also the minimum panel amperage required by the National Electrical Code (NEC). A 100-amp service panel will typically provide enough power for a medium-sized home that includes several 240-volt appliances and central air-conditioning.
Is 60 amps enough for a house?
Most homes today have a 100 or 200 amp service. But some still have only a 60 amp service. Sixty amps may not be enough to service a home with an electric stove, oven, clothes dryer, air conditioner, and so on. But some homes operate just fine on 60 amps.
Does a subpanel in a detached garage need a ground rod?
The detached structure is required to have its own Grounding Electrode System (GES) i.e. ground rods. The subpanel in the detached structure will have its grounds and neutrals separated.
Can you use a main breaker panel as a subpanel?
There's no problem with having a main breaker in a subpanel. It's required if your panel is in a separate building and has more than six breakers, but there's nothing prohibiting it in any other case.
How big of a sub panel can I install off a 100 amp service?
However, NEC prohibits more than 42 circuits, so you can only choose between 20-42 breakers for a 100-amp panel. Breakers or circuit breakers act as a switch for cutting off power from the main electrical supply.
What is the difference between a main panel and a sub panel?
The main panel is directly connected to the point of entrance to a building, and all sub-panels feed off that connection. However, the sub-panel provides a useful methodology for installing outlets that help you organize your electrical system into something more manageable.
Top Reasons for Installing a Sub-Panel
1. Adding a Suite, Outbuilding or an Addition we will usually recommend installing a sub-panel to serve the new location. This way the new electrical system can be kept separate. By code, the electrical circuits for power in a suite must be accessible from within the suite or in a common area accessible to all who live in the building.
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What is a Main Electrical Panel
The main electrical panel is made up of many different breaker switches. This is where the electricity from your city comes into your home and is dispersed throughout the house to power your fixtures and appliances. This is arguably the single more important electrical fixture in your home. All other panels in your home are called sub panels.
Difference Between Sub Panels & Main Panels
If you have a subpanel in your home, it is because you needed to get power to another area in the home and didn’t have space in your main electrical panel to do it. They look a lot like the main panel and do the same thing to protect your home from power surges.
Install a Subpanel or a Bigger Main Panel?
If you have run out of space in your main electrical panel, you may consider having a subpanel installed in your home. Some homeowners decide to have a larger main panel put in rather than a sub panel. Many homeowners choose to simply have a sub panel put in because it can be easier than replacing the main panel all together.
Electrical Wiring, Fixture Installations & More in Delray Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter & Boca Raton & Palm Beach County, Florida
When you are getting to the point that your electrical panel is full and need space for more fixtures in your home, you should always avoid doing this on your own without the help of the certified electricians at Simon Electric.
Where should my sub-panel be located?
Normal placement of your new sub-panel will be down in the basement directly beside the existing electric panel. This just makes sense because you connecting the sub-panel directly into the existing panel. And, the shorter distance between the two panel means a cheaper installation!
How much does it cost to install a subpanel in a basement?
I spend between on average $400.00 to $550.00 to get this job completed. That includes the labor and all of the materials to install 1 complete sub-panel in the basement, work completed by an outside electric subcontractor.
What if my panel box in not located in my basement?
If your panel box is not in the basement and let’s say it is in your garage (typical in some homes) the new sub panel will still be installed in the basement. The electrician will just have to run the “Main” electric line from the garage down into the basement to the new sub panel location. This costs a little more because the materials cost more and there is a few more hours of labor to get-er-done. This add about $150 to $200.00 to the sub-panel project. But this way your new sub-panel is downstairs. This makes it easier for you to run all of your new “home-run” wires for outlets, lighting, heating, etc to the new panel box, instead of having to run them all the way out to the garage! This is less expensive and faster for you to get your end of the electric finished.
What is a Sub-panel box anyways?
A sub-panel in simple terms is just an “extension” of your homes existing main panel box. The sub-panel simply is another box that receives all it’s power fro the main panel box, and it gives you additional breakers to use for your home…period. Generally there is space for between 6 to 12 additional breaker for your home inside the sub-panel box. Most sub-panels have no “Main Breaker” inside them because the breaker that shut’s the sub-panel off is normally installed inside your existing panel box. It is controlled usually by a 100 amp “Breaker” that is added inside your homes existing panel box during the sub-panel project. So…you can turn off the power to the basement sub-panel anytime by simply turning the 100 amp breaker “off” inside the main panel box. This make it convenient to work inside your sub-panel box after it is installed without the risk of getting shocked!
How many breaker spaces are there in a basement?
That’s a total of 7 breaker spaces on average that you will need available inside your panel box to handle the new basements electric needs. So all you need to do is open up your panel box and count the unused breaker spaces inside. If you got 7 or more your golden, if not…it could mean SUB PANEL TIME!
What is a sub panel?
A sub-panel in simple terms is just an “extension” of your homes existing main panel box. The sub-panel simply is another box that receives all it’s power fro the main panel box, and it gives you additional breakers to use for your home…period. Generally there is space for between 6 to 12 additional breaker for your home inside the sub-panel box.
How many amps does a new home have?
Most newer homes have the breaker box capacity to handle the new finished basements electric needs. Newer homes have a 200 Amp service and modern larger Panel box with extra breaker space inside.
