What are the warning signs of an outdated panel?
The big ones are fuses, heat, noise, damage and a full panel. Watch for:
- Fuses instead of breakers
- Breakers that trip often, or won't stay on
- Lights that dim hard or flicker often, not just a quick blink when the AC starts
- A panel that feels hot, buzzes, crackles or smells like burning
- Rust, water stains or scorch marks on the panel or breakers
- No open spaces left for new circuits
- Extension cords and power strips standing in for missing outlets
Most of these are worth having checked soon. Heat or a burning smell is a 911 call.
A healthy panel is boring. You should be able to forget it's there.
What can I check on my own panel?
The label, the main breaker and any open spaces, all from the front with the door open. Do it only if the panel is dry and nothing smells, sounds or looks wrong.
- The label. Usually inside the door, with the maker and model. Snap a photo. If you text us, send that first.
- The main breaker. Often at the top and marked MAIN, with its amp rating on the handle. That number hints at your service size. Some panels have no single main, and some newer homes have the main shutoff outside by the meter. If you can't find one, don't guess from the biggest breaker.
- Open spaces. A spot with no breaker, usually closed off with a blank plate, is room for another one. Whether the panel can carry the load is a separate question.
Anything behind the metal cover is a licensed electrician's job.
How old is too old for an electrical panel?
There's no hard age limit, but a panel that's decades old and never updated is worth an electrician's look. Breakers wear out, and connections loosen and corrode.
Some older panel lines have a reputation for breakers that may not trip when they should. Home inspectors commonly flag Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) Stab-Lok and Zinsco (later Sylvania-Zinsco) panels, among others. Neither line was recalled. The Consumer Product Safety Commission closed its FPE investigation in 1983 without ruling on safety. Its own testing did find the breakers failed certain UL calibration tests.
If your label names one of those, have an electrician look even if it seems fine. You can't tell from the front whether a breaker will trip.
Is my panel big enough for my house?
It is if it carries what you run now, with room for what you'll add. Around here the AC is a big summer load, and anything new stacks on top of it.
An electrician can estimate the most your house is likely to draw at once, using the electrical code's method (a load calculation).
A note on water heaters: a whole-house electric tankless water heater can need several large circuits, where an electric tank usually needs one. The biggest ones need more service than many 200-amp homes have, so check before you choose between tank and tankless.
A smaller house with gas heat and a gas water heater can get along on 100 amps. If the load calculation says you're fine, we'd rather you hear that than pay for an upgrade you don't need.
What's the difference between a panel upgrade and a service upgrade?
A panel upgrade replaces the box and the breakers. A service upgrade raises how much power the house can draw from the utility. They often happen together.
A service upgrade usually means larger wires from the utility and a new socket for the meter on the outside wall (the meter base). Where newer code is enforced, including Nashville, it usually adds an outdoor shutoff near the meter too. The power company has to be part of it, since it owns the meter.
If the panel is worn out or a problem brand but the house has enough power, a same-size panel replacement makes sense.
What does a panel replacement involve?
It usually means a permit, a planned power shutoff, the new panel and an inspection. Plan the day around the outage.
Each circuit moves to the new panel and gets labeled. Some may need added protection, like breakers that trip on a shock hazard (GFCI) or on sparking in a damaged wire (AFCI). Tennessee's statewide code and Nashville's differ, so the electrician and inspector will tell you what applies. Depending on where you live, your city, your county or the Tennessee State Fire Marshal's Office handles the permit and inspection.
Don't try this one yourself. The main breaker shuts off the circuits, but the wires feeding it from the meter stay live.
Should I upgrade before adding an EV charger or a heat pump?
Not always, but find out before you buy the equipment. A load calculation shows which way it goes:
- The panel takes the new circuit as it is.
- The house needs a bigger service.
- A load management device shares capacity, say by pausing the charger while the dryer runs, if local code and your inspector allow it.
Doing any panel work with the install means one project, one planned shutoff and fewer trips for the inspector. Here's what a home EV charger install involves.