Electricity is an essential home utility that allows Daytona residents to run lights, appliances, and other electronics on demand. Your electrical panel, which is a circuit breaker panel or fuse box, connects the main power line from the utility grid to distribute electricity to the different circuits and outlets in your home. This service panel is one of the primary components of your electrical system. Different types of electrical panels fulfill different needs, so it’s important to know which one will work best in your house. The kind of electrical panel you should install will depend on the number of circuits in your home, the appliances you have, and how much electricity you use on a regular basis. We’ll discuss how to determine which service panel you’ll need when you’re making changes to your home’s electrical system in Daytona.
Electrical Panel Amperages and Sizes
In Daytona, residential electrical panels are rated to safely distribute a specific amount of power, measured in amps, to the circuits in your home. The panel’s size determines how many 120-volt and 240-volt circuits it can accommodate.
When you’re choosing a new electrical panel for your Daytona home, you need to make sure that it’s sized correctly. Before you buy a new panel, hire a licensed electrician to thoroughly inspect your electrical system and determine its maximum load. Depending on your energy needs, you may need to replace your panel and upgrade your electrical system to accommodate the power draw of your appliances.
Manufacturers offer electrical panels in several sizes that correspond to different amperages. Installing an electrical panel with sufficient amperage is key to preventing problems like overheating wires and tripped circuit breakers. Using the wrong panel can create a safety hazard and possibly start a fire.
Common Residential Electrical Panel Sizes
Many older homes in Daytona have 60-amp electrical panels, which rarely provide enough electricity to power modern homes. The NEC (National Electric Code) requires new and replacement service panels to be rated for at least 100 amps, which is enough to run a few 240-volt appliances in smaller homes. Most 100-amp panels contain 20 total circuit breakers, but some include as many as 42 circuits, the greatest number of circuits the NEC allows for that panel size.
Common panel sizes include 60-, 100-, 125-, 150-, 200-, and 220-amp panels. Houses that use central air conditioners or heat pumps are likely to need a higher-amperage panel. Today, most Daytona homes have 150- or 200-amp electrical panels installed, and large homes or homes with EV charging stations may have even larger panels rated at up to 400 amps.
How to Determine Which Electric Service Panel You Need
Before you start looking for a new electrical panel, check the size of the service box that’s currently installed in your home. If your existing panel is new enough, large enough, and in good shape, your electrician may be able to add new loads or breakers to it without replacing the whole box. Make note of the panel’s characteristics as follows:
Determine the Panel’s Amperage
When it comes to determining your electrical panel’s amperage, there are usually a few ways to do it. In many cases, the panel’s amperage is printed on its main breaker. You can also look for a manufacturer’s or inspector’s label that displays the panel’s amperage rating.
Determine the Panel’s Carrying Capacity, or “Ampacity”
You can discover what kind of electrical panel you need by calculating your home’s amperage-carrying capacity and determining if it meets your needs. When you buy a replacement panel, you can match the amperage capacity of your existing model or upgrade your panel and electrical system if your power needs increase. This means that if your home uses 200 amps of electricity, the panel should be rated to handle 200 or more amps.
Assess Your Circuit Breakers
Your electrician can help you determine which kinds of circuit breakers you need in your electrical system and how many you need to power your home safely. Single-pole circuit breakers rated at 15 to 20 amps typically power lighting and outlets. Double-pole circuit breakers rated at 20 to 60 amps are frequently used to power large appliances like water heaters.
Calculate the Total Load on All Circuits
The best way to find out the size of the electrical service panel your house needs is to hire a licensed electrician to calculate its maximum load, or the total amount of electricity you might use, but you can make some estimates yourself. Circuit breakers operate at 20% below their total capacity, which means that 20-amp circuit breakers should operate using 16 amps. If you locate the load for each appliance, which is usually printed on a sticker, you can add the loads together to find out the maximum amount of electricity you might be using at a given time. Then, identify and add up the operating capacity of all your circuit breakers and compare the two figures. If the total load drawn by your appliances exceeds the operating capacity of the breakers, you may need a new panel.
Check Your Electric Meter
If you’re still having trouble finding out how much electricity your panel can handle, check the electric meter outside your home to see if it has an amperage rating printed on a label or on its face. If it says “CL200,” it can handle a maximum of 200 amps. This value probably matches the amperage rating for your service box, but an electrician should check the panel to be sure.
How to Decide If You Need to Switch Out Your Electrical Panel
Once a year, you should hire an electrician to inspect your electrical panel. If they find any problems, they should replace it right away to mitigate hazards and keep your electrical system safe. You should also contact a licensed electrician immediately if:
- Your panel is warm to the touch.
- Your panel or wiring makes a buzzing sound.
- Your panel has rust, corrosion, or burn marks.
- Your circuit breakers trip frequently.
- Your lights flicker.
- Your outlets spark or feel warm.
If you’re renovating or adding on to your Daytona home, or if you’re installing large appliances like a new air conditioner, EV charging station, or home theater system, you may need to replace your service panel. Have your electrician assess your current electrical system, including the panel, to ensure it provides enough amperage. If your home has several circuits, your existing panel may be maxed out, which means there won’t be space to add more circuits. In a situation like this, your electrician may need to upgrade your system to include a higher-amperage panel.
Let Mister Sparky Find the Best Electrical Service Panel for Your Needs
When you need to assess, replace, or upgrade your electrical panel, Mister Sparky has you covered. We offer professional electrical inspections, installations, and repairs to all of our Daytona customers. To schedule an appointment with our licensed electricians, call our team today.