How To Replace a Main Panel or Sub Panel - Upgrading an Existing Electrical Service

Single-pole breakers:

Did this video save you some $$$? Send a tip!

In this video we discuss all of the essential things you should consider when upgrading or replacing and existing 240v main or sub panel. There are so many different things that you can encounter in a project like this so I highly recommend hiring an experienced licensed electrician.

0:00 - Main Panel Replacement Intro
1:20 - Choosing a New Panel & Reasons to Upgrade
2:30 - What is a Double Tapped Breaker
3:43 - What Size Main Breaker & Disconnect Requirements
6:52 - How Many Spaces Should my Panel Have?
7:20 - Cover Unused Knockout Openings In Panel
8:08 - Hire a Licensed Professional
8:30 - What Electrical Panel Should I Buy?
9:02 - Make Sure You Get a Plug On Neutral Panel
9:32 - Breaker Requirements for AFCI & GFCI
10:33 - Shared Neutrals Causing Arc Fault or Ground Fault Breakers to Trip
11:20 - Multi-wire Branch Circuits
18:32 - Materials & Supplies Needed
19:26 - DISCONNECT THE POWER
20:19 - Document Current Setup
21:13 - Pull Out All Connections
21:50 - Main Panel Placement Guidelines
23:19 - Bonded / Separated Neutrals
29:11 - Why You Should Use Grounding Bars
30:58 - How To Extend Existing Wires
31:46 - Compatibility Between Breakers & Wires
32:59 - Romex Cables & Connectors
34:58 - Installing Ground Wires
37:27 - Installing Neutral Wires
39:09 - Mark Wires With Appropriate Colors
40:08 - Installing Hot Wires
48:02 - Final Touches
50:58 - Add Cover & Fill Labels Inside Door
54:27 - Bonus Wisdom With Scott
56:00 - SUBSCRIBE!!!

Thanks for watching and subscribing! As an Amazon affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support!

Blessings,

Ben

[BodyRocker]

Very informative and well explained. I attended a trade school to learn electrical but had never found any electrician apprentice job opportunities. Now I just watch videos like yours.

[mcarroll]

Everyone has their own way of doing panel changes. I’ve been in the trade 25 years and I’ve found over the years when Romex wires are short I’ll take them back back to a 4-11/16 metal j box. Them I will take a piece of 3/4” greenfield to the panel and push multiple sets of stranded wire to the panel to extend circuits. That way you don’t have all the wire nuts in the panel and it dosent get packed on top of the panel with Romex wires.

[randycarter]

Another good reason to keep the neutrals and grounds on separate bus bars is the possibility of adding a standby generator. When you install the transfer switch your main-panel now becomes a sub-panel. Then all you have to do is remove the ground to neutral link.If you put the neutral and grounds on the same bus bar you have to rewire the panel.

[Daveallnight]

I ran in to a main panel recently installed by am "electrician" It was a Federal Pacific, and the guy had put in multiple double breakers and 12/3 & 14/3 wire. The trouble was in a Federal Pacific panel adjacent stabs could be on the same phase, I looked and every one of the doubles were on the same phase. I told the owner to call back the installer and have him fix it!

[aaronpinkham]

Yes, they enforce shared neutrals be on handle-tied breakers where I am. Exception for sewer lift pumps with alarms. We use 2 hots and 1 neutral so if the pump trips you don’t lose the alarms power.

Story time:

Doing a partial remodel on an office building while they were still in operation, I fried 5 computers in 10 seconds. 3 phase sharing neutrals; I, unbeknownst to me, took apart a neutral joint that was going to an in-use office. A lady stepped into the construction space and said “are you working on my office electricity?” I said no and went on working. Shortly, a maintenance guy walked in, look at my work and said “yea, he did” over his walkie-talkie…my stomach turned over. He said”we aren’t going to charge you because we didn’t disclose it, but everything in this building uses shared neutrals. You just burned up 5 computers. Don’t disconnect neutral joints during business hours anymore. Now you have been warned.” I felt about an inch tall

[georgerocchild]

Love your channel, love your simple and thorough explanations and your professionalism! Keep up the great work.

[stevesether]

I live in Minneapolis had my main panel replaced about 2 years ago. I called around, and had 2 bids. One guy quoted me something like $2500. Another quotes me $1000 + materials.

Of course I paid the $1000, with the agreement that I'd buy the panel, the breakers, and the grounding rods which are required to bring things up to code and have everyhingl ready for them.

So I'd say prices vary because electricians are just charging vastly different prices for the same work. They did a great job, everything passed inspection, they ran new grounds to my water main and drove in the newly required ground rods.

It looks like you were putting in a sub-panel in the same structure, so this isn't required. But you might have mentioned if you're replacing a main panel like I had done, you have to bring the panel up to code. For me, that meant putting in a ground wire that hooks directly to the incoming water pipe. Mine was connected a few feet away, which is no longer legal. You also have to put two ground rods connected to the main panel.

[IAmTheFuhrminator]

Amazing video! It was super informative and the layout/content of the video was well thought out.

This video also makes me feel a lot better about the cost of my panel replacement around a year ago - the house I bought had a 100A service into an old, 10-circuit glass fuse panel that was rusted with water damage. We paid $3100 to upgrade the service to 150A (so new drop, new feed cables, new meter) and upgraded to a 30 space, 60 circuit panel, but no plug on neutral unfortunately :(. The 4 guys that came out had the new panel in within 4.5 hours, which was a relief since we had a lot of stuff in the fridge with no easy way to plug it into a generator. 10/10 will hire them again!

Back in high school I got really into electrical work (my high school offered electrical wiring classes through our FFA and Ag program) and I spent some of my freshman/sophomore years in college taking some more electrical classes in case I didn't like engineering and wanted to become an electrician instead. Fast-forward 8 years and I really miss doing all of that electrical work (I still find time here and there to upgrade outlets or install a new bedroom light for a friend), and I have been trying to see how hard it would be to become an apprentice electrician even while working my full-time engineering job. Do you have any good estimates for how much time is required and what classes I would have to take to be a qualified apprentice electrician? I don't want to do this for extra money or anything, but mainly to feel more confident about some of the more complicated jobs I want to tackle in my own home, as well as do qualified work when an opportunity presents itself.

Thanks again for all of the amazing videos!

[Grassy]

I wired a couple multiwire branch circuits in my shop in my backyard. I pulled permits and had inspections, and they didn't say anything about my breakers and didn't require me to tie them together. Now that I understand this a little more, I'm going to tie them together and if I had to do all over again, I would just spend the money and run the extra wire and not share the neutral. I thought I was going to make things simpler wiring that way, but I don't know now.

[Censik]

I replaced mine couple of months ago, because old one started to spark where couple of breakers connect to lugs. Replaced with a new Square D QO. And guess what. It was recalled about a month ago due to fire hazard.... Thank you for your videos! They were very useful!

[joephillips]

Thanks for including most of the necessary information! I know it was a lot but there are a million videos already missing a ton of info

[dontblameme]

I had a 200A FPE panel very similar to the one in this video replaced with a new GE panel in Houston for $800. God bless Texas!

[LarsDennert]

This is the best description I've seen of pre-EGC to the first point of disconnect. Often bonding screws can't support neutral loads so putting neutrals on a ground bar isn't a good idea. Looks like the service lines come through that metal raceway. I wonder if that would suffice as a return path to the meter if it is continuous? I see old buildings with two prong outlets fed by BX/MC and metal boxes that are grounded.

[CaberFeidh]

House I bought to setup as a rental had 240 circuits built using double-stabbed (one even triple stabbed) into breakers on opposite rows of the panel. The panel was circa 1980's, oldest part of the building was 1890's. Double stabbed breakers, unassociated 240 lines to garage, and best of all tube and button wiring in the original attic still in use.

[panama-sxoh]

NICE VIDEO IM IN THE TRADE. THE TERMINATIONS OF WIRE COULD BE A LITTLE NEATER N LABELING THOSE WIRES WOULD BE EASIER FOR IDENTIFICATION OF CIRCUITS.

[ChrisSummers]

I hired an electrician to replace mine. My house was built in 1992 and had Federal Pacific breakers, thankfully none had failed in all the years they were installed. I went with GE . Only problem we had was the electrician pulled the permit and scheduled the power company to come pull the meter during the work but they never showed up. He ended up pulling the meter so he could work, the power company guys didn't show up until 4 in the afternoon when he was done so they just reinstalled the meter to connect the power.

[JCWise-sfww]

Ben, in this video you answered a question I had and learned something new about "multi-wire branch circuits" and are they kosher. In the house we just bought last year, I found two separate 120v 15amp circuits wired up with a 14 gauge 3 conductor (with ground) cable that are sharing a common in the added subpanel. I believe the two circuits feed lights. Appears the inspector did not catch this or overlooked it. I believe this does not meet code, because the side by side breaker's handles are not coupled together. Now I know what to do about the situation, ether couple the two single breaker handles or install a double pole 15 amp. Your videos are very good and informative, keep up the excellent work.

[petercampbell]

The talk about the EGC is really good. Some don't get this.

[inspector]

Different colors were required on the hots in my jurisdiction so that the legs could be identified both at the panel as well as at the meter. I believe it’s to ensure load balance throughout all panels.

[codyhamilton]

Benjamin you are GOD-gifted awesome video as