Service
Electrical panel replacement and upgrades
Your panel decides how much your home can safely run. When it’s old, full, or failing, we replace it with a properly sized panel, labeled circuit by circuit, permitted and inspected.
- 5.0 on Google
- Licensed, Bonded & Insured
- WA Lic. WESTPEL745M7
Signs a panel needs replacing
- Breakers trip often, or won’t stay reset.
- The panel is warm, buzzes, or shows rust or scorch marks.
- The house still has a fuse box.
- The panel is full and you’re adding a heat pump, hot tub, or range.
- It’s a brand with a known breaker problem, such as Federal Pacific or Zinsco.
- A home inspector or insurer flagged it.
What a panel replacement includes
A panel swap is more than new breakers. Done right, it leaves you with a service that matches how the house is used and a panel anyone can read.
- A load check, so the service size matches what the house runs now and what you plan to add
- A new panel and breakers, with AFCI and GFCI protection where code requires it
- Every circuit identified and labeled
- The electrical permit, the shutoff with your utility, and the inspection
Replacement, service upgrade, or subpanel?
These three get mixed up, and they solve different problems. Plenty of homes that seem to be out of power are only out of breaker spaces.
- Panel replacement: a new panel on your existing service. It deals with an old, damaged, or problem-brand panel, and usually gives you more breaker spaces.
- Service upgrade: a larger service, commonly 100 amps to 200. That means a new panel and usually a new meter base, service conductors, and grounding, coordinated with the utility.
- Subpanel: a second panel fed from the first. It adds breaker spaces for a shop, an addition, or a garage. It doesn’t add capacity.
Panels with known problems
Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco panels went into many homes from the 1950s into the 1980s. Their breakers have a documented history of failing to trip under overload, which is the one thing a breaker is there to do.
Fuse boxes and 60-amp services are a different issue. They were sized for a house with far fewer electrical loads than a house carries now.
Permit, utility shutoff, and inspection
A panel replacement needs an electrical permit. Inside Vancouver city limits, the City of Vancouver issues it and inspects the work. Everywhere else in Clark and Cowlitz County, it’s Washington L&I.
Clark Public Utilities disconnects and reconnects the service for panel work. It asks for the permit number and two business days’ notice, and doesn’t charge for the disconnect and reconnect. A service upgrade can also involve the utility’s side of the meter, and sometimes a system development fee. We find that out before you commit.
Process
How the job goes
Look at the service
We check the existing panel, meter, and grounding, and ask what you plan to add in the next few years.
Estimate and permit
You get a clear scope and price. Once you approve it, we pull the permit and set a date.
Replacement day
Power is off for part of the day while the old panel comes out and the new one goes in.
Inspection and labels
The work is inspected, and you’re left with a panel that’s labeled circuit by circuit.
What affects the cost of a panel job
Two panel jobs can look alike from the hallway and be very different behind the cover. These are the things that move the price.
- A same-size replacement or a larger service
- Overhead or underground service, and whether the meter base has to change
- Grounding and bonding that have to be brought up to current code
- The number of circuits, and their condition once the old panel is open
- Permit fees and any work on the utility’s side
Do we cover your address?
Our service area page lists every community we work in.
From a customer
… he replaced my circuit breaker box for me because it was so old I was actually concerned about the safety of it. I haven’t had a problem since.
Questions
Things people ask us.
Does WestPeak Electric do electrical panel replacements and service upgrades?
Yes. WestPeak Electric is a licensed electrical contractor (Washington license WESTPEL745M7). We do electrical panel replacements and service upgrades throughout our service area. Call or text 360-521-6913, Monday to Friday, 7 AM to 5 PM.
Do I need a permit to replace an electrical panel in Washington?
Yes. A panel replacement needs an electrical permit and an inspection. In most of Clark and Cowlitz County that goes through Washington L&I. Inside Vancouver city limits it goes through the City of Vancouver. We pull the permit and meet the inspector.
How long will the power be off?
For a straightforward replacement, plan on most of a working day. We’ll give you a tighter window once we’ve seen the panel and know what the utility needs to do.
Should I upgrade to 200 amps?
Not always. Many homes are fine on their existing service with a new panel. If you’re adding large electric loads such as a heat pump, a hot tub, or an electric range, a larger service can make sense. We look at the load and tell you which way the numbers point.
Can you add a generator connection at the same time?
Yes. A panel replacement is a good time to add a generator inlet and interlock, because the panel is already open and the permit is already in hand.
What is the difference between a panel replacement and a service upgrade?
A panel replacement puts a new panel on your existing service, at the same amperage. A service upgrade increases the amperage, commonly from 100 to 200 amps, and usually means a new meter base, service conductors, and grounding as well as the panel. A load calculation shows which one the house needs.
Are Federal Pacific and Zinsco panels really a problem?
Their breakers have a documented history of failing to trip when a circuit is overloaded or shorted. A breaker that doesn’t trip can’t protect the wire it feeds. That is why home inspectors and insurers flag these panels, and why replacement is the usual recommendation.
Who shuts the power off for a panel replacement?
The utility. For most of our customers that is Clark Public Utilities, and for the rest it is Cowlitz PUD. It disconnects and reconnects the service once there is an electrical permit. We schedule it, so the outage is limited to the day of the work.
Related
Related services
Request an estimate
Have an electrical project coming up?
Tell us what’s going on. We’ll ask the right questions, look at the job if it needs it, and give you a clear scope and price.
- 5.0 on Google
- Licensed, Bonded & Insured
- WA Lic. WESTPEL745M7