Electrical Service Panel Ratings

Any electrical repair in your home involves turning off the power to the circuit you ll be working on and you do this at the main electrical service panel you may know the service panel as the breaker box while in the trade it s officially called a load center the main service panel is like the switchboard for all the electricity in the home.

Electrical service panel ratings. The main breaker will usually be the. While it s always advisable to work with a licensed contractor or tradesperson from a reputable company like conductive electrical contracting it s important to understand what your needs are. Most homes have an electrical service of between 100 to 200 amps. The main electrical service delivered to your house from the electrical utility company has a total available capacity measured in amps or amperes.

Unless you ve worked in and around trades you likely don t know much about residential electrical work or electrical panels. Look at the amperage rating on your main breaker or fuse which may or may not be located in your electrical service panel with your other breakers or fuses. While 100 amps to 150 amps are generally suitable for most homes electrical panels are also available in 200 and 400 amp units. Actual dimensions of an electric panel are not a reliable determinant of ampacity.

To decode a serial number to find the age of an electrical panel see electrical panel age. This provides you with a better understanding of the subject matter.