Should you amp it up?
What happens when the electrical service in your house can’t keep up with your needs? Well, you’ll start running into problems with tripped breakers and even permanent electrical damage. The best solution to this problem is an amp service upgrade. A 300-amp service can easily handle everything from an electric vehicle to a heated swimming pool—but not every home requires this much power. Keep reading to find out if this upgrade is right for you.
Amps, designated by “A,” refer to how much current your electrical components can handle. While volts measure the force of the current, amps focus on how big the pipeline is to let that current through. Think of it like a measurement for the bandwidth of your wiring, switches, appliances, breakers, and so on.
Your total amperage has to be large enough to power all the electrical needs of your house, including appliances that may run at the same time. Most United States homes have either a 100-amp or 200-amp service and would need to be specifically upgraded to handle 300-amp.
If you aren’t sure what amp service you currently have, there are a few steps you can take to determine your amperage capacity.
For the average American home, a 200-amp service is usually sufficient. A 300-amp service is typically reserved for commercial properties, although that’s slowly starting to change. Here are a few situations where homeowners may want a 300-amp service:
You have a very large house. Bigger homes naturally have bigger electrical needs. It’s becoming more common for houses that are 3,000 square feet or larger to have 300-amp services.
You’re making major HVAC upgrades. If you’re overhauling your home’s HVAC systems and bringing in new equipment, it could drastically change your electrical needs.
You have a lot of appliances. If you have a busy household with multiple dishwashers, televisions, laundry machines, and maybe even a hot tub and a woodworking shop in the garage, you may benefit from an upgrade to 300-amp service.
You have an electric vehicle (EV). As EVs become more common, homeowners are discovering that charging them at home comes with serious electrical demands. When charging stations are routed through household wiring, an amp service upgrade may be necessary.
You want to future-proof your home. If you know you’ll be doing a big renovation or other type of upgrade in the near future, you may want to switch to a 300-amp service now to be prepared.
Switching from a 200-amp service to a 300-amp service makes sense at a glance. But here’s where things get a little complex. A 300-amp service is very rare, typically only available in certain situations like when combining two 150-amp panels—and that’s often referred to as a 320-amp service. More often, electricians will install a 400-amp meter base and related panel equipment, which provides 400-amp noncontinuous current and 320-amp continuous current (hence the “320-amp” name).
Long story short: For the most part, homeowners can’t get a 300-amp service change. But switching to a 320-amp/400-amp meter and panel to upgrade your amperage is a fairly common change that a licensed electrician in your area should be able to handle.
The upgrade can take many forms depending on your current meter and electrical panel. Electricians may want to make a full replacement or add on to your current system. A qualified pro can walk you through your options.
The cost to switch to a 300-amp service is between $1,800 and $3,500, on average. But that’s just the price for the electrical panel. Electricians will usually want to upgrade the base meter too, which costs an additional $200 to $500. In many cases, the electrical lines leading to the house may need to be replaced, too.
Downstream, electricians may need to replace switches and other components to better handle higher amperage. This can quickly become a massive project. By the time everything is accounted for, prices can rise as high as $20,000.
With that much variance, it’s important to get a few different estimates for the job from qualified electricians so you can budget appropriately.
