Electrical Panel Replacement & 100 to 200 Amp Service Upgrades
Replacing a worn, obsolete or flagged panel, raising a 100-amp service to 200 amps, and setting new panels where a home never had the capacity to begin with.
Panels wear out, and some were never great to begin with
Breakers are mechanical devices. After thirty or forty years of thermal cycling and dust they do not always trip the way they were designed to, bus bars pit and enclosures rust where a basement leak found them.
Some older panel lines were discontinued entirely, so replacement breakers are hard to source safely. Inspectors and insurance carriers know those panels by name and often ask homeowners to replace them before a policy is written or a sale closes.
- Panels with rust, moisture staining or heat discoloration
- Breakers that feel loose or warm, or refuse to reset
- Buzzing, or flickering when a large appliance starts
- A full panel with no open breaker spaces left
- Equipment flagged by an inspector, appraiser or insurer
When the answer is more capacity, not just newer equipment
A 100-amp service was generous when much of the Front Range was built: gas furnace, gas range, no air conditioning. The same panel is now asked to carry central air, an induction range, a home office and a car that wants 40 amps overnight.
An upgrade raises the ceiling. It replaces the panel, and usually the meter equipment and service conductors, with equipment rated for what the household actually draws, and gives you real breaker spaces instead of tandems stacked into a full box. Most Denver-area homes land on 200 amps; a load calculation, not a rule of thumb, decides it.
- Breakers that trip when two large appliances run together
- Adding an EV charger, hot tub, heat pump or air conditioning
- Planning solar or battery storage in the next few years
- A carrier or buyer's inspector questioning the service size
- An addition, basement finish or remodel adding real load
What is included, and what we tell you before we start
Every quote covers the panel and breakers, the enclosure, grounding and bonding to current code, wire and conduit, the permit and inspection, plus utility disconnect scheduling. Circuits are transferred, tested and labeled legibly, and we photograph the finished work for your records.
Not every aging panel has to come off the wall tomorrow. Sometimes the answer is a breaker replacement or a plan to do the work during next spring's remodel. We document what we found and let you decide.
- Correctly sized main breaker and branch breakers
- AFCI and GFCI protection where the code requires it
- Meter socket or meter main replacement when the rating requires it
- Grounding electrode system and bonding brought current
- Legible circuit directory and photos of the finished panel
Our process
How an EPO panel replacement job runs
- 01
Panel inspection
We open the enclosure, inspect the bus, breakers, grounding, meter and conductors, and photograph what we find.
- 02
Findings, load calculation and written price
A plain-language summary of what is failing and what is fine, a load calculation, and the scope, permit fees and timeline in writing.
- 03
Permit and utility scheduling
We pull the permit with your jurisdiction and book the utility disconnect so the outage is a planned window.
- 04
Work day
Old equipment out, new panel set, circuits transferred, tested and labeled, and the work area cleaned before we leave.
- 05
Inspection and hand-off
We meet the inspector, close the permit, and leave you photos, the directory and the warranty terms in writing.
Pricing
What moves the price on this job
We quote after seeing the equipment, because these details change the number more than anything else.
- Service size, and whether capacity is being increased
- Condition of the meter socket, mast and service conductors
- Overhead versus underground service
- Number of circuits being transferred
- Grounding electrode and bonding work on older homes
- Panel relocation, restoration and jurisdiction permit fees
Still deciding?
The fastest way to get a real answer for your home is to have a tech open the panel. The on-site estimate is free, and you leave with a written price for panel replacement.
Want the long version first? Read How to Tell Your Electrical Panel Needs Replacing.
Monthly payments available through Hearth
Prequalifying takes about a minute and uses a soft credit check, so checking does not affect your credit score. Or read how financing works.
Financing provided by third-party lenders through Hearth, NMLS #1628533. Not a commitment to lend.
FAQ
Common questions about this job
How do I know whether I need a replacement or a 200-amp upgrade?
Replacement addresses failing equipment; an upgrade addresses running out of capacity. A load calculation and a look inside the enclosure separate the two, and we do both before quoting.
How much does panel replacement or an upgrade cost in the Denver metro?
It moves with service size, the condition of the meter and mast, grounding work and your jurisdiction's fees. We put one fixed written price in front of you after seeing the equipment, and financing is available if you would rather pay monthly.
How long will my power be off?
For most homes the changeover happens in one stretch of work, with the power off for part of the day. We give you the expected window at the estimate so you can plan around a refrigerator or a work-from-home schedule, and we tell you when a service-entrance or grounding repair is likely to extend it.
Do I need a permit to replace or upgrade a panel?
Yes, in every jurisdiction we serve, from Denver and Aurora to Erie, Morrison and Monument. We pull it, meet the inspector and close it out so it never becomes a problem at resale.
Search every question we get asked on the full FAQ page.
Where we work
Panel Replacement & Service Upgrades across the Front Range
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