How to Determine Your Electrical Service Amps

How to Determine Your Electrical Service Amps

The Spruce / Kevin Norris

The main electrical service delivered to your house from the electrical utility company has a total available capacity, measured in amps, or amperes. Most homes have an electrical service of between 100 to 200 amps. Amperage is a measurement of the volume of electricity flowing through wires, and this measurement can vary between 30 amps in very old homes that have not been updated to as much as 400 amps in a very large home with extensive electric heating systems.

Knowing the size of a house’s electrical service can help you know if an update is needed or if the service is large enough to handle an update, such as a remodeled kitchen or room addition.

How Electrical Current Reaches Your Home

Electrical service reaches your home from the power utility through two 120-volt service wires that offer a combined 240 volts of power (voltage is a measurement of electricity’s pressure or rate of flow). The main electrical service reaches your home either through overhead service wires that enter a service mast and pass down through an electrical meter into your home or through underground wires that also pass through an electrical meter. The first stop for the electrical service once it enters your home is the main service panel.

Watch Now: How to Determine the Size of Your Main Electrical Service

What the Main Service Panel Does

The main service panel is the distribution center that splits the main electrical service into individual branch circuits that run through your home to power the lights, outlets, and individual appliances. The main service panel is usually a gray metal box located somewhere along the inside surface of an exterior wall. It is often found in a utility area, such as a garage, basement, or furnace room. When it is located in a finished living space, it is sometimes contained inside a finished cabinet mounted on the wall. Service panels also can be located outdoors, typically on an exterior house wall.

The main service panel includes two hot bus bars that run side-by-side down the panel. The bus bars are fed by a large breaker called the main breaker. Each bus bar carries 120 volts. A branch home circuit connected to just one bus bar will deliver 120 volts of power, while a circuit connected to both bus bars will deliver 240 volts of power.

Fuse Box vs. Circuit Breaker Panel

In most homes, the main service panel uses circuit breakers that control and protect the individual circuits. Circuit breakers are specially designed safety switches that prevent individual branch circuits from drawing more power than the circuit wires can safely handle. Virtually all homes built since the early 1960s use circuit breakers as the power distribution method. Older homes also have circuit breaker panels if their electrical service was updated after 1960.

Where an electrical service was installed before the early 1960s and has not been updated, it may use a different style of power distribution—a fuse panel, which protects individual circuits with screw-in or cartridge fuses.

The use of fuse panels and circuit breaker panels for residential wiring follows a historical pattern:

• 30-amp fuse panel: Installed before 1950, these service panels provide only 120-volt current. Such a service provides insufficient power for modern usage and generally needs to be updated.
• 60-amp fuse panel: Installed from 1950 to about 1965, 60-amp fuse panels provide 240 volts of power but are still insufficient for most homes. An update is usually needed.
• Circuit breaker panel: Since the early 1960s, homes have generally been wired with circuit breaker panels that provide 240-volt current. Early services may provide 60 amps of power, while large houses built today may have 200 amps or more of power. Homes with 60-amp or 100-amp service often require an electrical service update during major remodeling or expansion projects.

What You’ll Need

Equipment / Tools

• Flashlight

Instructions

The Spruce / Kevin Norris

1. Inspect the Electrical Meter

   In many instances, you can determine the size of the home’s electrical service simply by looking at the electrical meter outside the house. Look for the point at which the main service wires from the utility company enter the home. If electrical service is delivered by overhead wires, they may enter a metal service pipe that runs down an exterior wall of your home to the meter. They also may connect directly to a service entrance cable, which is usually gray, and feed into the meter base. If the meter is a glass dome mounted on a square metal base, the home probably has 100 amps of power, while a newer 150-amp or larger service will have a rectangular base that extends below the glass dome.

   If you see a glass dome mounted on a round base that is the same dimension as the dome, or a meter located behind a flat glass window that is flush with the front of an enclosed metal box, you probably have 60 amps of electrical service.

   The Spruce / Kevin Norris

2. Find the Main Service Panel

   Locate the main service panel inside or outside your home. The panel will usually be on the opposite side of the wall where the exterior electrical meter is located. In most homes, this will be a vertical gray metal (or sometimes brown or white) box mounted on a wall in a utility area. If the main service panel is in a finished living space, it may be enclosed in a finished cabinet of some type, but by law, it must be easily accessible at all times.

   The Spruce / Kevin Norris

3. Read the Main Circuit Breaker or Fuse Block

   Make sure the floor near the main service panel is dry, then open the metal door on the service panel. Inside the panel, you will see two rows of individual circuit breakers with small toggle levers. These individual, or branch, circuit breakers are numbered, and they control individual branch circuits running through your home. The amperage of these individual breakers will be between 15 and 50 amps, usually.

   At the top or bottom end of the two rows of branch circuit breakers, there will be a central circuit breaker that controls the power to the entire panel. This is the main circuit breaker, and its amperage rating will be something like 60, 100, 150, or 200 amps. In rare instances, the main circuit breaker may be mounted at the bottom of the service panel. The main circuit breaker may be bolted in place, or it may be a snap-in breaker similar to those serving branch circuits.

   The main circuit breaker dictates how much power is available to your entire house. It is a double-pole breaker, connected to both 120-volt service wires to power both hot bus bars running down through the panel. Turning this main breaker to the off position shuts off power to the entire house and all the branch circuits. The amp rating on this main circuit breaker identifies your electrical service size. If you have a 400 amp service, you will have two 200 amp main panels and each will have a 200 amp main breaker.

   The Spruce / Kevin Norris

4. Make Sure It’s Not a Subpanel

   An electrical subpanel is a secondary service panel that is fed by the home’s main service panel. Subpanels are commonly installed to accommodate the many new circuits and breakers added as part of a home addition or large remodel. A subpanel can also serve as a convenient satellite panel for a detached garage or workshop that may be far away from the main panel.

   Subpanels are typically 60 to 100 amps and often have branch circuits serving a specific area of the house, such as a kitchen. They have their own main breaker, which is fed by the main panel. If your home has a subpanel, there will be a double-pole breaker in the main panel that has the same amp rating as the main breaker in the subpanel. (Note: sub-panels don’t always have main breakers; they may have lugs only, which allow the feeder wires to be connected.) Because the subpanel is fed by the main panel, you do not add the subpanel’s amp rating to the household total; use the main panel’s amperage only.

   The Spruce / Kevin Norris

Tips for Planning Electrical Service Size

When an electrical contractor computes the necessary size for electrical service during new construction or when updating an electrical system, the process involves computing the likely total demand of all appliances and fixtures, then sizing the electrical service to provide a comfortable margin. The calculations are fairly complex, so most electricians use a convenient calculator tool to properly size the main electrical service.

• 100-amp service provides enough power for a small home without electric heating. This can supply an electric range and dryer, plus general lighting and receptacle outlets.
• 200-amp service is the current standard for new homes and updated service panels. It can supply all standard electrical needs in a typical family home but may not support a large electric heating system.
• In large homes, 300-amp or larger service capacity may be needed, particularly if the home has electric heating. Adding a large subpanel to serve a workshop or home addition also may necessitate upgrading to more than the standard 200 amps.

• How many amps of service do I need?

  If you have a small home, you might be able to get by with a 100-amp service panel, especially if you have gas heating. But if you have several electronic appliances, you’ll probably need a 200-amp panel.

• What does a 200-amp service look like?

  When reading your main circuit breaker or fuse block, you should see a number that marks the total amps—200 for 200-amp service, 100 for 100-amp service, etc.

• Is it worth upgrading to 200-amp service?

  If you have the opportunity to upgrade, it can be beneficial to have a 200-amp panel. That way, if you add new appliances, central air and electric heating, and other home electronics, you’ll already have the necessary amps.