Electrical — Panel Upgrades
Electrical Panel
Upgrades & Replacement.
Service upgrades to 200 amp, fuse box replacement, and the hazardous panels that should have come out decades ago. NC Electrical Contractor License #29978.
Electrical Services
A Panel Sized for 1975 Running a 2026 House
The electrical panel in most older Triad homes was sized for a house with one television, no air conditioning worth the name, and nothing in the garage. Since then it has picked up a heat pump, a second fridge, a hot tub, a workshop and possibly a car charger.
Breakers that trip when the oven and the microwave run together are not faulty breakers. They are a panel doing exactly what it was designed to do, at a capacity the house outgrew. Swapping the breaker for a larger one is how electrical fires start, and we will not do it.
An upgrade is a real piece of work — it involves the utility, a permit and an inspection — and we will tell you honestly whether you need one or whether your existing panel has room for what you are adding.
Part of our Electrical service.
When a Panel Needs Replacing
Some of these are convenience. Two of them are safety.
Federal Pacific or Zinsco
These panels have a documented history of breakers failing to trip under fault. If your panel carries either name, replacement is a safety matter rather than an upgrade, and it is the first thing we would deal with.
Fuses instead of breakers
A fuse box means the service is old enough that capacity, wiring and grounding all deserve a look. It also makes a house harder to insure, which homeowners usually discover at renewal.
Breakers that trip regularly
Repeated trips on the same circuit mean load exceeding capacity. The breaker is doing its job; the panel or the circuit layout is the problem to solve.
No room left
A full panel with no spare slots blocks anything new — an addition, a car charger, a shop. Tandem breakers are sometimes an answer and sometimes a bodge; we will tell you which applies.
Panel and Service Work We Handle
Licensed, permitted and inspected.
- Service upgrades to 200 amp
- Panel replacement, same capacity
- Fuse box to breaker panel conversion
- Federal Pacific panel replacement
- Zinsco panel replacement
- Sub-panel installation for shops and garages
- Meter base replacement
- Grounding and bonding correction
- Whole-home surge protection
- Generator transfer switch wiring
- Circuit labelling and panel documentation
- Permit and inspection coordination
What We Find in Triad Panels
In Winston-Salem's older neighborhoods — Buena Vista, Reynolda Park, Sherwood Forest — we regularly open panels that have been added to over four decades by four different hands. Double-tapped breakers, undersized conductors, grounds and neutrals sharing a bar, and circuits nobody can identify.
In the 1990s and 2000s build-out across Advance, Clemmons and Kinderton the panels are newer but frequently full, because those houses were specified before electric vehicle charging, finished bonus rooms and outdoor kitchens were common. Those are capacity conversations rather than safety ones, and they usually have more than one solution.
Licensed, Local, and Straightforward
Licensed & Insured
NC Contractor License #15782 — HVAC and plumbing.
NC Electrical License #29978.
Full liability insurance, and we pull permits where a job requires one.
Where We Work
Davie, Davidson, and Forsyth counties — Bermuda Run, Advance, Clemmons, Winston-Salem, Mocksville, Kernersville, Pfafftown, Lexington and Thomasville, and the communities around them. For new construction and builder projects, we travel considerably farther.
Written Estimates
You see the number before anyone picks up a tool. Nothing starts until you have agreed to it — and the diagnostic fee is waived when you go ahead with the repair.
Emergency and Same-Day
Submit an emergency request and we will take the call and get back to you as fast as we can — emergencies are never left in a queue. For everything else, if a technician is nearby or a scheduled call can move, same day is often possible.
Panel Upgrades — Common Questions
How do I know whether I need 200 amp service?
It depends on the square footage, the heating system and what you are adding. A load calculation gives the real answer, and we do one rather than guessing. Plenty of houses are fine on 150 amp and do not need the expense.
How long does a panel upgrade take?
Most are a day, with the power off for several hours of it. A service upgrade also involves the utility and an inspection, so the scheduling around it usually matters more than the work itself. We will walk you through the sequence before we start.
Is a Federal Pacific panel really dangerous?
The concern is well documented — these breakers have a history of failing to trip under overload, which is the one thing a breaker exists to do. We would not leave one in our own house. Most insurers take the same view.
Do I need a permit?
Yes, for panel and service work, and we pull it. We are also present for the inspection. Panel work done without a permit is a problem when you sell, and an inspector will find it.
Can you add a circuit for an EV charger or a hot tub?
Yes, provided the panel has capacity — which we check first with a load calculation rather than assuming. If it does not, we will tell you what the upgrade path looks like and what it costs.
HVAC Emergency? We're Available Now.
Call us for same-day emergency HVAC, electrical, and plumbing service across Davie, Davidson, and Forsyth counties.