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This is complicated and dangerous work. You must know what you are doing to accomplish this in a way that meets applicable codes. You need to size the panel and loads properly based on the service to your house and existing panel.

1. Basically, you have to install the new panel in its intended location.

2. Run new or existing branch circuits to the new panel.

3. Make all splices to extend circuits in an approved manner in a junction box.

4. Install a breaker in original panel that is sized for your secondary panel.

5. Run a wire between panels that is sized for the breaker and new panel.

6. install breakers in new panel sized to wires and allocated as to load factors.

7. Make sure at new panel that Ground and Neutral are NOT bonded together (This happens only at main panel).

8. With breaker controlling new panel OFF, Connect new and old panels.

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13y ago
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11y ago
Answer for USA, Canada and countries running a 60 Hz power supply service.Asking this type of question usually means you aren't ready to do this yourself.

If you get any detailed "how to do this " answer here, you might attempt to do something you shouldn't be doing, and that may cost someone a shock, a home fire, or their life.

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You should hire an electrician to do a job like this.

<<>>

DO NOT FOLLOW THESE STEPS AS THE SERVICE WILL NEVER BE PASSED BY AN ELECTRICAL INSPECTOR.

One glaring fault is the wire size. A #4 copper conductor with an insulation factor of 75 or 90 degrees C is only rated at 85 amps.

A 3/0 copper conductor with an insulation factor of 75 or 90 degrees C is rated at 200 and 210 amps respectively.

<<>>

STEP 1

You should make sure that the meter can you purchase is equipped with a horn bypass. Then fasten the meter can with #10 stainless steel screws to your house at eye level and where it is easily accessible from the street. Most utility companies require that they first approve the location.

STEP 2

Then, depending on whether you are using #4 service entrance cable or regular 4 otu cabl,e the steps differ: with #4 service entrance cable you would simply insert about 2 feet of wire with a rubber bushing and fitting made for electric service that mount ether on meter hub or on meter can directly. Then run cable up 15 ft or to previous electric service height and strip 3 feet of the wire and mount weather head your local utility will make the final connection to the power lines. Important do not cut off excess

With regular 4 otu wire you will have to assemble a mast. Note if mounted through the soffit and roof the conduit must be rigid. You most first mount the meter hub to the meter can. Then with a threaded 2 inch fitting attach conduit to the meter hub until you reach 12ft or previous electrical service height. Then feed wire up through conduit till there is three feet hanging out the top and cut the wire with hack saw or bolt cutters so there is two foot left at the bottom. Strip the 3 ft at the top and install weather head.

STEP 3

Then strip the bottom two feet hanging out of meter can and wire up to the lugs the plain aluminum wire or the one that's just black goes to the center lug and the other two go to the other top lugs.

STEP 4

Then run the amount of cable out that is required to reach the panel box. Running ether through the conduit or through a hole conduit looks much better and hook up the same way in the meeter box. Note if you have to go below ground you must have it in conduit and a slider tube must be installed. Make sure to leave your self excess wire always. Note you must use anti corrosive grease on all connections in meter can.

STEP 5

Install with hammer two ground rods into ground near meter can approx 1ft from house and 6 ft apart from each other. Then run #6 braided copper wire starting at one ground rod and going around the other and back to the first one and then through to the panel box. Note make sure to use a ground rod clamp to secure wire on each one make sure you put them on when you start to run the wire when you run the wire back through to the first rod makes sure you go back through the ground rod clamp tap clamps on with hammer.

Wire to panel box inserting with a romex connector through knock out into ground bar and tighten lug.

Check with local electrical inspector to see if the ground wire must also be hooked to water and gas.

STEP 6

Wire 4 otu wire into panel box keeping in mind that the center bar is for the bare aluminum wire or the plain black and the other lugs are for the two hots Note it does not hurt to use the anti corrosive grease here either especially if located in a damp basement.

STEP 7

Call and get an electrical inspection

It is important to do this as most utility companies will not hook up to it until it has been inspected. Also, if the new panel and circuits were put into regular use without first getting the proper inspection done - and having an official inspection certificate issued - if your house ever caught on fire, it could be deemed to be your own fault and your home insurance would not cover the cost of repairs.

This kind of electrical work should most definitely be done only by a licensed electrical contractor.

Full knowledge of the electrical code for wire sizing, placement, height, etc. is all mandatory. This type of work must not be done without a proper permit followed by full inspection.

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As always, if you are in doubt about what to do, the best advice anyone should give you is to call a licensed electrician to advise what work is needed.

If you do this work yourself, always turn off the power

at the breaker box/fuse panel BEFORE you attempt to do any work

AND

always use an electrician's test meter having metal-tipped probes

(not a simple proximity voltage indicator)

to insure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized.

IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB

SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY

REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS.

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8y ago

Contact a qualified electrician.

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12y ago

Carefully.

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Anonymous

Lvl 1
3y ago

I think the question is not HOW DO I PUT PANELS IN SERIES...but how to SPLIT the incoming power between two panels.

In my case, I have a 100 amp panel and a 60 amp subpanel (subpanel uses fuses). I want to turn the subpanel into a 100 amp parallel panel.

Ameren Electric states ALL houses in STL have 200 amp service to the building.

So I was wondering how you split the service BEFORE the main home panel. Run the wire to the 2nd panel. Relieving pressure on the 100amp panel while saving about $1500 to $2500 for replacing and moving everything on the current main panel.

I have three different houses I want to do this on. Suddenly having 2 parallel panels from the same feed saves a boatload of money and makes future upgrades cost effective... The only downside is one might have to have the Utility "roll up" the power to the house while the electrician is splitting the panel (he can install the new panel, and have everything ready to connect to power, before utility takes power down). Once everything is done and inspected except connecting it to Ameren.... now he connects it and has final inspection....saving thousands and making future upgrades cost effective.

For instance, if you ever need to upgrade to a 400 amp service for a pool and jacuzzi or a high draw shop. You would just need to add ANOTHER 200 amp panel...rather than an expensive redo...

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Can you add a 20 amp breaker if therE is room?

You should add only with a proper load calculation. You should probably have a licensed electrician look at the situation first. You can find a licensed electrical contractor at www.contraxtor.com to help with your electrical service upgrade


200 amp main and would like to add another 100 amp service in another room how can you do this?

If you are doing this you are effectively limiting your main panel to 100 A with normal duty cycles. This can get complicated and an electrician is advised. But basically you have a 100A breaker that would typically be for 220-240 volt service and you would connect to the main of the second panel. The size of the wire between the two panels would have to be sized correctly and you would only bond ground and neutral at the main panel and not the branch panel. You might want to move some of the loads from the main panel to the branch depending on load calculations. If you know what you are doing and have access to a clamp on amp meter you could measure how much of the 200 Amps you are using at the current panel. This can be dangerous, so get an electrician or be careful. &lt;&lt;&gt;&gt; In the trade this is called a sub panel. It is a complicated job in as much as you have to know wire sizes, ampacity of wires and proper electrical workmanship. Such a project should be left to a licensed electrical contractor to take out the proper permits and call for proper inspections. By taking this route it will leave you confident that if any mishaps happen to the installation down the road your insurance company will be behind you 100%.


Electrical Wiring Installation?

form_title=Electrical Wiring Installation form_header=8293 How would you best describe your electrical project?*= () "Electrical panel upgrade only () Update or add a few fixtures, outlets or switches () Complete wiring for addition or remodel" Please describe this location.*= () Home/Residence () Business


Can you take out fuse box and put a breaker box in using the same wires?

There are a few things to consider before doing this. If the branch circuits have a ground wire in the cable sets then they can be used again. Replacing a fuse box with a breaker panel is half the step. A fuse box suggests that the home is an older type home. The new breaker panel should not be traded straight across circuit for circuit but should be upgraded to at least a 200 amp panel these days. This will mean a new service mast, meter base and larger wire for the upgraded service. There will have to be an electrical permit taken out even for a fuse box to breaker panel change out. If there is a service disconnect switch ahead of the fuse box the job will be a bit simpler. Most good electrical contractors will give you a free estimate as to what your costs will be so you will be able to set a budget for the project. In most jurisdictions if you have work done on existing electrical installations the rest of the home has to be brought up to current code regulations. This will add to the expense depending on how old the home is.


How much electrical service panel size for a house?

Amps are the amount of power you're using. If you only have one light on then you're maybe drawing 1 or 2 amps. If you have everything in the house on you may be drawing 50 or 60 or more amps.

Related questions

What should you do if your 200A breaker panel is full and you need to add three forty amp two pole singal throw breakers?

First you need to determine if addition of the new breakers will exceed the 200A service under normal operating conditions. If so you will need to go to power company and increase service and put in a larger main panel. If you have the capacity for the extra current you can add a sub-panel and add the breakers there as well as the breakers you will remove from main panel to accommodate the sub-panel breaker. Another way depends on what breakers are in current panel. There are some breakers that can be duplexed in the same space as a single breaker.


Can you add a 20 amp breaker if therE is room?

You should add only with a proper load calculation. You should probably have a licensed electrician look at the situation first. You can find a licensed electrical contractor at www.contraxtor.com to help with your electrical service upgrade


200 amp main and would like to add another 100 amp service in another room how can you do this?

If you are doing this you are effectively limiting your main panel to 100 A with normal duty cycles. This can get complicated and an electrician is advised. But basically you have a 100A breaker that would typically be for 220-240 volt service and you would connect to the main of the second panel. The size of the wire between the two panels would have to be sized correctly and you would only bond ground and neutral at the main panel and not the branch panel. You might want to move some of the loads from the main panel to the branch depending on load calculations. If you know what you are doing and have access to a clamp on amp meter you could measure how much of the 200 Amps you are using at the current panel. This can be dangerous, so get an electrician or be careful. &lt;&lt;&gt;&gt; In the trade this is called a sub panel. It is a complicated job in as much as you have to know wire sizes, ampacity of wires and proper electrical workmanship. Such a project should be left to a licensed electrical contractor to take out the proper permits and call for proper inspections. By taking this route it will leave you confident that if any mishaps happen to the installation down the road your insurance company will be behind you 100%.


Electrical Wiring Installation?

form_title=Electrical Wiring Installation form_header=8293 How would you best describe your electrical project?*= () "Electrical panel upgrade only () Update or add a few fixtures, outlets or switches () Complete wiring for addition or remodel" Please describe this location.*= () Home/Residence () Business


What must you add or remove in order to change from one physical state to another?

You must add or remove energy. Correction: Add enough heat energy to break different kinds of electrical bonds.


What is needed to put a 240V outlet in a garage very close to a circuit panel with NO open slots available?

an electrician. you may have to upgrade your service if not you will need an additional box to accomodate the new breaker Assuming you meet local code and license requirements, and know how to shut things off while you're working: The full circuit panel may be a service panel or a sub-panel with main lugs only (no main disconnect). If it's a sub-panel you need to find the breaker that feeds it from the service panel (if any) to make sure it has enough ampacity to run your 220 appliance on top of whatever is there already. Assuming the breaker and feeder conductors will support the additional load, you can add another subpanel (or replace the existing subpanel with a larger one). If not, you can wire a completely new feeder from the service panel to a new subpanel (or just a 220 disconnect/fuse for your new appliance). If the wiring is old, the minimum disturbance to the existing wiring is recommended: put in a new circuit from the service panel. Some subpanels include extra main lug terminals for feeding other subpanels. Otherwise you can either add another tap to the main lugs and run them to the new subpanel, or else replace two of the existing breakers with a 2-pole breaker that feeds the new subpanel. Put the new 220 circuit into the new panel along with the two old circuits removed from the old full panel to make room for the subfeed breakers.


What method allows you to add components to a panel or frame?

add


Can you load an electrical panel with only 20 amps?

If you mean can you put a single 20 amp breaker in an electric panel, the answer is yes. An electric panel is typically made to handle more breakers with values that add up to more than the rating of the panel on the supposition that you will never draw full load on all breakers. If you do the main breaker would trip. In your case you are under utilizing the panel, but this is not a problem.


Can you take out fuse box and put a breaker box in using the same wires?

There are a few things to consider before doing this. If the branch circuits have a ground wire in the cable sets then they can be used again. Replacing a fuse box with a breaker panel is half the step. A fuse box suggests that the home is an older type home. The new breaker panel should not be traded straight across circuit for circuit but should be upgraded to at least a 200 amp panel these days. This will mean a new service mast, meter base and larger wire for the upgraded service. There will have to be an electrical permit taken out even for a fuse box to breaker panel change out. If there is a service disconnect switch ahead of the fuse box the job will be a bit simpler. Most good electrical contractors will give you a free estimate as to what your costs will be so you will be able to set a budget for the project. In most jurisdictions if you have work done on existing electrical installations the rest of the home has to be brought up to current code regulations. This will add to the expense depending on how old the home is.


Where is the Add Hardware Wizard located?

In Windows 7 - it is in Control Panel &gt; Devices &amp; Printers. Once there you choose either add new device or add new printer In Windows XP - it is in Control Panel&gt; Add Hardware.


How do you retrieve menu bar or panel in Kubuntu?

On the desktop, right-click and select "Add panel."


Which option in control panel is used to install a modem?

In the control panel you will find the option to add hardware.