200 or 400 amp electrical service?
Monday, December 31st, 2007 at
8:38 pm
Kristen S asked:
I am remodeling a 5000 sq foot home that currently has 200 amp service. My contractor says we need to upgrade to 400 amps because we will have 2 heatpumps and one ac unit and about 75 recessed lighting fixtures when we’re done. The developer says 200 amp service is fine for this load. Who is right?
Tagged with: Amp Electrical Service • Developer • Remodeling
Filed under: Decorating & Remodeling
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brighton electrical
call home depot
sussex electric
Your contractor. While the 200 service might squeak by, it’s far better to err on the coservative side. That 400 is one hell of a lot cheaper than a new house!
sussex electrics
I would upgrade just in case, it can’t hurt.
sussex electrician
a 400 amp service doesn’t mean you will use it, but it’ll allow for some growth. You’ll only draw and pay for what you need, up to 400 amps. If you stick with 200, then you are maxed at 200.
Without knowing every single thing in the house, I can’t tell you if you really need it NOW, but it’ll definitely give room to grow.
brighton electric
With 2 heat pumps and 5000 sq. ft., your contractor is probably on the right track. My house has 200 amp service, but it is only 1500 sq. ft. The heatpumps draw a lot of current when the electric heat strips are on in very cold weather. With that much house, you will probably have a lot of electrical gadgets plugged in as most people do. You don’t want your lights to dim every time the a/c or heat kicks on, and it really doesn’t cost that much to upgrade. I went from 70 amps to 200 for around $1000. Most of that was for labor, so even more amps would have cost only a little more.