With the increase in electrical demand in the home, homeowners face a challenging question. Do I need to upgrade my electrical service? The simple answer is…. maybe. In other words, it depends on your situation. So, let’s try to answer this question: Do you need to upgrade your service?
Let’s start with amps because they are what determines the size of the wires coming into your home and the size of the meter and panel you’ll need (the Service). Every appliance or motor (i.e. vacuum, furnace) uses a certain amount of amps. Some things, like a gas stove, use very little amps (e.g. 1 amp), whereas other things, like electric stoves, use more amps (e.g. 30 amps or so). When people add equipment or loads, this increases the total amps (load) to the house at one time. Depending on how much you add, you may need to increase your service size. When something large (EV charger, hot tub etc.) is added to a home by an electrician, they will need to do a service calculation to determine if your existing service is big enough to handle the new load along with your existing load. If it isn’t big enough then you will likely have a couple of options:
In my opinion, the best option is to upgrade your electrical service. It is a more permanent solution as it allows for future growth. However, an LMS is a good alternative as it allows you to stay within your budget and still doesn’t allow too many amps to be drawn at one time. I would say that if you add a large load (e.g. EV Charger) to your house, an LMS is the minimum that should be done as part of your project. If you would like to read more about load management systems (LMS).
As you can see, a lot goes into your decision to upgrade your electrical service. If you are adding a large load to your house, or just looking to allow for future growth, be sure to call a Licensed Electrical Contractor to determine the best course of action for your situation.
