Electrical Panel Replacement and Upgrades in Tampa Bay

A panel gets replaced for one of three reasons around the bay: it is failing (hot breakers, burned bus, rust from salt air or flood water), the insurer will not write it (Federal Pacific, Zinsco and similar brands), or the house needs more than it can give, usually for a charger, a generator, a pool heater or an addition.

It is a permitted job every time, and it involves the power company, because the meter has to come out for the service to be de-energized.

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Replace, or upsize

A replacement at the same size keeps the existing service conductors and meter can when they are in good shape. An upgrade, usually from 100 or 150 amps to 200, means new service conductors, often a new meter can, and sometimes new utility equipment on the power company's side.

The way to decide is a load calculation under the electrical code, done before anything is ordered: what the house runs now, what is being added, and whether the existing service carries it. Plenty of houses that "need 200 amps" for a charger can carry it on the panel they have with a load-managed charger; plenty of 2000s houses with 200 amps have no spaces left.

The surge protector the code now asks for

Florida's 8th Edition building code applies the 2020 National Electrical Code, and section 230.67 of that code requires a surge-protective device on every dwelling service when the service equipment is replaced. A new panel in Tampa Bay comes with one, either built into the panel or mounted beside it.

The meter appointment

The meter seal belongs to the utility, and Florida law makes breaking it a crime. The electrician schedules the disconnect: with Tampa Electric in most of Hillsborough, whose service requirements tell contractors to call ahead for the appointment and never pull a meter from an energized socket, or with Duke Energy Florida in most of Pinellas. The power is off for the swap and comes back after the work is done and released.

Permit, paperwork and inspection

The permit comes from the City of Tampa, Hillsborough County, or the Pinellas city the house is in. A job over $5,000 also needs a recorded Notice of Commencement. The inspector checks the panel, the grounding and bonding, the labeling and the working space in front of it.

In a flood zone, an outdoor panel or meter replaced after flood damage has to sit at or above the elevation the local floodplain rules require; in unincorporated Pinellas that is the base flood elevation plus one foot. That can move the panel up the wall or into the house.

• Load calculation before the panel is chosen
• Permit and, over $5,000, the Notice of Commencement
• Meter disconnect booked with Tampa Electric or Duke
• Surge-protective device on the new service
• Breakers labeled to match the circuits, and the final inspection
• An updated four-point for the insurer when that was the reason