Electrician standing beside the newly installed panel at the end of a service upgrade

Electrical Panel Upgrades in Seattle

We replace aging panels, upgrade services to 200A or 400A, add subpanels for ADUs or shops, and install smart panels. Whether your old panel is showing its age or you need more capacity for an upcoming project, we have you covered.

Licensed, Bonded, & Insured

Over 100 Five-Star Reviews

Free Estimates

Upfront Pricing

Permits and Inspection Included

2-Year Warranty

Call(425) 202-5529

WA Lic #CHARGCH761KL · Most jobs scheduled the same week

Why Replace a Panel

Why Get a New Electrical Panel Installed?

Your Panel Is Aging

Breakers that trip on their own, corrosion, or a brand that was never safe to begin with

You Need More Capacity

An EV charger, heat pump, or hot tub asking for more than a 100-amp service has left

You Want a Smart Panel

Have every circuit metered, tracked, and switchable from your phone

What About a Subpanel?

A subpanel is a second, smaller panel fed from your main. It adds breakers without adding amps, which can help in specific scenarios such as:

Out of Breaker Space

The service still has capacity but the panel has no free slots. A subpanel beside it adds a row of new ones without touching the main.

Closer to the Work

A shop, an ADU, or converting a single family home to a duplex. One feeder out to a subpanel gives independent control and can shorten circuit runs.

What a subpanel cannot do is create amps you do not have. If the load calculation comes back short, a second box does not help and the answer is a bigger panel or a full service upgrade instead.

Panel Replacement vs Service Upgrade

When Should I Replace My Electrical Panel?

There is no specific age at which a panel is required to be replaced, however, most manufacturers have a recommended lifetime of between 25-40 years. Some of the common signs it is time to replace yours are:

Breakers Keep Tripping

The same one trips over and over with nothing unusual running

Unsafe Model

Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco brand panels should be replaced immediately

Heat, Rust, or Scorching

Burn marks or corrosion at the breakers, or a warm panel cover

Fuses, Not Breakers

A screw-in fuse box, which more and more insurers are requiring be updated

If your panel is over 30 years old, or you notice any signs that it might need to be replaced, give us a call at (425) 202-5529 and we will happily take a look, no obligations.

Zinsco and Federal Pacific Replacement

Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco are both panels with documented failures that can put you and your family at unnecessary risk. If you find either name on your panel door, it should be replaced as soon as possible.

Should I Upgrade From 100A to 200A or more?

This decision depends on what you are planning to add to your home. These are the additions that most often push a 100-amp service past what it can carry:

EV charger (40–48 amps)
Heat pump or mini-split (30–60 amps)
Hot tub or spa (40–50 amps)
Tankless electric water heater (60–120 amps)
ADU, shop, or garage conversion (60–100 amps)
Other larger appliances (an electric range, central air, or power tools)

It is worth thinking a few years out rather than only about the job in front of you. If a charger, a heat pump, a hot tub, or a shop is anywhere in your future plans, sizing the service for it while the panel is already off the wall costs a fraction of coming back to do the whole thing again.

100-Amp Panel

Circuits
20–24 spaces
Runs
Lights, kitchen, laundry
Appliances
One, at most
Common In
Homes built pre-1990

200-Amp Panel

Circuits
30–42 spaces
Runs
The whole modern house
Appliances
Charger, heat pump, hot tub
Common In
Nearly every upgrade

Not sure which is best for you? Call (425) 202-5529 or submit the form with a photo of your panel with the door open and the label inside visible, and tell us what you are adding. We are more than happy to help you navigate the decision every step of the way, no obligation.

Smart Panel Installation

What Is a Smart Panel?

A smart panel does everything a normal panel does, but with additional smart features:

See Every Circuit

Each breaker is metered on its own, so you can see what the dryer specifically costs to run

Flip Breakers Remotely

Shut off the water heater while you're away with an app, without having to remember to go out to the panel

Make a Battery Last

During an outage, the panel helps you manage what gets power and when, so a home battery can keep essentials going for much longer

Brands we install: SPAN, EcoFlow, Leviton, Schneider Electric Square D, Lumin, Eaton, and more.

If you are interested in a smart panel, but aren't quite sure about the cost, call (425) 202-5529 or submit the form, and we will answer all of your questions and quote the standard panel and the smart one side by side so you can see the difference before you decide.

What It Costs

What Determines an Electrical Panel Upgrade Cost?

There are three main factors that will influence the cost of your panel change:

Number of Circuits

Every wire in the old panel gets identified, re-terminated, and labeled in the new one, so a 40-circuit panel takes longer and costs more than a 20-circuit one

Code Corrections

Grounding, bonding, and AFCI or GFCI protection come up to current code with the new panel, and any outstanding repairs need to be addressed for the inspector

Service Upgrades

Upgrading to 200 or 400 amps requires coordination with the utility and sometimes the city engineers which can increase the scope of the work

Every quote we write is upfront, itemized, and carries no obligation, so you can see what is driving the cost before you agree to anything. It includes the permit, the inspection, and any utility and city coordination the job needs.

Planning a Service Upgrade

Raising a service to 200 or 400 amps is not only our work, the utility owns everything from your meter to the power lines and beyond and their schedule is often the bottleneck:

Setting the New Meter

The meter is the utility's equipment, not ours. While we fit the new meter base, we have to book their visit to set the meter itself.

Upgrading the Transformer

Occasionally, the transformer feeding your block cannot carry the larger service, so the city or utility assigns a planner and an engineer to design and schedule that work.

Regardless of the scope required for your specific job, we handle all of it and keep you informed every step of the way. We book the disconnect, submit what the utility and city ask for, coordinate convenient arrival times for you as needed, and pull the necessary permits ourselves all for a price we set up front.

Customer Reviews

Real Reviews From Recent Panel Changes & Service Upgrades

Kieron S.

Kirkland

Jan 2026

“Awesome Company!!! Reach out to In Charge Home Electric via email about some work I needed doing. They responded very quickly asking for some photos of my power panel. After a few emails back and forth about the scope of work. In Charge Home Electric provided a flat fee to replace my power panel, add a generator interlock, generator outlet and EV outlet. Price was very competitive. Once I signed the work order (online). They scheduled me in for the work. Fast and efficient. Day of work. I received text messages that the Kadin, Troy and another guy (sorry I forgot his name) were on their way and when they arrived. We had a quick chat about what was involved and if I had any questions. When talking to Kadin and Troy throughout the day. Very professional and down to earth guys. All the work was completed to a very high standard. Highly recommended and any electrical work I need going forward will be to this company. I've already recommended them to a work colleague.”

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Evan H.

Federal Way

Nov 2024

“Troy and Kadin replaced my electrical panel, upgraded my service to 200 amp, and installed a couple new circuits. When I was gathering estimates, I ended up choosing them because of their professional and friendly approach, good communication, and competitive cost, and I made the right choice. During the job, they paid attention to my specific needs, remained transparent and honest throughout the entire process, and followed through. They encountered some unforeseen challenges which extended the job duration, but they handled them well and stayed until everything was complete and safe. Their work ethic is outstanding, they stand behind their work, and I’m very happy with the results.”

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Morgan B.

Kent

Nov 2025

“Did a great job installing a new circuit panel in our house. Worked with getting permitting and always the power company to turn off / on power to the house. Even bonus, because they reached out to PSE to arrange power, PSE noticed that the lines coming to our house needed to be updated and they installed a ground line, seal with new concrete, and a new locked access lid.”

View on HomeAdvisor

Over 100 five-star reviews across Google, Yelp, and more. See all reviews

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Nothing puts you on a deadline, and yours may have run for decades without trouble. Two things usually bring it to a head: a home inspection during a sale, where both brands get flagged on sight, and insurers asking about panel brand at renewal. If either is coming up, it is easier to replace the panel on your own schedule than under someone else's.

Often, yes. If the service coming into the house already carries what you need and the panel itself is the problem, whether that is age, a recalled brand, or no free slots left, we replace the panel and leave the service alone. It becomes a service upgrade when the load calculation comes back over what the incoming service can carry. At that point the meter base, the entrance cable, and the utility's connection all have to grow with the panel, which is the single biggest reason one quote lands well above another.

Most homes do not. Two hundred amps covers a modern house with a car charger, a heat pump, and a hot tub on it. Four hundred starts to make sense on large homes, on a lot with a shop or an ADU pulling its own load, or where two chargers and electric heat land on the same service. We run the load calculation before quoting either one, so you pay for the size the house actually calls for.

For a subpanel, often not at all beyond an hour or two. For a panel replacement, most of a working day, usually six to eight hours, with power back the same evening. A 100A to 200A service upgrade runs longer, because the utility has to disconnect and reconnect the service around our work. You get the window ahead of the day itself, so you can plan around the fridge, a home office, and anything medical.

Yes, and it is usually the right way to feed one. A single feeder runs out to the building, overhead or buried, sized for the distance and the load it will carry. A detached structure also needs its own grounding electrode at that end. None of that changes the total draw on your service, so the load calculation still has to clear.

Yes, and in every surrounding jurisdiction we work in. Replacing a panel is permitted electrical work whether or not the amperage changes. We pull the permit and meet the inspector ourselves, and both are inside the quote you approve. Neither turns up as a line item on the final invoice.

For the estimate, no. Photos of the panel and its label usually get us there. For the work itself, all we really need is a few minutes at each end of the day: we walk the panel with you before we start, and hand over the labeled directory before we leave. The hours in between are yours.

No. Breakers are listed for the specific panel they sit in, so a new panel takes new breakers, and putting old ones into it voids the listing on both. The new breakers are included in the quoted price, along with any AFCI or GFCI protection current code asks for.

It depends which job yours turns out to be and what is behind the wall. A subpanel is the smallest, a replacement at the same amperage sits in the middle, and a 200-amp service upgrade adds utility coordination and often a new meter base and entrance cable. We quote the whole thing upfront after a free assessment, permit included, so the number you approve is the number you pay.

Free Estimate

Get Your Free Estimate

We respond to most requests within the hour, but will get back to you within a day at the latest.

What's Included in the Quote

Full panel load calculation
New panel, breakers, and labeling
Service entrance assessment
Grounding and bonding brought to code
Utility coordination and scheduling
Electrical permit and inspection
Full warranty on all work
Workmanship and quality guarantee

Prefer to talk it through?

Call(425) 202-5529

How It Works

From First Photo to Final Inspection

Send Us Your Panel

Call, email, or use the form. A photo of the panel with its door open, one of the label inside that door, and a line about what you are adding tells us the brand, the amperage, and how much room is left.

Free Load Assessment

A licensed electrician runs the load calculation against what you actually want to run, lets you know whether a subpanel, a replacement, or a full service upgrade is right for you, and prices each option up-front.

Installed and Inspected

We book any utility disconnect if needed, fit the panel, land and label every circuit, and bring grounding and bonding up to code. Most panels are back on the same day. We pull the permit and meet the inspector ourselves.

Our Service Area

Panel Upgrades Across Greater Seattle

We fit subpanels, replace electrical panels, upgrade services to 200 or 400 amps, and install smart panels from Seattle to Mount Vernon. We also handle all of the required permits and inspections for whichever city you are in. Free estimates, upfront pricing, and a full warranty are the In Charge Home Electric standard for all projects.

Our service area includes

SeattleBellevueRentonKirklandRedmondBothellShorelineBurienTukwilaEverettArlingtonMount VernonLynnwoodMarysvilleEdmondsKenmoreMercer IslandSnohomishSammamishMedina

and surrounding communities

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