Hey everyone, I'm reaching out to see if anyone has a ballpark figure for how much it might cost to upgrade an electrical panel from 125A to 200A or more, along with replacing some older cloth-insulated wiring. I checked out a house today, and they're pushing for a quick sale, leaving me little time to contact electricians. The house is about 2600 square feet located in suburban Washington DC, so I'm assuming that location factors into the pricing. Any insights would be incredibly helpful!
2 Answers
In my previous home, which was built in 1972, we upgraded the panel for about $6500 in NJ. However, rewiring the whole house would have been another $10k to $20k, which we decided to skip in favor of just replacing fixtures with aluminum-rated ones. If you're considering increasing to 200 amps, remember that the process is similar to going up to 150 or 250 amps, just with different gauge wiring. If you love the house and think you can make the cost back in the long run, it might be worth it! Doing some of the work yourself, like running your own wiring, could save you a bunch too.
Costs can really vary depending on where you’re located. Upgrading from 125 amps to 200 amps can often come with fees from your local utility too—I've seen those range from a few hundred to thousands! For just the panel upgrade itself, expect around $4k as a rough estimate. As for the actual rewiring, it depends heavily on the amount of wiring and the condition of your interiors, plus if you want any finish repairs like repainting included. Some regions even have rebates or tax credits that could help out, so it’s worth checking.
Thanks for sharing! The house really seems like a good deal, depending on how everything adds up. I'm also thinking about prioritizing other renovations like replacing the original cast iron pipes and getting new windows soon.