Assessing Your Power Appetite
2. Take an Inventory of Your Electrical Demands
Before you start dreaming of upgrading your service panel, take a good hard look at your current electrical consumption. What are you really using on a daily basis? Do you have a fleet of energy-guzzling appliances? Are you planning to add any major electrical loads in the near future, like an electric car charger or a new central air conditioning system?
Consider the big players: your refrigerator, oven, air conditioner, washing machine, dryer, and any electric heating systems. Then, think about the smaller, but still significant, contributors like your entertainment systems, computers, and lighting. Add it all up (or get a professional electrician to do it for you!), and you'll get a clearer picture of your overall power demands.
Think about peak usage times too. When are you most likely to be running multiple appliances simultaneously? Perhaps it's in the evening when you're cooking dinner, watching TV, and doing laundry all at once. This peak demand is what really strains your electrical system and determines whether you need a service upgrade.
If you're barely scratching the surface of your existing 200 amp service, upgrading to 300 might be overkill. It's like buying a semi-truck to haul groceries — technically you could, but it's hardly practical, or cost-effective.
