Short answer
Replace or upgrade a panel when it still uses fuses, when it's full or shows signs of heat, or when you're adding a large load like an electric range, heat pump, addition or new equipment. A load calculation tells you whether you need a new panel, a larger service, or just better balancing. Select Electric installs and upgrades panels in Midland, Bay and Saginaw Counties and coordinates the disconnect with your utility.
The panel is where every circuit in the building starts. When it's undersized, crowded or failing, the symptoms show up everywhere else: breakers that trip, lights that dim, and no room to add what you need.
Panel, Service, Subpanel and Balancing
Panel Replacement
Swaps out a worn, damaged or outdated panel and usually adds spaces for more circuits. The amperage coming in may stay the same.
Service Upgrade
The service is everything that brings power from the utility to your panel: the overhead drop or underground lateral, the mast or conduit, the meter base and the service entrance conductors. Going from 100 to 200 amps usually means replacing most of that, not just the panel.
Subpanels
A subpanel fed from the main panel puts breakers closer to a garage, addition, pole barn or shop. It adds spaces, not service capacity.
Panel Balancing
Spreading the load evenly across both legs of a 120/240 volt service. It is a common fix when circuits have been added one at a time over the years without anyone looking at the whole panel.
Signs You Need Panel Work
- You still have screw-in fuses, or a mix of fuses and breakers.
- The panel is full, with tandem breakers squeezed in or no spaces left.
- Breakers trip under normal use, feel warm, or show scorch marks. See breaker keeps tripping.
- Lights dim when large appliances start. See lights flickering or dimming.
- The panel hums, buzzes or smells hot. See burning smell, buzzing or a hot outlet.
- You're adding an electric range, a heat pump, a hot tub, an addition, a generator, or new equipment in a shop or business.
- An insurer or home inspector has flagged the panel.
How the Job Goes
- Look and load calculation. We check the existing panel and service and what you plan to add, and size the service to what the building needs.
- Written plan. What gets replaced, where the new panel goes, and which circuits need attention or rebalancing.
- Permit and utility. We pull the permit and schedule the inspection where your city, township or the State requires it, and arrange the disconnect and reconnect with your utility.
- Install day. Power is off while the old equipment comes out and the new goes in. Circuits are moved over, balanced and labeled.
- Inspection and reconnect. The work is inspected, the utility restores power, and we walk you through the new panel.
For businesses, we plan the shutdown around your hours so the building is without power for as little of the working day as possible.
What It Costs
This work is priced per job, because the building, the distances and what's already in the panel are different every time. Ask for a written quote that lists the materials and everything included. For what drives electrical prices in general, see what electrical work costs.
Local Detail: Older Services and Utility Coordination
Many homes in the area were built long before today's electrical loads. U.S. Census figures (American Community Survey, 2020–2024) put the median home in Bay City at 1941 and in the city of Saginaw at 1949, with about 70% or more of homes in each built before 1960. It is common to find 60 or 100 amp services, old fuse boxes, and panels with every space used.
Any service upgrade needs your utility: Consumers Energy in most of the area, and Bay City Electric Light & Power inside Bay City. Each has its own process for disconnects, reconnects and meter work, and we handle that coordination. Ice and wind storms can also pull a service mast away from the house. If a line is down, stay away from it and call 911 or your utility first.
To talk through panel work, call (989) 835-3587.
Common Questions
Do I need a 200 amp service?
Not every home does. A load calculation, based on the home's size and its heating, cooking, water heating and other large loads, shows what the service actually needs to carry. Homes adding an electric range, a heat pump, an EV charger or an addition often need more than 100 amps. A home with gas heat and a gas range may be fine as it is.
What is panel balancing?
Most homes have 120/240 volt service with two hot legs. Panel balancing means arranging circuits so the load is spread evenly between those two legs. A badly unbalanced panel can make one leg run much harder than the other, and can contribute to lights dimming when certain loads come on. Balancing is often done during a panel replacement or when circuits are added.
What is a subpanel and do I need one?
A subpanel is a smaller panel fed from the main panel. It puts breakers near where circuits are needed, such as a garage, addition, pole barn or shop area. It adds circuit spaces but does not add capacity to the service, so if the service is already at its limit, a service upgrade may be needed instead.
How long will the power be off?
For a typical residential panel replacement, usually part of one day. Your utility (Consumers Energy in most of the area, Bay City Electric Light & Power inside Bay City) disconnects and reconnects the service, so we coordinate that timing with them and with you ahead of time.
Does a panel upgrade need a permit?
Service and panel work generally requires a permit and inspection. We pull the permit and schedule the inspection where your city, township or the State requires it, and the utility may need the inspection passed before it reconnects.