Fuse Box & Panel Upgrades

A standard 200A panel swap (no extras) runs $2,500-$4,500 depending on the panel manufacturer, breaker count, and town permit fees. If meter base, service mast, or grounding work is also needed (common in older homes), the all-in cost runs $4,500-$8,000. AFCI/GFCI retrofits add $50-$100 per protected circuit. We quote the all-in price after a free walk-through.

Most customers experience a 4-6 hour outage during the actual swap. We coordinate with Eversource for the meter pull, do the panel swap, re-terminate all branch circuits, and restore power before the inspector arrives in most cases. We can provide a portable generator for medical equipment, work-from-home, or essential appliances during the outage.

FPE Stab-Lok panels have a documented history of breakers that fail to trip during fault conditions — the breaker physically stays in the "on" position even when current exceeds its rating. This is the failure mode that breakers exist to prevent. Multiple studies and class-action settlements have addressed this. Most CT homeowner-policy underwriters now flag FPE panels at renewal. The fix is a panel swap, not breaker replacement (the issue is in the bus design, not the individual breakers).

For most fuse panels and FPE/Zinsco panels: no, the issue is in the panel itself, not the breakers. For modern panels (Square D, Eaton, Siemens, etc.) where you're upgrading individual circuits to AFCI or GFCI protection, yes — we can swap individual breakers without replacing the panel. The walk-through scope determines which path is right.

Yes, every CT town requires a permit and inspection for any panel work. We pull the permit through your town hall, schedule the inspection, and Tyler personally meets the inspector. The permit fee passes through at cost (typically $75-$200 depending on town). The inspection sign-off is what your insurance underwriter wants to see at renewal.

Often yes. If your existing service entry conductors and meter base are sized for 100A and you want to step up to 200A, the service side needs to come along with the panel. We coordinate with Eversource for the service-side work as part of the same permit. Cost adds $1,500-$3,500 for the service-side upgrade depending on overhead vs underground and mast condition.