The first stop for the electrical service once it enters your home is the main service panel.
It is often found in a utility area, such as a garage, basement, or furnace room.
Service panels also can be located outdoors, typically on an exterior house wall.
The Spruce / Kevin Norris
The main service panel includes two hot bus bars that run side-by-side down the panel.
The bus bars are fed by a large breaker called the main breaker.
Each bus bar carries 120 volts.
The Spruce / Kevin Norris
Fuse Box vs.
Older homes also have circuit breaker panels if their electrical service was updated after 1960.
Prior to the 1960s, homes used afuse panel, which protects individual circuits with screw-in or cartridge fuses.
The Spruce / Kevin Norris
Look for the point at which the main service wires from the utility company enter the home.
Find the Main Service Panel
Locate the main service panel inside or outside your home.
The panel will usually be on the opposite side of the wall where the exterior electrical meter is located.
The Spruce / Kevin Norris
Inside the panel, you will see two rows of individual circuit breakers with small toggle levers.
The amperage of these individual breakers will be between 15 and 50 amps, usually.
In rare instances, the main circuit breaker may be mounted at the bottom of the service panel.
The Spruce / Kevin Norris
Subpanels are typically 60 to 100 amps and often have branch circuits serving a specific area of the house.
They have their own main breaker, which is fed by the main panel.
The calculations are fairly complex, so most electricians use aconvenient calculator toolto properly size the main electrical service.
The Spruce / Kevin Norris
If your wiring is old, upgrade it with higher-capacity wiring.
you could also upgrade your circuit breaker to one with higher amperage ratings.
But if you have several electronic appliances, youll probably need a 200-amp panel.
A 200-amp electrical panel can not handle more than 160 amps.
If you have the opportunity to upgrade, it can be beneficial to have a 200-amp panel.
