Your panel was designed for the electrical demands of its era. Modern homes draw 3–5× more power than homes did 30 years ago. If any of these sound familiar, call us for a free assessment.
Frequent trips mean your panel is overloaded. It’s trying to protect you — but it’s telling you the system can’t handle your home’s load.
Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco panels — common in homes built before 1990 — are known fire hazards. Many insurance carriers refuse to cover them.
Lights that dim when appliances start signal voltage-dropping under load — a sign of insufficient panel capacity.
A warm panel or burning smell is a fire emergency. Loose connections and overloaded bus bars can arc and ignite. Call immediately.
A Level 2 EV charger needs a dedicated 50A, 240V circuit. A hot tub needs 50–60A. These often require a panel upgrade first.
Home inspectors flag outdated panels. Many lenders and insurers require an upgrade before closing. Get ahead of it.
The average home built before 1990 has a 100-amp panel. Today’s home — with EVs, HVAC, induction ranges, and smart appliances — can easily require 150–200 amps of capacity.
Scroll down to open the panel. We'll walk through every part, from the 200-amp main breaker to the breakers that protect your family, and show how power flows through your home.
Every outlet, light, and small appliance in your home runs on 120V. These connect to a single bus bar via a single-pole breaker (15A or 20A). The neutral wire completes the circuit back to the panel.
Dryers, ranges, water heaters, EV chargers, and central AC all run on 240V. These circuits use a double-pole breaker that spans BOTH bus bars simultaneously. One wire connects to Leg A, one to Leg B.
Your 200A main breaker limits total simultaneous load. A modern home with an EV charger, central AC, and an electric range can approach 150A of load — which is exactly why 100A panels are no longer sufficient.
Most homeowners are surprised how smooth the process is. We handle everything from the permit to the final county inspection.
We evaluate your current panel, calculate your load requirements, and provide a transparent upfront quote with no surprises.
We file the permit with Anne Arundel County. All panel upgrades in Maryland legally require a permit — we handle it completely.
Your power is off for 4–6 hours while our licensed electricians install the new panel. We clean up completely before leaving.
We coordinate the county inspection, ensure everything passes, and give you a copy of the final permit for your records.
Most panel upgrades are completed in a single day. Your power will be off for approximately 4–6 hours during the installation. We schedule the county inspection in advance so there is no waiting around.
Panel upgrades in Maryland typically range from $1,500 to $3,500 depending on your current panel, the scope of work, and whether any additional wiring is needed. We provide free, no-obligation upfront estimates.
Yes. Someone needs to be home since your power will be off during installation. We schedule a specific time window and work efficiently to restore power as quickly as possible, typically within a half day.
Yes. All panel upgrades in Maryland require a permit from the county. Unity Electric handles the entire permit process including the application, scheduling, and inspection so you do not have to do anything.
Yes, potentially. Federal Pacific Stab-Lok breakers have a documented failure rate where they do not trip during overloads, which can cause fires. Many insurance companies refuse to cover homes with these panels. We strongly recommend replacement.
It depends on your current panel capacity. A Level 2 EV charger needs a dedicated 50A, 240V circuit. We assess your panel load during the consultation and can often install the EV circuit without a full upgrade. If capacity is limited, upgrading makes sense.
Free estimates · Permits handled · Licensed master electrician · Annapolis, MD
