On initial consultation, the owners also mentioned that they would like to move the panel to the basement. This works well, as the current location of the panel was on the stairs leading down to the basement.
Canadian electrical code gives specific requirements for panel locations and in a stairway is not allowed. The homeowners wanted to relocate the electrical panel into the basement, which is the standard place for electrical panels in Mount Royal, Calgary.
The basement was finished but the relocation location was directly below the current panel, so moving it to where the owner wanted the panel was perfect.
During the 100 amp panel upgrade in Mount Royal.
Relocations and upgrading electrical panels are a two-part job. The first part of the job is the panel itself. This is pretty much the same as any panel upgrade. The second part is upgrading the service. The service (or consumer service) is everything from the overhead connection to the panel itself.
As the conductors of a consumer service must be without joints and also need to reach the new location for the panel.
The upgraded service consists of a new service mast through the roof, a new meter base or socket, and new service conductors from the top of the mast all the way to the new panel. One benefit of moving the panel is installing the new panel before removing the old one. This allows us to keep the power on for longer before switching it off.
The day started with the installation of the meter base and service mast on the house side of the house and the panel and mounting board on the inside of the house. As the day progresses, the service on the outside is complete with surface mounted conduit and then wired with the appropriate size of wire for 100 amps.
The Canadian Electrical Code requires an additional bonding conductor to the electrical meter, which was completed without an issue. On the inside of the panel, we wired new circuits from the panel to the old panel location. At this location, we will splice all the old wires to new wires coming from the panel.
Because we’ve completed so many similar panel upgrades and relocations, we managed to install all the wiring on the first day of the installation. On the second day of the installation, we completed a few odds and ends, tested the circuit, and marked up the panel. We even had time to check some plugs and lights for the homeowner.
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