Originally Posted by
Ole Anderson
I would think that the reason for 200 amp panels has more to do with the number of available circuits rather than the actual total load on the panel. Theoretical load, yes. When I built my house in 1975, my buddy's dad was an electrician and he convinced me to go with a 200 amp panel in a 1550 sf house. So glad he did as that panel is now full. Wired it under permit myself.
Exactly!
With all of the code requirements for dedicated circuits that have happened through the years in residential wiring, a 100 amp panel fills up pretty quick. The number of available/allowed poles in a 200 amp panel is typically greater. The ability to balance the neutral, based on expected daily loads is also more easily accomplished in a box with more poles/breakers.
I know, I know, that folks will say that you can just use tandems to increase breaker availability, but they were not always as widely accepted in use as they are today.In some jurisdictions they were flat out not allowed! I would also venture to guess that a great majority of them are installed in violation of the panel manufacturers literature. We did a lot of panel remediation/ upgrades in the late 80's for this particular issue, for pending house sales, probably two or three a week in Connecticut during the late 80's housing boom.
Last edited by Mike Cutler; 02-16-2020 at 8:42 AM.
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