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Your One Bullet Point Solution; Electrical Upgrade

Two points; I am well aware of many threads on topic of electrical service. I do not have time to read hundreds of posts, but wish to distill them down with your help. I will also post this on the Tech Forum to get wider response:

Doing service upgrade to 100A. I plan on adding a whole house surge protector, type 2, add on to panel after the service enters house. Panel to the HT/Music room is not under consideration, as it was all updated when the room was built.

If anyone has important info/contradictory info on that plan, please inform.

What I would like to know in shorthand form from the community from those who have Done upgrades:

1. Recommended Panel? Brand, any difference?

2. I currently have sub-panel for HT/Audio room which I’m tempted to keep. I understand that this is a good move.
Electrician can sum all into a larger panel, but I have reservations. Comments/recommendations?

3. Particular wiring/breakers for panel/sub-panel for audio use?

4. Particular surge protector recommend.

As the topic has been covered much, notation form comments are welcome. Thanks for helping!



douglas_schroeder
douglas_schroeder OP
3,281 posts
 
THOUGHTS in regard to two options electrician is offering? 
Both 200A 
Both will have some form of surge protection at panel 

Eaton CH Panel with space for an Eaton surge protection 
-The Eaton panel has uses silver plated copper bus bar connection
-Breakers seem to be mounted directly onto neutral

Square D with QO breakers 
-The Square D has a tin plated copper bus bar
-breakers seem to be wired in 

My electrician plans on replacing the ground bars with copper. 

Again, if there are noise problems I will probably add an isolation transformer and sub-panel. 


QUESTION: So a load center can have more than one surge protection device? i.e. covering entire panel, and additional covering the circuits for the HT/audio room? The Siemens unit recommended by drlisz seems to do both entire panel and two circuits. Is that the same case with others, like the Eaton panel surge protector? 





drlisz
23 posts
 
@douglas_schroeder 

Have Electrician order a commerical grade loadcenter from a electrical supplier not Home depot, Lowes, etc.
The panels will have much better build quality and copper bus/ neutral bus will be much heftier than the residential grade stuff sold at big box stores.

Loadcenter - Eaton CH or Square D both good it's matter of preference and what's available.






douglas_schroeder OP
3,281 posts
 
Just about at the finish line...

Anything wrong/incompatible with this scenario?

Eaton panel (commercial grade), 200A, 40 slot

Ground bars replaced with copper (unless robust enough with commercial grade)

Eaton Complete Home Surge Protector (goes inside Eaton mains panel)


Eaton Complete Home (CH) Surge Circuit Breaker devices on HT/audio room’s 20A circuits

? Can I use more than one of these circuit breaker units (one that looks different is named "CSHA". Not sure if that would replace the Complete Home Surge Protector for panel.


TIA!

erik_squires
16,245 posts
 
The thing to keep in mind is that AFAIK, all these in panel surge protectors have the same, relatively high, clamp voltage, and activation time.

Series mode protectors have low clamp voltage and no activation time.

Yes to belt and suspenders:  Get a panel, get a unit in your room.

If you really want it all installed, then get the in-panel, simple protection, and use a unit like this for the individual circuits:

https://www.brickwall.com/products/20-amp-panel-mount-surge-protector
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