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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 Misc 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
 
Summarizing, it seems that as long as I seek panel with brass bus, better quality breakers, and 200A and surge protection on any panels, then the primary question is:

Any benefit to having separate, dedicated panel for HT/Audio room? 



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cleeds
5,960 posts
 
oldhvymec
The comment about not being able to get the 100 amps, that just isn’t the case..
The amperage is almost unlimited ...
Sorry, but you don’t know what you are talking about.
To be clear, I didn’t say he couldn’t receive 100A of current, only that it wasn’t assured solely because he was upgrading the panel. The supply of current in a neighborhood is not unlimited and in some areas it can be severely compromised. This is measured by what the industry calls a "beast of burden" test. I could write a book about the problems we had in our neighborhood with this, but the utility did finally fix it. I learned during the journey that it is not an uncommon problem, although much depends on the quality of your local utility.
the voltage is suppose to be 110-120 ...
Provided we are talking about the US, you are once again completely wrong. 110VAC is considered low voltage and would not comply with regulatory requirements in most - if not all - states. Nominal voltage in the US is 120VAC and tolerance is ±5 percent by regulation, or what the industry sometimes calls "tariff."
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douglas_schroeder OP
3,281 posts
 
Yes, DOH, copper! I was thinking back to the military grade outlets I installed at one time to demo. Copper bus...

This is a U.S. residence

It’s beginning to look like the alternatives are limited; I’ planning at this point:

-Square D or equivalent with copper bus and better i.e. QO breakers
-200A service upgrade

Answers to questions:
-Currently both main panel and sub-panel are about 1 foot apart; sub-panel was added when HT was built. No change planned in regards to location
-Distance to room in terms of run to 20A outlets is perhaps 20-25 feet
-20A lines are from sub-panel

My only remaining decision seems to be whether to add sub-panel (or perhaps more accurately, to leave it in place) to the service upgrade’s new 200A panel - purely to enhance sound quality? I have been told that it is desirable to have sub-panel for dedicated room to cut down on possible noise, and I have the space and wiring in place for it.
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