First things first; what exactly do you need?
Do you just need more room? If you do just need more room in your panel because you have no more space for breakers then often times you just need a sub panel. A sub panel does not give you more power but more room to install more breakers (dedicated circuits).
If your panel is too small and you don’t just want a sub panel, or if you already have 1 or more sub panels and you want everything to get cleaned up by the panel you can amalgamate everything into 1 new – 100 amp panel to clean it all up and give you more room for future. If you are not making any changes to accommodate code requirements and you are not upgrading your service then oftentimes Manitoba Hydro will charge $450-$750 to come disconnect and reconnect your service. This disconnect/reconnect is required for panel changes. This price is quite steep and in these situations I often recommend putting this money towards a service upgrade. Why give Manitoba Hydro $450-$750 when that will cover the costs of a 200 amp service that you can invest into your home? This is decided on a case by case basis and can be determined by pictures via text or email.
Lastly, maybe you just need more power. If you have a 60 amp service in an older home, then upgrading to 100-200 amps is highly recommended and sometimes required by insurance companies. If you have a 100 amp service but are considering a heated garage, a hot tub, swimming pool, sauna, and all the fun things that draw more power, then you should consider upgrading to 200 amp. If you already have a 200 amp service and want more power, the next step is a 400 amp service and is a considerable power and cost jump from just 200 amps. This is not typically done in a general upgrade, but is becoming more common in large new homes.
Listed above are some of the reasons you may need to upgrade. However, getting just one of them would not require a conversation for an upgrade. If you have a 100 amp service and want a hot tub, likely your service can already handle that. Although if you are wanting a hot tub and some heat in your garage, that may start the conversation for an upgrade.
Check out our next blog post for what it looks like to upgrade your service