100 to 200 Amp Panel Upgrade in Virginia Beach, VA

Master Electrician and Class B Contractor licensed, fully bonded, and insured for full-service upgrades.

Panel, meter base, service-entrance cable, and grounding, not just a panel swap that leaves the rest undersized.

We coordinate the utility disconnect and reconnect so the handoff is handled for you.

We size the upgrade based on an NEC Article 220 load calculation, so 200 or 320 amps will fit your actual home.

Every service upgrade includes the Type 2 surge-protective device required by current code.

A firm written estimate after we see your service, honored for 30 days, with no hidden fees.

Modern loads have outgrown a 100-amp service

A 100-amp service was sized for a gas range, one air conditioner, and a handful of circuits. Today's home stacks a heat pump, an electric water heater, an induction range, a dryer, a hot tub, and an EV charger onto it, and the math does not fit. Upgrading to 200 amps gives your home the headroom to run all of it safely, and it is the single most common reason our phone rings.

You are out of breaker space, or the breakers trip under load

Two symptoms point straight to an upgrade. The first is a full panel with no open slots, sometimes worked around with unsafe double-tapped breakers. The second is breakers that trip when several large loads run together. A 200-amp upgrade adds both the capacity and the physical space, so the range, the charger, and the heat pump each get a properly sized circuit.

Your service was flagged at sale, by an appraiser, or by your insurer

An undersized 100-amp service shows up during a home sale, a refinance appraisal, or an insurance review, especially when the equipment is also decades old. Buyers and lenders increasingly expect a modern 200-amp service, and an old panel can stall a transaction. Upgrading clears the flag, adds real value, and modernizes the equipment.

The service equipment

A true service upgrade replaces the equipment that carries the new, larger service, not just the panel.

• New 200-amp main panel (or 320A/400A meter-main for larger needs)
• Meter base replacement rated for the new service
• Service-entrance conductor upgrade (mast, riser, and cable)
• Weatherhead and service-mast replacement where needed
• Main breaker and bus rated for the new amperage
• Relocation of the panel or meter where code or flooding requires it

Code, grounding, and protection

An upgrade brings the whole service current, which is where much of the real value is.

• Grounding-electrode system upgrade (ground rods and bonding)
• Water-pipe, gas, and CSST bonding to the current code
• AFCI and GFCI breaker coverage where code requires it
• Whole-home Type 2 surge protective device at the panel
• Every circuit is labeled and the panel is organized

Utility and permit coordination

The parts that make a service upgrade different from ordinary panel work.

• Utility disconnect and reconnect coordination
• City electrical permit and inspection
• Overhead or underground service coordination
• Load calculation to justify 200A, 320A, or 400A
• Sequencing to minimize the time your power is off

How much of the service entrance has to change

The lowest-cost scenario is a home whose meter base and service-entrance cable are already sound, and only the panel and grounding need upgrading. The cost rises when the meter base is corroded or undersized, when the mast, riser, and weatherhead need to be replaced, and when the service-entrance conductors need to be upsized to carry 200 amps. On the coast, salt-air corrosion makes meter and service-entrance replacement more common than it would be inland, so we assess that equipment before quoting.

Overhead versus underground, and 200 versus 320 amps

An overhead service and an underground service are different jobs, and the utility coordination differs for each. Stepping up to a 320-amp meter-main for a solar, battery, and EV stack is more equipment than a straight 200-amp upgrade. We size to your real loads so you are not paying for capacity you will never use, nor under-building a service you will outgrow in a year.

Code items that come with the upgrade

A compliant service upgrade includes the grounding-electrode upgrade, the water, gas, and CSST bonding, AFCI and GFCI breaker coverage where required, and the whole-home surge device, all of which are part of a job that passes inspection and protects your home. We itemize these, so you can see where the cost goes rather than wondering what a suspiciously cheap quote is leaving out.

Why we quote after seeing it, not over the phone

Two 100-amp homes can need very different upgrades depending on the condition of the meter, the service entrance, and the grounding, so a firm number requires seeing the service. What we promise is a free, itemized written estimate that holds for 30 days, and honest guidance on whether 200 or 320 amps is the right call for your home.

Ryan found Castles Electrical great to work with on his electrical panel. They responded quickly and laid out options and reasonable prices to repair or replace the panel, exactly the straightforward repair-or-replace conversation a homeowner wants before committing to a service upgrade.

Real Customer Example | From a verified Google review (Ryan M., April 2026)

Tyler heard a buzzing noise coming from his electrical panel and called Wayne, who came right over, diagnosed and fixed the problem, and answered every follow-up question without ever making him feel rushed. He described exactly the patient, high-quality, unhurried service that turns a worrying panel noise into confidence.

Real Customer Example | From a verified Google review (Tyler N., January 2026)

Robert had his electrical panel replaced and praised the excellent customer service and knowledge, a straightforward, well-handled panel upgrade done right.

Real Customer Example | From a verified Google review (Robert M., June 2026)

A huge cohort of original 100-amp ranch and tract homes

Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and Norfolk are full of 1960s and 1970s ranches and tract homes that still run their original 100-amp service, sized for a very different era of electrical use. These homes are the core of the service-upgrade market here, because the original service simply cannot carry the loads their owners now want to add, and we upgrade them every week.

The EV and heat-pump load stack is the modern trigger

This area has heavy EV adoption and steady heat-pump conversion, and a Tesla or a new heat pump is often the specific load that pushes a 100-amp service past its limit. When a homeowner calls to add an EV charger, the load calculation frequently shows the service itself has to grow first, which turns a charger install into a service upgrade, and we explain that clearly up front.

Utility service-drop coordination on the utility side

Every service upgrade requires the utility to disconnect the existing service and reconnect the new one, and larger 320-amp and 400-amp services also require the utility to size the service drop. Knowing how to coordinate that handoff and scheduling it so the inspection and reconnect line up is a core part of doing a service upgrade correctly, rather than leaving a homeowner stuck between an electrician and a power company.

Undersized service flagged at sale and refinance

The region's active home-sale and refinance market means that undersized 100-amp services are regularly flagged by appraisers, buyers, and lenders, especially when paired with aging equipment. Upgrading to 200 amps clears that flag and adds marketability, which is why so many of our service upgrades are tied to a closing or a refinance timeline that we schedule around.

The load calculation that justifies 200 or 320 amps

We do not default every home to 200 amps. We run an NEC Article 220 load calculation that totals the lighting, receptacle, appliance, HVAC, water heater, and special loads like an EV charger and hot tub, then size the service to that number with headroom. For most homes, 200 amps is right, but a home stacking solar, a battery, and EV charging often justifies a 320-amp meter-main.

Service-entrance conductor sizing for 200 amps

Carrying 200 amps requires the service-entrance conductors to be sized correctly, typically 2/0 copper or 4/0 aluminum, and a panel upgrade that reuses undersized entrance cable will fail inspection or run hot. We verify and upgrade the conductors from the weatherhead or underground lateral, through the meter, to the panel, so the entire path is rated for the new service. This is the detail cut-rate upgrades skip most often, because the buried cable is invisible until it overheats under a real load.

Sequencing the utility disconnect and reconnect

A service upgrade means the utility de-energizes your service so we can rebuild it, then re-energizes the new one after inspection. The sequence of permit, disconnect, install, inspection, and reconnect determines how long your power is off. We plan that sequence so the outage is limited to the working portion of the cutover, not an open-ended wait. We stage our crew to be ready the moment the utility drops service, then promptly call for inspection so the reconnection isn't waiting on a gap.

When 200 amps is not enough: 320 and 400 amp services

For larger custom homes and for the solar, battery, and EV stack that is increasingly common here, 200 amps runs out, and the right answer is a 320-amp meter-main or a 400-amp service. Sizing that correctly and coordinating the heavier service drop with your utility is specialized work. We handle it, and we tell you directly when your plans, a Powerwall plus an EV charger plus an all-electric home, justify stepping past 200 amps so you are not upgrading twice.