02 — Scenarios
What Applies in Common Portsmouth Situations
03 — Sizing
Sizing the Service When Gas Heat Goes Electric
Census estimates show about as many Portsmouth homes heat with utility gas as with electricity, so a heat pump often replaces a gas furnace. The National Electrical Code includes an optional calculation for existing one-family homes that are adding load. When no new heating or air conditioning is involved, existing and new loads are totaled, with the first 8,000 watts counted in full and the rest at 40 percent, because not everything runs at once.
When a heat pump or central electric heat is added, that equipment is counted at its full rating, added to the total. A gas water heater, range, or dryer switched at the same time enters the calculation as well, and the result shows whether a 100-amp service can stay.
Large heat pumps also draw a surge when they start, and Dominion’s residential service standards account for starting current, so we note the unit’s size when the service is planned.
04 — Process
How a Portsmouth Panel Upgrade Is Planned
Confirm the flood hazard area
Whether the address falls in a special flood hazard area decides whether the chapter applies at all.
List past and planned work
Renovations, repairs, and additions from the last ten years, since the city counts them toward the 50 percent line.
Run the load calculation
We total current appliances plus the heat pump or addition you are planning.
File the permit and schedule inspection
We pull the electrical permit, which stays valid for six months, meet the city inspector, and coordinate with Dominion when the meter or service changes.
05 — Dominion and the City
Panel Day With Dominion and the City
Dominion Energy’s service rules say the company is consulted before changes are made to existing equipment, and company authorization is required before a meter seal is broken for rewiring. Only authorized Dominion representatives connect or disconnect the service drop. Not every panel replacement requires breaking the meter seal, but a service upgrade does, so that date is set around Dominion’s schedule as well as ours.
Each service upgrade receives a Dominion work request number, and in Dominion’s service process, the meter is installed after any required electrical inspections. When a metering enclosure has deteriorated to an unsafe condition, the customer replaces it with an enclosure provided by Dominion, which can be part of the job on a weathered service. Virginia’s residential code also calls for a surge protective device whenever service equipment is replaced.
06 — After a Flood
When Floodwater Has Reached the Panel
A planned renovation is one way a Portsmouth panel comes up for replacement. A flood is the other. The Electrical Safety Foundation International advises that if water rose above the outlets, a licensed electrician should be called before the main breaker is turned back on.
The National Electrical Manufacturers Association’s guide to water-damaged equipment lists breakers and fuses that sat in water as equipment to replace, along with GFCI and AFCI devices, outlets, switches, and indoor-only cable. Water can corrode a breaker’s mechanism and degrade a fuse’s filler. For the panelboard itself, NEMA points to the manufacturer on whether it can be reconditioned. A post-flood evaluation is a paid service visit that starts with what the water touched.
07 — Flood Repairs
Flood Repairs: Like-for-Like or Brought Up to Flood Rules?
Virginia’s existing-building code allows electrical wiring and equipment under repair to be repaired or replaced with like material. In a flood hazard area, that changes when the work is repair of substantial damage: the flood design requirements for new construction then apply to the whole structure. Smaller repairs do not have to meet new-construction flood design under the state code, though Portsmouth’s greatest-extent-possible rule still applies.
This is a separate test from the renovation total above. The federal flood insurance program defines substantial damage as damage for which restoring the structure would equal or exceed half of its market value before the damage. Portsmouth adds a second path: a house damaged by flooding two or more times in any consecutive ten-year period, with cumulative losses at or above half its market value, is also treated as substantially damaged.
Where full compliance applies, FEMA’s guidance on protecting building utilities recommends placing the distribution panel above the design flood elevation unless the box is protected from floodwater, with any circuits that must stay lower isolated on clearly marked breakers. The city’s floodplain administrator makes the substantial damage determination, and we describe the electrical damage and scope for that review.
08 — Why Castles
Our Part in a Portsmouth Panel Upgrade
Meter Base Checked
Weathered enclosures replaced with Dominion’s.
Surge Device Added
Whole-home device installed on panel jobs.
Flood Exposure Documented
Water-exposed breakers and devices identified.
Gas-to-Electric Load Counted
Water heater, range, and dryer included.
09 — Proof
Suggestions for Avoiding Future Problems
A reviewer noted the work was completed safely, neatly, and up to code, and that our electrician offered suggestions to prevent future issues.
From our five-star Google reviews
Google 5.0 Rated by Hampton Roads Customers
Castles Electrical maintains a 5.0 rating on Google. The reviews below load as a live widget, so this page shows current feedback from real Castles Electrical customers.
10 — FAQS
