Full notes from my 200A upgrade: every contractor quote, every permit step, every decision

Just finished a panel upgrade from 100A to 200A service. Combining it with adding circuits for: heat pump (30A 240V), heat pump water heater (30A 240V), induction range (50A 240V), and a Level 2 EV charger (60A 240V). Total new load: 170A of 240V circuits added in one project. Here's the full experience.

Why the upgrade was necessary
My original 100A service had a load calculation right around 95A using the NEC Article 220 method — already at 95% utilization before adding anything. The heat pump alone would have pushed it over. 200A was the obvious call; I briefly considered 400A service (which would have allowed a full solar + battery setup without any load management headaches) but the utility's 400A service installation fee in my area was $4,200 — the jump from 200A to 400A rarely pencils out unless you're also adding solar storage in the same project.

The permit and utility coordination process
This is the part nobody talks about enough. The permit was straightforward: local building department, electrical permit application, $180 fee, plan review in 3 business days. The bottleneck was the utility. My electric utility requires a service upgrade request (separate from the building permit) that involves their engineering department reviewing load and potentially upgrading the transformer on the street. The utility took 6 weeks from application to approval. No work can start until you have both the permit AND the utility approval. Plan for 6–8 weeks of lead time before any physical work happens.

What the work actually cost

• Electrician labor (2-day job, 2-person crew): $3,200
• New 200A panel (Square D QO 40-space): $340
• Meter base and weatherhead: $280
• Utility service drop reconnection fee: $450
• Permit: $180
• Wiring and materials (wire, conduit, breakers, outlets): $620
• Total: $5,070

I got three quotes ranging from $4,400 to $7,800. The variance was almost entirely in labor rate. The electrician I went with had done utility coordination before and managed the utility application on my behalf, which was worth a premium to me.

What I'd do differently
The main thing I'd change: I specified the circuits I knew I needed at the time and ended up with a 40-space panel that's already 75% full. If I'm serious about a solar + battery system in the next 5 years, I should have specified a 60-space panel at the start — costs maybe $80 more in panel and 30 minutes of extra labor to populate correctly. Future-proofing a panel costs almost nothing at installation time and significant money to retrofit later.

The second thing: I wish I'd run conduit sleeves in the wall cavities while the walls were open. We ran wire directly in conduit in the mechanical room but in finished spaces we fished wire, which means adding a circuit later requires opening walls. Empty conduit sleeves (¾-inch ENT) in the wall cavities cost maybe $50 in materials and would have saved significant trouble.

The Inflation Reduction Act 200A upgrade rebate
The IRA's Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR) program — administered through states — includes up to $4,000 in rebates for electrical panel upgrades at or above 200A for qualifying income households. My state's program wasn't funded yet when I did my upgrade but the funding is rolling out. Check your state energy office's website; if you're below 150% of area median income, this rebate alone covers 80% of the project cost.