Cost to replace or install an electrical panel:

This document discusses the typical costs to replace an electrical panel. This information on electrical panel replacement costs suipports our articles describing hazards leading to the need to replace Federal Pacific Stab-Lok® Electric Panels or Zinsco / Zinsco-Sylvania Electric Panels in buildings.

Replacement FPE Stab-Lok® circuit breakers are unlikely to reduce the failure risk of this equipment. We recommend that residential FPE Stab-Lok® electrical panels be replaced entirely or the entire panel bus assembly be replaced, regardless of FPE model number or FPE year of manufacture. We do not sell circuit breakers nor any other products. 

Electrical Panel Replacement Cost - Typical cost of the traditional FPE Electrical Panel Replacement

Quotes From Electrical Contractors on Electric Panel Replacement

Quotes from electrical contractors on panel replacement by installing a complete, new, electrical panel, can be expected to vary by area of the country, hardware needed, replacement panel size in ampacity and number of circuits, accessibility to perform the work, and other factors that affect labor or materials. That said, we've heard panel replacement costs ranging from $1,200. to $4,000 (April 2007, Northwestern United States). If you are surprised by the quotation you receive from your electrician, ask for the supporting details of the bid or ask for a bid from a competitor too. Shop expertise and workmanship not just price.

Northeastern U.S.: Typically the installation of a new 100-Amp electrical pane in the Northeastern U.S. is around $1,200 to $1,500. (June 2006, Northeastern U.S.). This figure does not include the additional cost for a service panel (150A or 200A), extra labor, or materials for demolition and repair of a wall needed to address an electric panel which is already installed.

Southwestern U.S.: (Such as Dallas Fort Worth) Typically the installation of a new 100-Amp electrical pane in the Southwestern U.S. is around $1,200 to $2,100. (February 2008 Dallas Electrical Costs). A 150A or 200A electrical panel may cost up to $2400. from some installers.

Additional costs for replacement electrical panel installations: may be expected where there is difficulty of access, where demolition and wall repair are needed, where the electrical service is being upgraded to a larger ampacity than that of the panel being replaced, or where there are other special requirements. Typical factors affecting the cost of electrical repair and retrofit work are discussed in more detail just below.

The "Short Wire" problem and the Eaton Renovation Load Center

Electrical panel, FPE, Zinsco, or any other brand can be extra difficult when replacing the entire panel if only short lengths of wire are available in the old electrical box. Especially if the new electric panel is physically larger than the one being replaced, the original wires may not reach the circuit breakers in the new panel.

A product which might help when the entire loadcenter (what normal people call the "electric panel") is going to be replaced. is E-CH's "Renovation Loadcenters". The unique feature is that UL listed terminal blocks are provided in the enclosure as a means to terminate existing wires too short to reach the new panel's branch circuit breakers or neutral bus. A new wire can then be wired from the terminal block to the breaker or neutral.

This is a safer method than the twist-on connectors commonly used, or a separate terminal box, which takes up extra space. I do not discuss this approach further here but more information is available from Eaton Corp., Cutler Hammer Products or through your electrician and electrical supplier.

"RETROFIT COST - Cost of Replacing an FPE Panel using the E-CH Adjustable Retrofit Kit" discusses the costs of FPE panel replacement using Cutler Hammer's retrofit electrical panel kit. This money-saving option is sometimes suitable, depending on the physical dimensions of the original electrical panel and the ampacity of the new service to be installed.

Factors Affecting the Cost of an Electrical Panel Replacement

• Area of the country: prevailing wages and other costs for electricians vary by area of the country as well as city, town, or rural rates.
• Electrical Work Permits and Electrician Licensing Fees required vary by municipality as do the fees that must be paid for those permissions to install an new electrical panel.
• Amount of labor required to remove the old panel: this may vary widely depending on where and how the old electrical panel was installed, the amount of demolition, the necessity to perform cosmetic repairs to a surrounding wall or other surface, and even the working space to access the old panel.
• Condition of the existing electrical wiring or its insulation: may affect panel replacement cost. Copper in electrical wiring does not deteriorate with mere age (contrary to what a New Paltz NY contractor told one of our clients).
  
  But the wire insulation may be damaged and unsafe from age, or from overheating. (Overheating a wire, unlike mere age, can also damage the copper wire itself.) Damaged electrical wires may have to be replaced. Replacement does not necessarily mean that the entire circuit needs to be replaced.
  
  Often overheating occurs locally, such as close to a connection or in a light fixture. The electrician may be able to cut back the damaged wiring, install a junction box, and extend the old circuit to the new electrical panel.
• Obsolete electrical wiring such as knob and tube wiring does not necessarily have to be replaced (by code) but may be damaged, modified, or otherwise unsafe. Since a traditional knob and tube electrical circuit lacks a ground wire, these circuits should be upgraded to new wire whenever possible.
• Physical size of the old electrical panel may be too small to preclude its re-use with a panel retrofit kit, so the entire box needs to be replaced.
• Short electrical wires in the old panel may make it difficult or impossible to connect the existing wires to breakers in a new, physically larger electrical panel. Extensions, junction boxes, or a retrofit panel kit may be needed. We discussed this concern just above
• Other new electrical work: may end up being part of your project.
  
  Since it's going to cost just to have your electrician walk in the door to do any job, it is often more economical to batch together multiple electrical tasks into one larger project. Discuss with your electrician other electrical improvements such as adding circuits, installing grounded electrical receptacles, adding a switch you've always wanted, and other improvements that may be less costly when added to the electrical panel replacement project.

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Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

On 2020-06-17 - by (mod) -

Please see

FPE REPLACEMENT PANELS

At the continue reading link below

On 2020-06-10 by David Valentine

what retrofit unit do I need for replacing the interior only on an FPE model 80-627916

On 2018-03-29 by Laura Davis

I received a quote from an electrician for $10,657 and $12,000. Sure seems like a lot to me. Our property is out of State in Spokane, WA do you think this may done cheaper?

On 2017-02-23 by tim

where can i get breakers

On 2016-07-10 - by (mod) -

Sheri, please see the article above where we give typical electrical panel replacement costs.

On 2016-07-09 by Sheri

To replace a braker box inside the home what price range approximately.

On 2015-11-13 by Karen Blake

Do you know where I may find a used dead front for a LW008TR Murray, or a retrofit kit?

On 2015-02-27 by (mod) - Don't mix up Zinsco and FPE - two different unsafe electrical panel products

Above: Characteristic Zinsco or Sylvania Zinsco circuit breakers; Below: characteristic bus in an FPE Stab-Lok electrical panel.



Sue we may be a bit mixing up stuff here: FPE and Zinsco are two different electrical panel brands with different panel bus and breaker designs. To my knowledge Zinsco never made an FPE electrical panel nor breaker.

"Functioned well" can also be confusing. Some breakers, such as FPE, fail to trip when they should at a rate much higher than typical in the industry. But a breaker that's never overloaded seems "just fine" because it was never asked to do its job. Even more cautionary is the observation by test labs such as Aronstein that once the breaker has tripped (or been flipped on and off manually) the chance of a failure-to-trip can increase significantly.

So for these devices "never had a problem" is unfortunately about as reliable as saying "my auto's seatbelt is cut to a single thread but it works perfectly - I've never had an accident yet".

See FPE & FP IDENTIFICATION, HOW TO

and

See IDENTIFY ZINSCO ELECTRICAL PANELS

On 2015-02-27 by Sue K.

I have a FPE panel by Zinsco. It has functioned well since 1973 when the home was built. I can count on 1/2 hand how many times I ever had to reset a breaker. The only time brakers are flipped is to turn one off on purpose deliberately to maybe install something electical. An electrician came in and reviewed the electrical system and said it was very good. Everything tested out properly. He said the wiring is 'copper clad.' Will my home probably NOT pass the 4-point inspection now required in Florida due to the equipment being FPE?

On 2015-02-16 - by (mod) -

PS replacement of an FPE panel is not required by law, unless an electrical inspector elected to make a technical interpretation of the electrical code's general provisions on suitability - which would be unusual.

The requirement comes from your insurance company who knows of the hazards, the fail-to-trip rate, and thus doesn't want you to have a loss. When you have a product that can fail to trip more than half the time in an industry where the no-trip rate is less than.01% overall, the insurance company is on solid ground. The fact that you have not personally seen a fail-to-trip is absolutely not an assurance that your panel will work properly again, and worse, testing has shown that prior exercising of the breakers actually increases the no-trip rate.

I would replace the panel.

On 2015-02-12 by PS

My Federal pacific electrical panel worked fine and tripped when ever you extra load happend. My insurance company is asking to replace the FPE panel.
My question, is it mandatory to replace the panel because of FPE panel?

On 2015-02-06 by Kim

The electric in my kitchen went out the breaker didn't kick but when ITurn my stove on now the lights come on and the stove won't heat
Thanks

On 2014-12-07 - by (mod) -

Janet

Fewer items plugged in on a circuit reduces the risk of a circuit overload which thus reduces risk - I agree. Since the main FPE hazard is failure to trip in response to an overcurrent or overload on the circuit.

BUt there are other hazards: switches moved to the "OFF" position may be "ON" internally - which can fry someone.

It's a bit like driving around with no seatbelt - you're ok as long as you don't leave the driveway or are never in a crash. Driving slowly reduces the crash risk but doesn't eliminate it.

On 2014-12-05 by Janet McGuire

I do not have a lot of appliances: no dishwasher, no audio equipment, no computer. Do I still need to be concerned about my old FP breaker box?

On 2014-09-20 by Bennie Walton

I was recently informed by an electrician doing work at my home in Denver Colorado That I have an FPE outdoor electrical panel and the issues with the breakers and the mounting of the breakers. He informed me that to bring things up to code I would be looking at $4000 upward; that won't happen since I am retired and I'm not wealthy. I know I will either leave things alone or do the work myself replacing the buss assembly.

This site has been helpful pointing me in the right direction with cutler-Hammer retrofit and renovation kits.

I have no desire in getting an inspector involved because I would be pushed back into the "bringing everything up to current codes". My safest bet is to use the existing FPE panel, gut it, and replace with at least a 200 amp, 30-breaker buss assembly, and the terminal block method for short wires.

If the source leads (4/0) would wind up short as well I'll need to figure how to connect those without adding extra lengths of 4/0 wire. I have over 11-years of commercial electrical wiring and that would help in the upgrade. There probably is no way to bring an effective lawsuit for a company that no longer exist in the USA. This has really got me ticked off.

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Information Source Notice: portions of the text of this document are from email exchanged between the web author and the Eaton Corp., Cutler Hammer Products Lead Design Engineer and Eaton Product Manager involved with the products discussed in this document.

The illustration at page top is from the Eaton Electrical PDF which describes their product line. The author has no financial nor any other connection with Eaton Corp., Cutler Hammer Products, nor any other company whose products are discussed at this website. Corrections of errors or omissions, product user feedback, or other critique are invited. Our editorial policies are

at ACCURACY & BIAS PLEDGE

We solicit photos and description of field experience from installing electricians and from consumers. CONTACT Us to report field experience with this equipment.

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• CAN'T AFFORD A NEW ELECTRIC PANEL?
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• PUSHMATIC - BULLDOG PANELS
• SIEMENS MURRAY Recall
• SQUARE-D COUNTERFEIT BREAKER RECALL
• ZINSCO SYLVANIA ELECTRICAL PANELS

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