Electrical Panel Upgrades & Replacement
Out of breaker spaces, lights that dip when the furnace starts, or a house still running on fuses — the panel is where the fix begins. EMT Electric replaces and upgrades panels across Chicago's South Side and the south and southwest suburbs.
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Signs your panel is due
Some panels fail loudly, most just fall behind the house they feed.
It can't keep up
- Breakers trip whenever two big appliances run at once
- Every slot is full and there is nowhere to land a new circuit
- A 60- or 100-amp service feeding central air, an electric dryer, and a finished basement
It's telling you something
- Buzzing, warmth, or scorch marks at the panel — treat this as urgent and call
- A home inspector or insurance carrier flagged the panel during a sale or renewal
- Screw-in fuses, or a brand with a known failure history
How a panel swap actually goes
It starts with a load calculation, not a sales pitch — the numbers decide whether 100 amps genuinely serves the house or whether a 200-amp service is warranted, and whether the existing service drop and meter can support the change. On the scheduled day the old panel comes out, every circuit lands on a new breaker, and each one gets traced and labeled so the legend on the door actually matches the house. Power is down for part of that day and back on before we leave.
The paperwork is part of the job, not your problem. Peter pulls the electrical permit, registers with the village when it requires a contractor registration, and stands next to the inspector at final. You end up with a panel that passes — and the documents that prove it did, which is exactly what a buyer's attorney or an insurance adjuster will one day ask for.
Sub-panels, AFCI, and new circuits
When the main panel is healthy but crowded, a 12- or 20-circuit sub-panel is often the smarter move — it carries a basement build-out, a garage, or a kitchen remodel on its own breakers and leaves the main service untouched. We also bring bedroom circuits up to current arc-fault (AFCI) requirements and run dedicated 240-volt circuits for dryers, ranges, workshops, and EV chargers.
What moves the price
Panel work is quoted per job, free, and firm before anything is shut off. The variables that matter: the amperage you're moving to, the condition of the wiring landing in the panel, whether the meter socket or service entrance needs work, and your municipality's permit and inspection fees. If a quote elsewhere seemed suspiciously low, ask whether it included the permit — a panel swapped without one is a problem you inherit at closing.
Panel questions we hear
How long does a replacement take?
Most residential swaps are done in a working day, with the power off for a stretch of it. Utility coordination, when the service entrance is involved, adds lead time before the work — not during it.
Can I go from 100 to 200 amps?
Usually — the limiting factor is the service drop and meter, not the panel itself. That gets checked during the estimate, so the quote you approve already reflects the answer.
Is a permit really required?
Yes — everywhere we work, panel replacement is permitted and inspected. We handle it, and it protects you: unpermitted panel work surfaces at the worst possible time, in a home sale or an insurance claim.