Electrical Service upgrade from 200 amp to 320/400 amp?

[AustinB]

Originally Posted by The Villages Guy

I was wondering that, too. We have problems heating our home in Florida once it is in the 20's. Can't imagine below zero, unless there is something different in ones up there. That's a lot of amps.

We have 2 mini splits at work that work qyuite well down into the teens. The shops they are in are poorly insulated, so the fact that they work tht well is good.

A co-worker has oe at his house and it heats the whole house very well. Below zero youwill need to
help it out.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by AustinB

We have 2 mini splits at work that work qyuite well down into the teens. The shops they are in are poorly insulated, so the fact that they work tht well is good.

A co-worker has oe at his house and it heats the whole house very well. Below zero youwill need to
help it out.

Well that is great. I never knew they had ones that would work up there. I know some folks use geothermal up there, as well.

[woxyroxme]

It would help to know what size conductor your URD is, many homes will have 4/0 URD for 200A service. Exactly what is the power draw of the mini split? Don't see why you would have to upgrade for just one mini split if you already have 200A service.

[Chris Burton]

I’m an HVAC-R Tech and Heat-pumps typically need a 30-35amp breaker. 30 amp is most common. 5 zones or more then look on the Condenser to see Max amps. Doubt a more than 200amp service would b needed for residential.

[inthetrees]

Is 200 amp service standard for new home construction in Maine?

Talked to a broker earlier that said 100 was, and I think he was just trying to tell me what I wanted to hear, seems nuts in 2019

[Electrician4you]

Originally Posted by HoustonTexasEngineer

Im looking to make the transition to all electrical Mini Split heat pumps with this transition we will need to upgrade our current service to 320/400 amp. what all is involved in this? can the current underground wire/conductors supply this amperage or will CMP need to be called to run a new line? this is an underground line so i imagine CMP would charge a fortune for this?

That’s some crazy power needs. How big is your house

Why don’t you run a sub-panel for those heat pumps? I put a 200 amp service on my house (up from 100 amp) and I have plenty for everything I need.

[LordSquidworth]

Originally Posted by inthetrees

Is 200 amp service standard for new home construction in Maine?

Talked to a broker earlier that said 100 was, and I think he was just trying to tell me what I wanted to hear, seems nuts in 2019

Don’t know for sure but wouldn’t surprise me.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by inthetrees

Is 200 amp service standard for new home construction in Maine?

Talked to a broker earlier that said 100 was, and I think he was just trying to tell me what I wanted to hear, seems nuts in 2019

Yes, if you're building new these days, I'd want 200 amp service. If you get 100 amp, you're not saving a lot over 200 amp service at construction time - it's a thicker entry wire and typically a little bigger panel, but you're installing all the same breakers and circuits at build time. It's a lot cheaper and easier to go that way from the start than decide you need more capacity later. When contemplating adding an electric dryer, range, hot water heater or heat pump, it's nice to be able to confidently say "We'll just run another circuit" instead of... "I think we'd need to upgrade the service panel first to be safe, hmmm, isn't that expensive?"...