Originally Posted by
annie1948
I am buying an older home and it has a 100 amp service...Isn't this toooo low...what do I need?
Modern homes typically have 200 amp service or larger. Whether your service is "too low" depends on the types of electrical devices you plan on using or adding to the house in the future and the size of the house. If you intend to have an electric water heater, an electric stove, electric baseboard heat, electric clothes dryer, etc. and use them all at the same time, I would consider 100 amp "too low". If some of your primary energy consuming devices are gas (heating, cooking... ) and the house is small, 100 amp service may be adequate if you don't plan on adding any major electrical appliances, building on, or supporting a hobby (like woodworking tools). Obviously, your current service is sufficient for all the electrical devices currently in the house. Only by doing an electrical audit and calculating the total consumption of all your existing devices can you determine what margin is left for adding other devices. That said, I personally would upgrade the service, change the panel(s) to breakers if fuses, and bring the grounding up to current code.
