I've enjoyed reading your answers to others asking for help. Even though I know nothing about electricity and lighting, except that it's supposed to work when you turn on a switch, it's interesting to read your replies. (If my Dad were here he would help but sadly, he passed away a few short years ago and I don't have anyone else to ask.) My aunt has asked me to help her find someone to do remodeling on her house. I called someone who does "home repairs" and came highly recommended by another family member. After coming to look at the house, he said the first thing I needed to do is upgrade to a 200 amp service. There's what he referred to as a "sub-panel" in the same room as the gas furnace and gas water heater. He asked where the main breaker was and after we looked around, he found it behind a cut-out in the wall with a square piece of two inch thick foam rubber and a piece of paneling placed over it. He said the foam rubber was "hot" when he removed it. The heating and cooling system was replaced about four years ago with it being an outside cooling unit and a gas furnace inside. (I'd rather have a packaged system outside.) When the heat kicks on, the lighting in the den flickers. Not sure if lighting in the entire house flickers or just in the den. There's a gas stove, gas water heater, and gas dryer. There is no dishwasher. The house is small and was built in the 1950's. There's two bedrooms, one and a half bath, small kitchen, living room, dining room, and a den which was added on during the last fifteen years. No basement. (I'm not sure of the exact square footage of the house but I can get that information if needed.) Does my aunt's home need a 200 amp service? I appreciate any advice you have to share.

Charlotte

Good thing he was there to uncover the main.
You say 'cooling,' so she has central air conditioning? You don't need 200 amps otherwise.
Since you will need a qualified electrician for the 200 amp service, get 2 or 3 quotes and ask them all the other questions too. It will cost around $1200, but it's important to have it right.

A home that size does not need 200 AMP service. However, we do not know what size service she has now.
She does need to have electrician look at present panel to determine source of heat.

I'm really curious about several things:

1) Is it the main service that needs to be 200 amp or is he saying that second panel board needs to be at 200 amp?

2) Your description of the main panel board sounds like a code violation. The panel board should be enclosed in a cabinet that is listed to be used as a main service cabinet. There should also be a UL Listed door for this cabinet.

The cabinet should be placed were there is three feet of space horizontally in front of the panel and 6.5 feet from the ground upward.

The panel must be accessible, foam and rubber or paneling stacked in front of the cabinet is a no, no.

3) The current minimum service required is 100 amps. This is sufficient for most all electric homes up to about 1900 sq. ft. That's just a thumbnail guestimate.

Before you make the decision to move to a 200 amp service, make certain that you have a licensed electrician do a load calculation, based on the proposed size of the renovation.

Remember, you have a gas service, so things like ranges, clothes dryers, water heaters and possibly the air conditioner would reduce the calculated load.

You might want to hire a general contractor or an architect to generate the plans for the renovation and expansion.