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Electrical Panel Upgrade · Michigan
A panel upgrade replaces your breaker panel, and often the service entrance, so the home can safely carry more load: an EV charger, heat pump, induction range or addition. It always needs a permit, and usually needs the utility to disconnect and reconnect power.
Cold winters, older city housing and summer storms bring panel, rewiring and generator work.
Across the Midwest, homes deal with cold winters, severe thunderstorms and tornado season. Permit offices, utilities and housing stock differ by city, which affects how electrical panel upgrade is planned and scheduled. These local guides cover the Michigan cities where we have written specific notes.
A 60 amp service with a fuse box is still common in Detroit's older homes, and nearly any modern addition, from central air to an EV charger or a finished basement, needs more capacity. Upgrading usually means a new meter base and service entrance as well as the panel, so DTE Energy has to schedule a disconnect and reconnect.
Utility: DTE Energy
Heritage Hill, Eastown and East Hills hold many of Grand Rapids' homes from the late 1800s to the 1920s, and their small services often cannot handle central air, a heat pump, an EV charger or a basement finish. Mid-century homes on the northeast side often have full 100 amp panels.
Utility: Consumers Energy
Many Saginaw homes still have fuse boxes or 60 amp services, and adding central air, a heat pump, a finished basement or an EV charger usually requires an upgrade to 100 or 200 amps with a new meter base. Basement panels should be placed with flooding in mind, given the 2020 dam failures.
Utility: Consumers Energy
Lansing's Old Town, REO Town and Eastside homes often have 60 or 100 amp services, and mid-century homes across the city may have full panels. Adding central air, a heat pump, an EV charger or a basement finish usually requires an upgrade.
Utility: Lansing Board of Water and Light (some nearby areas: Consumers Energy)
Ann Arbor homeowners are adopting heat pumps, induction ranges, solar and EV chargers faster than most Michigan cities, and older houses in Burns Park and the Old West Side often have 100 amp services that cannot take all of it. A load calculation is the starting point; sometimes smart panels or load-management devices avoid a full service upgrade.
Utility: DTE Energy
1. Load calculation
The electrician sizes the service from your existing and planned loads.
2. Permit and utility coordination
The permit is pulled and the utility schedules disconnect and reconnect.
3. Install the panel and service parts
New panel, breakers, grounding and bonding, and service conductors or meter base if needed.
4. Inspection
The local inspector checks the work before or after power is restored, depending on the jurisdiction.
Electricians set their own prices; local permit fees and utility requirements add to these factors.
Permits come from the city or county where the home is. For example: Detroit: Inside the city, electrical permits come from the Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department (BSEED); suburbs issue their own. Grand Rapids: Electrical permits in Grand Rapids come from the city's Development Center; surrounding cities and townships issue their own. Saginaw: Electrical permits inside city limits come from the City of Saginaw's inspections office; surrounding townships issue their own. Lansing: Electrical permits inside city limits come from the City of Lansing's building safety office; East Lansing and nearby townships issue their own. Ann Arbor: Electrical permits come from the City of Ann Arbor's building services; nearby townships and Washtenaw County communities issue their own.
Detroit: DTE Energy. Grand Rapids: Consumers Energy. Saginaw: Consumers Energy. Lansing: Lansing Board of Water and Light (some nearby areas: Consumers Energy). Ann Arbor: DTE Energy.
If you have 100 amps or less and are adding an EV charger, heat pump or electric range, or your panel is a Federal Pacific, Zinsco or fuse box, ask an electrician for a load calculation.
Usually most of one working day, depending on the scope and how quickly the utility reconnects.
Yes, in essentially every US jurisdiction. The electrician pulls it and schedules the inspection.
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