# Running 100 amp panel to detacted garage?



## John_Canada

We will soon be building a shop/garage detached from our current home. The problem is it is about 35 feet from the house and the main electrical connection come in from the road (overhead). My question is, what are the steps to split off from the main to run a new 100amp panel in the garage. The house is currently only 100amp panel. Do I first call the power company to see if it can even be done or a certified electrician to quote me for the whole job of running the line and setting the panel as well as hooking into the main outside? Been doing electrical for 25 years but never mains and subs.


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## bigjon

almost same setup here,100 amp panel now becomes 200amp.100-house/100 garage.call ur electrian.cost me $600 to have power inside garage,then i wired the rest-lights etc.


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## simi-steading

You're going to have to upgrade the house panel then pass from it to the garage... 

I was wondering though, the way you said the house is "only" 100 amp, do you feel that is enough for the house alone, or do you feel you will need a larger panel because you'll be adding more electrical needs around the house?

If you think you'd want 200 amp for the house, it might be a good chance to upgrade to 200 for the house, and 100 for the garage. If so, it's the perfect time to go with a 300 amp service.

I've got a 100 amp service on our place and need to up it to 200 because I need to add some more outlets, and another for a 240v a/c unit... My box is too full for what I need to add, so this is what got me to wondering the way you say things..


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## TnAndy

John_Canada said:


> My question is, what are the steps to split off from the main to run a new 100amp panel in the garage.


This is not a simple "run some wire, put a panel in the garage and drive on" deal since you basically want to double the capacity at your place.

You'll get all kinds of advice here on this, much of it conflicting, and lot of which won't apply to you. 

What you need to do is contact your local electric supplier, ask them how they want to proceed in this case, since THEY will make the determination of what you can and can't do.


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## Robotron

Canada code is quite different than the USA. Best advice is find someone local that knows the code to help you out.


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## Sawmill Jim

Robotron said:


> Canada code is quite different than the USA. Best advice is find someone local that knows the code to help you out.


Yep that is it :clap:

Here i call \ pay the inspector for consultation then do it his way ,can't go wrong :happy:


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## jwal10

I was able to put new 100 amp panel in shop with its own meter, the power company provides the drop, free within 100' to a green tagged weatherhead pigtail. Hooked it right in where the house one is at the street. Check with the power company. Worked out well for us because the house became a rental and the shop is our warehouse so we just pay the warehouse, renters pay the house. No work needed at house....James


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## wharton

bigjon said:


> almost same setup here,100 amp panel now becomes 200amp.100-house/100 garage.call ur electrian.cost me $600 to have power inside garage,then i wired the rest-lights etc.


 
At this time $600 might barely cover the cost of materials to upgrade the house service to 200A. To do so, and install a 100A sub in the garage, using a professional, including material and inspections, I wouldn't be surprised to see bids starting in the $2500-3K range. Local pros here are getting $1600, and up, for a service upgrade alone.


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## buckshot32000

i did this same exact thing but i ran a copper wire from my main disconnet box on the pole by adding a breaker in the disconnect box and running it to 200 amp box in garage everyone said 200 was over kill but i havent had any problems in the garage and i have plenty of coverage for later expansion just make sure the wire you run is heavy enough to carry the load


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## John_Canada

Thanks so much for these options!

I called the power co. today as someone suggested and he said I could likely connect a 60amp panel to our current 125amp panel (which I think is actually a 100amp in disguise but not sure) but need an electrician to do calculations first. Failing that I need a 200 amp upgrade and 100 amp sub to garage which he said he knew was going to be expensive due to supply upgrades.

He said the issue would be with a welder. I want to run a 21amp Miller Mig and that just does not leave much more. I also want several 20amps and one 15 for lights. Will see what the electrician says. Looking for people now. The guy I do know always starts his paragraphs with, "That's going to be big money!" so I am asking more people first.

I'm intrigued about the new line and meter as it will let us use the shop as business and keep separate. I will ask the PC if that is possible.


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## John_Canada

Confirmed its a 125amp box with 100amp main breaker.


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## bigjon

oops, i forgot to include electricians expertise and materials with my labor.4yrs ago.


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## MushCreek

How many people are going to be using the shop at the same time? I know that when I weld, there's nothing else running other than a few lights. My 200A Lincoln MIG is supposed to be on a 50A breaker, but I ran it on a 30A dryer circuit, and never popped the breaker.

I'm running 60A out to my barn, as going any higher would require much larger cable due to the distance. Running the welder wide open while running an electric heater would be pushing the limit, but I can always cut the heater off for a while when I'm welding.

Due to my meter and panel configuration, I had to use a meter with a separate disconnect built in. This turns out to be handy, as there are several breaker slots in the meter box, one of which will be used to feed the barn without having to go through the foundation wall.


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## John_Canada

Thanks, Mush! Puts my mind more at ease. Only two working in the shop but if welder on, one...wife hates the sound and smell. She is more the wood worker and I do metal (small lathe, etc.)


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## jwal10

Remember the compressor, it can come on anytime, big one draws at startup. I would look into the separate service and leave the house alone. Don't know what the drop would cost but a meter head and panel is pretty cheap. I would rather buy equipment than pay labor. I would even go to the 200 amp box, never hurts to have more for later. Never know what may happen in the future....James


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## buckshot32000

i have 220 compressor and 220 welder and have never had an issue with set up above


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## wharton

Don't forget that electrical material pricing is based strongly on volume, as in commodities can be shockingly cheap, and oddities can get really nasty expensive. For example a "remodeler's pack" subpanel with a cover, a 100Amp main breaker and five other breakers included, is typically less than $75 bucks at the local big box. An odd panel, like a 60A main lug, might run over that, with no breakers, at your local supply house. the point being that I have run into situations when it would cost more to do less, like installing a 60 amp panel in a garage, as opposed to a 100 amp. This can also be a problem when you need an oddball breaker for an existing panel. There are situations where a really obscure 20 amp breaker would need to be special ordered and cost $40-50 bucks, and the same breaker to fit a Sq.D Homeline panel is on the shelf for $3.75.


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## MushCreek

You can use whatever size panel you want to in the outbuilding, as long as the breaker feeding it doesn't exceed the capacity of the cable. I bought a 125A panel for my barn, even though I'm only running 60A to it. I ran into this trying to find an outdoor disconnect for my A/C unit. The circuit is only 20A, and I thought I had to have a 20A disconnect, but it was pointed out to me that the disconnect can be anything, as long as the circuit is protected for 20A.


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## hornetd

John_Canada said:


> Thanks so much for these options!
> 
> I called the power co. today as someone suggested and he said I could likely connect a 60amp panel to our current 125amp panel (which I think is actually a 100amp in disguise but not sure) but need an electrician to do calculations first. Failing that I need a 200 amp upgrade and 100 amp sub to garage which he said he knew was going to be expensive due to supply upgrades.
> 
> He said the issue would be with a welder. I want to run a 21amp Miller Mig and that just does not leave much more. I also want several 20amps and one 15 for lights. Will see what the electrician says. Looking for people now. The guy I do know always starts his paragraphs with, "That's going to be big money!" so I am asking more people first.
> 
> I'm intrigued about the new line and meter as it will let us use the shop as business and keep separate. I will ask the PC if that is possible.


Be careful! Many power suppliers charge a monthly fee for a second meter on the same premise. That fee seems to start at Ten dollars a month and go up from there. That is One Hundred Twenty dollars a year, every year. Ongoing needless costs like that will eat a families budget alive! 

One option that is sometimes available is to install a "Yard Pole" service. A yard pole is a customer owned pole were the utility's wiring stops and yours begins. In many cases the only thing that happens at the yard pole is the metering with all the service disconnecting means mounted elsewhere. The underground equivalent of a yard pole is a pedestal meter. 

There can be advantages to having your service equipment mounted away from the building it serves though. In the event of fire or electrical emergency the power can be cut off from a safe place. Power to a well pump that is used for first aid fire fighting can be unaffected by the burning building. It can be a great place to situate a power takeoff driven generator to power the entire property during a power failure. The use of an existing tractor power plant to drive a generator allows you to afford a lot greater generator capacity than the same money spent on an Engine Alternator Set (Engine-Generator). An experienced electrician can build an electrical service out of individual breakers or switches for a lot less money than what can be purchased as a single enclosure service equipment in sizes above two hundred amperes. 

FWIW YMWV

--
Tom Horne


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## gobug

I had some similar challenges on my mtn property. I bought the property after the former home had burned down. The detached garage was left standing but had no electricity. The original meter pole burned, so I had a lot to go through to get the electricity turned on.

The garage was the first task. When I called the power company. The original meter was 100 amps for the house, but the transformer would allow me to use 350. They came out free a couple times to advise me. They would not turn it on without inspection and approval by the state electrical board.

Since the garage was detached without electricity I had to pay an excavator to dig a trench from the garage to a breaker box by the meter. That breaker box goes directly to the garage. The meter now has 2 breakers. I had to pay extra (~$100) for the meter box that allowed 2 breakers. 2 were required due to the distance between the structures, otherwise I would have had to build the future house first, then run the garage from that breaker box to a sub-panel. That also makes it easy, if in a fire, for the fire department to cut electricity to either or both.

Getting the power turned on took me about a decade. That was not due to electrical issues, but personal events. As a result my total cost is not clear. The excavator, while not cheap, accomplished a lot more than just the trench. That was my major cost. My estimate is about $1500 for the project with the excavator cost estimated for just the electrical trench work, plus permit, inspection, and materials. I did all the wiring myself.

I put a 200 amp box in my garage (now workshop, not garage). I am very happy that I picked the larger service for the workshop. The county requires GFI breakers or outlets for everything except lighting. Since it is a "garage" in the code, I did not need AFI (arc fault interrupt) breakers. They cost about $60 each! The GFI breakers are also expensive, so I used GFI outlets for most of the circuits.

I find it humorous that as a young boy, if I was bad, I was grounded. Now it is good to be grounded, required, in fact. That is revolting.


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