The project
A 1978 split-level in the Five Points neighborhood of Raleigh with a 150-amp Federal Pacific Stab-Lok panel in the garage. The homeowner called because his home insurance company flagged the panel during a policy renewal and gave him 60 days to replace it or lose coverage.
Federal Pacific Stab-Lok panels are a known fire hazard. Independent testing has shown that their breakers fail to trip under overcurrent conditions at rates far exceeding industry norms. Insurance companies have been declining coverage on homes with these panels for years, and for good reason — a breaker that doesn’t trip is a breaker that can’t protect the wire behind the wall.
Beyond the safety issue, the homeowner was planning to add an EV charger in the next year and knew the 150-amp service wouldn’t support a 50-amp charging circuit on top of his existing loads. He wanted to solve both problems at once: replace the dangerous panel and upsize to 200-amp service to accommodate future electrical needs.
What we did
- Removed the Federal Pacific Stab-Lok panel — disconnected all 24 existing circuits, labeled every wire, and removed the panel and its backboard
- Installed a new Square D QO 200-amp main breaker panel — 40-space, 80-circuit capacity, copper bus bars, with a flush-mount trim kit for a clean garage installation
- Coordinated with Duke Energy for the meter disconnect and reconnect — we pulled the meter release permit and scheduled the utility visit so there was zero overlap in the homeowner’s downtime
- Replaced the meter base — the existing 150-amp meter base couldn’t support 200-amp service, so we installed a new Milbank 200-amp meter socket with a lever bypass
- Upgraded the service entrance cable — ran new 2/0 aluminum SE cable from the meter base to the new panel
- Re-landed all 24 existing circuits — each circuit was tested under load before and after to confirm proper breaker sizing and wire gauge
- Installed a Square D CHOM2CAFI whole-home surge protective device at the main panel — protects all branch circuits from transient voltage spikes
- Added arc-fault (AFCI) breakers on all bedroom circuits, bringing those circuits up to current NEC code
- Labeled every circuit with a printed directory — no more guessing which breaker controls which room
- Left two 50-amp spaces reserved — one for a future EV charger, one for a future heat pump, both labeled and ready for the homeowner’s next project
Trades involved
This was a single-trade project requiring our electrical license:
- Electrical (NC #28-LA-9214): Permit coordination with the City of Raleigh, Duke Energy meter release, meter base replacement, service entrance cable upgrade, panel installation, circuit re-landing, AFCI breaker installation, surge protection, load testing, and final labeling
The electrical permit was pulled through the City of Raleigh Inspections Department. The final inspection passed on the first visit.
Timeline and budget
- Duration: 2 days — Day 1 for panel swap, meter base, and service entrance cable. Day 2 for circuit re-landing, AFCI upgrades, surge protection, load testing, and inspection
- Budget: On budget — the final invoice came in within the written estimate
- Crew: Two licensed electricians for both days
- Permits: Electrical — passed first inspection
- Utility coordination: Duke Energy disconnected the meter at 7:30 AM on Day 1 and reconnected at 2:15 PM. The home was without power for 6 hours and 45 minutes total. We ran a generator for the homeowner’s refrigerator and home office during the outage
The two-day timeline is typical for a panel upgrade when the service entrance cable and meter base also need replacement. A panel-only swap — where the meter base and service cable stay — can usually be completed in a single day.
The result
A modern, code-compliant 200-amp electrical panel with room for the homeowner’s future plans. The Federal Pacific panel is gone. The insurance company received photos of the new panel and the passed inspection report, and the policy was renewed without issue.
The homeowner now has a panel that trips when it should, a surge protector guarding every circuit in the house, arc-fault protection on all bedrooms, and two reserved spaces ready for an EV charger and heat pump. The printed circuit directory means he’ll never have to flip breakers at random to find the right one again.
This is one of the most impactful upgrades a homeowner can make — not because it changes how the house looks, but because it changes how safely the house runs. A panel that works correctly is invisible. A panel that doesn’t can be catastrophic.