200-amp and 400-amp panel replacements. Federal Pacific and Zinsco panel removals. Real Asheville cost ranges. Duke Energy coordination on us. Lifetime workmanship warranty.
$1,800 – $3,850
Standard residential upgrade. Existing service drop stays. Includes new panel, breakers, labor, and permit fees. One day on-site, power off 3-6 hours. Most Asheville 200-amp jobs land near $3,850 once the full scope (labor, permit, code-compliant grounding) is in.
$4,500 – $8,500
For homes adding EV chargers, electric heat, or whole-home backup. Includes new service drop, Duke Energy coordination, panel, breakers, permits. 1-2 days on-site after Duke schedule confirms.
From $300
Replace a damaged breaker, fix a loose connection, address a burnt bus bar. When the panel itself doesn't need to go but a specific issue does. Most service calls done same-day.
If your home has a Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) Stab-Lok or Zinsco panel, replacement is a safety priority — not a maintenance item.
If you've got either, give us a call. We'll come look, confirm what's there, and quote the swap in plain English.
Asheville's wet seasons take a slow toll on panels in unheated garages, basements, and exterior boxes. We see it most often in homes built in the 1960s-1980s where the panel has sat through 40+ years of summer humidity cycles.
If your panel looks rough but the breakers still work, we'll come look and tell you straight whether it's a replace-now job or a watch-and-monitor situation.
A 100→200 amp panel swap on an existing service typically runs $1,800–$3,850, with most landing near the top of that range. A 100→400 amp upgrade with a new service drop and Duke Energy coordination runs $4,500–$8,500. We pull permits and coordinate with Duke directly. Both ranges include the panel, breakers, labor, and permit fees.
Yes — and don't wait on it. Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) Stab-Lok panels and Zinsco panels are both documented fire hazards. FPE breakers are known to fail to trip during overcurrent events; Zinsco panels have bus-bar arcing problems. Most home inspectors flag both on sale, and many insurance companies refuse to cover homes with them. If you've got either, replacement is a safety priority, not a maintenance item.
Most 100→200 amp swaps take a single day on-site. 100→400 amp service upgrades that involve Duke Energy coordination typically take 1-2 days plus the lead time to schedule the Duke service drop (usually 1-3 weeks ahead). We coordinate the Duke piece for you. Power is off for 3-6 hours during the swap; the rest of the time everything is live.
Yes. Buncombe County requires a permit and inspection for any panel replacement or service upgrade. We pull the permit, schedule the inspection, and don't call the job complete until it passes. The permit fee is included in our quote.
A few common triggers: breakers that keep tripping (panel is overloaded), you're planning to add a major load like an EV charger or whole-home generator (need capacity), you've got a Federal Pacific or Zinsco panel (safety), the panel is full (no spare slots), you're renovating and adding circuits, or a home inspector flagged it on a recent sale. We'll inspect first and tell you straight whether a swap is needed or if a panel repair would do.
A panel repair fixes a specific issue on your existing panel — a damaged breaker, a loose connection, a burnt bus bar — without replacing the whole panel. A panel upgrade replaces the entire panel, usually to add capacity (100→200 amp) or to swap out an unsafe panel (FPE/Zinsco). We do both. Repair starts around $300; upgrade starts at $1,800.
Probably yes, depending on where the corrosion is. Rust on the cover alone is cosmetic. Rust on the bus bar, white or green oxidation around the breaker terminals, or water staining inside the box is a real problem — corrosion is electrical resistance, resistance is heat, and heat in a panel becomes arcing over time. We come look and tell you straight whether it's a replace-now job or watch-and-monitor. Long-term, if the panel lives in a damp basement, crawl space, or unconditioned garage, a dehumidifier ($200-$400) extends the life of the new panel significantly.
A real person picks up M-F 8am-7pm — not a phone tree, not a call center.
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