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  • Serving Kansas City Metro
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Electrical Panel Upgrade in Kansas City

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(816) 317-0061
The electrical panel (breaker box) is the heart of your home’s electrical system. It distributes power to every room, appliance, and device in your house. If your panel is outdated, undersized, or damaged, it can’t do its job safely or effectively.
At Veteran Electric, we specialize in electrical panel upgrades and replacements for Kansas City homeowners. Whether you need more power for a renovation, want to replace a dangerous electrical panel, or simply need to modernize your home’s electrical service, our licensed electricians have the expertise to get the job done right.

Signs You Need a Panel Upgrade

Your electrical panel often gives warning signs before it fails completely. You should consider an upgrade if:
  • You have a fuse box: Fuse boxes are obsolete and often uninsurable. They should be replaced with a modern circuit breaker panel.
  • Your panel is full: If you have no spare breaker slots, you can’t add new circuits for renovations or new appliances.
  • Breakers trip frequently: This indicates your system is overloaded or breakers are failing.
  • Lights flicker when appliances start: This suggests your service size (amperage) is insufficient for your home’s load.
  • You hear buzzing or crackling: These sounds coming from the panel indicate arcing, a serious fire hazard.  
  • The panel feels warm: While breakers generate some heat, the panel cover should not be hot to the touch.  
  • You have a “bad brand” panel: Certain panels installed in the 60s, 70s, and 80s (like Federal Pacific and Zinsco) have known design defects that cause them to fail to trip during faults, leading to fires.

Service Upgrades: 100 Amp vs. 200 Amp

A panel upgrade often involves increasing your home’s electrical service size.
100 Amp Service: Common in older homes, but often insufficient for modern living. If you have gas appliances and no central AC, 100 amps might be enough, but it leaves little room for growth.
200 Amp Service: The modern standard for single-family homes. A 200-amp service provides ample power for electric ranges, dryers, central AC, hot tubs, and EV chargers. We recommend upgrading to 200 amps for most homes to future-proof your electrical system.
400 Amp Service: For very large luxury homes or homes with extensive electrical demands (multiple EV chargers, electric heating, workshop equipment), a 400-amp service may be necessary.

Dangerous Panels: Federal Pacific & Zinsco

If your home was built between 1950 and 1990, check your panel brand. Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) Stab-Lok and Zinsco (or GTE/Sylvania) panels are documented fire hazards. Testing has shown these breakers fail to trip up to 60% of the time during an overload.
These panels are not just old; they are defective. Many insurance companies will not insure homes with these panels, or will require them to be replaced. If you have one of these panels, we strongly recommend replacing it immediately for your family’s safety.

Why Choose Veteran Electric?

  • Increased Electrical Capacity
  • Code Compliance
  • Higher Home Resale Value
  • Enhanced Safety & Fire Prevention
  • Support for Modern Appliances
  • Reliable Power Distribution

Our Process

Assessment

We calculate your home's electrical load and inspect your current service entrance, grounding, and panel location.

Permitting

We handle all necessary permits and coordinate with your utility company (Evergy) for the temporary power disconnect.

Installation

Our team removes the old equipment and installs the new panel, meter socket, and grounding system, typically in one day.

Inspection

We coordinate the city/county inspection to ensure everything meets code before power is permanently restored.

What an Electrical Panel Upgrade in Kansas City Involves

On a typical job, we cut power at the meter and confirm the utility has locked out service. We remove the old panel, mount the new enclosure, and transfer each circuit breaker by breaker, labeling as we go so nothing gets crossed. The main service conductors, grounding, and bonding get inspected and brought up to current standards if they fall short, since a new panel is only as safe as what feeds it. Once everything is landed and torqued to spec, we energize the panel, test every circuit, and hand you a clearly labeled panel directory before we leave.

Serving the Kansas City Metro

Every electrical panel upgrade in Kansas City goes through permitting and inspection by the city or county where the home sits, and that authority differs depending on whether you are in Clay County, Platte County, or Jackson County on the Missouri side, or across the state line in Kansas. We work throughout the metro on both sides of the border, so we are used to pulling permits and scheduling inspections in more than one jurisdiction. Much of the local housing stock dates to the mid 1900s, which is when fuse boxes and now obsolete panel brands were common. Evergy serves most of the area, and coordinating the meter disconnect and reconnect is a standard part of the job.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a panel upgrade take?
Most panel upgrades are completed in a single day. We typically start around 8:00 AM and have power restored by late afternoon. You will be without power for most of the day, so plan accordingly.
For most modern homes, 200 amps is the standard. This provides enough capacity for central AC, electric appliances, and future additions like EV chargers. 100 amps is often insufficient for today’s electrical needs.
In most cases, we can replace the panel with minimal disruption to the surrounding wall. If drywall needs to be cut to fish wires, we will let you know in advance. We do not perform drywall repair or painting.
Typically, upgrades are considered home maintenance and are not covered unless the replacement is due to a covered peril like lightning damage. However, upgrading your panel may lower your insurance premiums.

Yes, a permit is required, and the finished work has to pass inspection before it is complete. We pull the permit and schedule the inspection as part of the job.

Yes, the utility has to disconnect and later reconnect service at the meter, and we coordinate that scheduling as part of the job. It is not something you need to arrange yourself.

Yes, you can stay home, though you will be without power for most of the day. We will let you know once power is restored.

No, a panel upgrade replaces the panel and main service connection, not the branch wiring running to your outlets and fixtures. If we find aluminum wiring or knob and tube while we are in there, we will flag it and price it separately.

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Service Hours

Mon – Fri:
7:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Saturday:
8:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Sunday:
Closed
  • 24/7 Emergency Service Available

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