200-Amp Panel Upgrade with Whole-Home Surge Protection in Hampstead

Here's what we were working with - an older panel packed with a tangled mess of wiring that had clearly been added to over the years without much organization. Not inherently dangerous on the surface, but not the kind of setup you want running your whole house either. Outdated panels like this one struggle to keep up with the demands of a modern home, and they offer zero protection against power surges that can quietly fry your appliances and electronics.

We pulled the old panel out and installed a brand new 200-amp Eaton indoor electrical panel. That's enough capacity to handle everything this home is running now - plus room to grow if the homeowner ever adds an EV charger, a hot tub, or anything else down the road. Every circuit was rewired cleanly and every single breaker was properly labeled, from the garage door and dishwasher to the A/C units and the range.

That last part - the labeling - matters more than people realize. If a breaker trips at 11pm and you're scrambling in the dark, you shouldn't have to guess which one controls what. A properly labeled panel is a small detail that makes a real difference in day-to-day life.

We also installed a whole-home surge protection device mounted directly above the panel. It works at the source, catching damaging voltage spikes before they ever reach your outlets. One decent lightning storm or utility grid fluctuation can take out a TV, a refrigerator, or an HVAC control board. This is cheap insurance compared to replacing appliances.

The finished install is clean, organized, and built to last. If your panel is outdated, undersized, or just something you haven't thought about in a while - it's worth having someone take a look. These things don't fix themselves, and catching a problem early is always better than dealing with one after the fact.