Question 1

How much does a panel upgrade cost on Long Island?

Accepted Answer

For a typical single-family home, expect $1,800 to $3,200 for a 100A upgrade, $2,800 to $5,200 for a 200A upgrade, and $6,500 to $12,000 for a 400A service. EV chargers run $950 to $2,800 installed. 22kW whole-home generators run $11,000 to $16,500. These ranges are based on HomeAdvisor, Angi, and NECA regional data, not made up. Actual price depends on your service entry, grounding, meter pan condition, and whether PSEG needs to involve a line crew.

Question 2

Do you charge for estimates?

Accepted Answer

No. The walk-through is free. The written quote is free. There is no obligation, no deposit to hold a date, and no follow-up pressure. If you want to think about it for six months, go ahead.

Question 3

Why is there such a wide price range?

Accepted Answer

Service entry condition, panel location, grounding requirements, whether you need PSEG to drop the service for the swap, and whether the old panel has aluminum branch wiring that needs pigtails. Two houses on the same street can be $2,000 apart. That is why we do a walk-through before quoting.

Question 4

Do you offer financing?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We work with multiple lending partners and offer 0% promotional financing for qualified homeowners. Soft-pull pre-qualification takes about two minutes. See our financing page for details.

Question 5

Does a panel upgrade increase home value on Long Island?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Any home inspector will flag an undersized or obsolete panel (FPE Stab-Lok, Zinsco, Federal Pacific) as a safety issue during a sale. Replacing a 60A or 100A panel with a modern 200A panel typically returns the full cost at resale on Long Island, plus it removes a common deal-killer during the inspection contingency period.

Question 6

How do your prices compare to other Long Island electricians?

Accepted Answer

We are mid-range for licensed contractors. You can find cheaper — those are usually unlicensed handymen who won't pull a permit. You can find more expensive, but the premium is usually overhead, not workmanship. We price to cover a full-time crew, filed permits, passed inspections, and a real 10-year workmanship warranty.

Question 7

How long does a panel upgrade take?

Accepted Answer

Most 100A-to-200A upgrades are one working day. PSEG cuts the drop around 8am, we pull the old service entrance and panel, install the new mast/meter pan/panel, re-land every circuit, the town inspector comes out around 3pm, and power is back on before dinner. 400A services and buried service conductors run 2–3 days.

Question 8

Do you pull the permits?

Accepted Answer

Yes, on every job. We handle permits for every Nassau and Suffolk municipality. The cost is included in your quote. We know every building department on the island, which ones require engineer stamps for meter relocations, and which inspectors want to see torqued lugs.

Question 9

Will my power be off during the upgrade?

Accepted Answer

For a standard panel swap, power is off roughly 8am to mid-afternoon. We coordinate the disconnect with PSEG the week before so the timing is predictable. If you have medical equipment, fridges full of meds, or work from home, we can set up a temporary generator for the day at no extra charge.

Question 10

What happens if you find rotted service mast or old cloth wiring?

Accepted Answer

We photograph it, send it to you immediately, and get your approval before any extra work. Mast replacement usually runs $300 to $800. Rewiring discovery is quoted separately. There are no surprise charges on our invoices.

Question 11

Do you need to cut drywall for an EV charger run?

Accepted Answer

Sometimes. When we can fish through the basement and up an unfinished garage wall, no. When the panel is far from the garage and runs have to go through finished living space, we coordinate patching. We flag this during the walk-through, not on invoice day.

Question 12

Can you work in winter on Long Island?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Panel work, EV chargers, and service calls are all indoor or short-exposure work. We schedule generator concrete pads for above-freezing days so the concrete cures properly. Only deep snow or active storm warnings cause us to reschedule, and we give 24 hours' notice.

Question 13

Do I need to be home during the install?

Accepted Answer

Yes for panel swaps and service upgrades, because we need access to every circuit and you'll need to confirm everything works before we leave. For EV chargers and generator installs, most homeowners leave a key or garage code and go to work. We text you photo updates at the end of each work day.

Question 14

Do I need a 200A panel for an EV charger?

Accepted Answer

Not always. A Tesla Wall Connector or ChargePoint Home Flex can be dialed back to 32A or 40A, which a healthy 100A panel can often carry if the rest of your loads are modest. We run an NEC Article 220 load calc for you before quoting — no guessing. If you're adding a heat pump, induction range, or pool heater on top of the EV, 200A becomes the right answer.

Question 15

What brand of panel do you use?

Accepted Answer

Eaton CH and Square D QO are our two standards. Both have lifetime breaker warranties, wide breaker availability at any supply house, and they're the brands PSEG and most municipal inspectors prefer. We avoid Federal Pacific, Zinsco, and Challenger — those are the brands we're usually replacing.

Question 16

Should I get a whole-home generator or a portable?

Accepted Answer

Depends on how long your outages are. Post-Sandy, Long Island has had 4 to 8 multi-day outages per year in many areas. A 22kW standby runs the whole house automatically, refueled by your existing gas line, no extension cords. A portable is half the cost but someone has to go outside in the storm, pull the cord, and manage cords through the window. We install both, and we'll give you an honest recommendation.

Question 17

Do you handle knob-and-tube and cloth wiring?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Common on pre-1950 homes in Hempstead, Freeport, Levittown, Huntington, Northport. We can rewire room-by-room or whole-house, coordinate drywall patching, and get you through inspection. A typical whole-home rewire is 6 to 12 working days depending on size.

Question 18

Can you install smart home and recessed lighting too?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Dimmers (Lutron Caseta, Leviton), smart switches, recessed LED retrofit cans, under-cabinet lighting, outdoor landscape lighting, and pool/hot tub circuits are all regular work for us. We often bundle lighting into a panel upgrade since we're already in your walls.

Question 19

What warranty do you offer?

Accepted Answer

10-year workmanship warranty on every job, in writing. That covers our labor and installation. Breaker and panel warranties come from the manufacturer — Eaton and Square D both carry lifetime breaker warranties. Generac generators carry a 5-year limited warranty. If anything fails because of how we installed it, we come back and fix it, free.

Question 20

Does homeowner's insurance cover electrical fires or damage?

Accepted Answer

Most standard homeowners policies cover sudden electrical damage, including fire. What's not typically covered is damage caused by gradual failure or negligent prior work (e.g. a non-permitted panel from a handyman). When you upgrade with a permitted, inspected job, you're in the safer category for claims.

Question 21

What if I have aluminum branch wiring?

Accepted Answer

Common in Long Island homes built 1965–1975. Aluminum is not itself dangerous, but the connections to outlets and switches need to be pigtailed to copper with COPALUM or AlumiConn connectors. Most insurers now require this. We handle the remediation and document it for your insurer.

Question 22

Can I get a Certificate of Electrical Inspection for a real-estate closing?

Accepted Answer

Yes. When we pull a permit and pass inspection, the town issues a Certificate of Electrical Inspection (also called a CEI or 'green tag'). Real-estate attorneys ask for this at closing. If you're missing one from a past job, we can often get the existing work re-inspected and issued retroactively.

Electrical FAQ for Long Island Homeowners

How much does it cost?