Your electrical panel was sized for the house as the builder imagined it: a range, a dryer, one air conditioner and a handful of lights. Katy homes from the 1980s and 90s have since picked up second A/C systems, tankless water heaters, hot tubs, home offices and, increasingly, electric vehicles. The panel did not grow with them.
1. Breakers trip during normal use
A breaker that trips when you run the microwave and the toaster is doing its job on an overloaded circuit. A main breaker that trips, or several circuits that trip without an obvious cause, points at the panel as a whole.
2. Lights dim when the A/C starts
A brief flicker when a big motor starts is normal. Lights that dim noticeably and stay dim for a second mean the service is straining to deliver the current.
3. There are no open slots
If every slot has a breaker — or worse, tandem breakers are stacked where they should not be — there is no safe way to add the circuit a new appliance needs.
4. The panel is a Federal Pacific, Zinsco or Sylvania
These brands have documented failure histories and many insurers will not cover a home that has one. Replacement is the only fix.
5. You are adding an EV charger, hot tub or large appliance
A Level 2 charger alone adds 40 to 60 amps of demand. A load calculation will tell you whether the panel can take it; often a 100-amp panel cannot.
6. The panel is more than 25 years old
Breakers wear out. Bus bars corrode in our humidity. A panel that age deserves an inspection even if nothing seems wrong.
What an upgrade involves
A 200-amp upgrade in Katy is usually a one-day job. We pull the permit, coordinate the CenterPoint disconnect, replace the panel and meter base if needed, label every circuit and have it inspected. Power is off for four to six hours. If you are not sure whether you need one, start with a load calculation — we will tell you plainly if a sub-panel or load-management device would do the job for less.