Service panel location ???s

[toyotadriver]

If given a choice, where would you locate the service panel for a house...the garage or the basement?

 

[Norcal]

It is going to have a lot to do where the PoCo wants the meter.

 

[2ManyProjects]

If given a choice, where would you locate the service panel for a house...the garage or the basement?

There is no "One size fits all" answer. It depends on the design of the house, and the garage, and the basement.

That said, I would PROBABLY lean toward the basement. But this is mostly because, IF I had complete control over the design of said house (and an adequate budget), it would include a separate dedicated "Mechanical Room" of generous proportions, where all such systems would be installed in a very neat and orderly fashion. And among those systems would be some fairly sophisticated home-automation, possibly a whole-house UPS, tie-in to Solar and/or backup generator, etc.; and ALL of the home's interior wiring would be "home run" to patch panels in this same area, before tying into the service panels themselves.

 

[toyotadriver]

There is no "One size fits all" answer. It depends on the design of the house, and the garage, and the basement.

That said, I would PROBABLY lean toward the basement. But this is mostly because, IF I had complete control over the design of said house (and an adequate budget), it would include a separate dedicated "Mechanical Room" of generous proportions, where all such systems would be installed in a very neat and orderly fashion. And among those systems would be some fairly sophisticated home-automation, possibly a whole-house UPS, tie-in to Solar and/or backup generator, etc.; and ALL of the home's interior wiring would be "home run" to patch panels in this same area, before tying into the service panels themselves.

That's what I'm leaning toward too. I am planning the future house build and it will have a basement with a mechanical room in it. Putting the panel down there just makes sense.

I don't have an unlimited budget but am planning this house WELL in advance of the actual build.

 

[Gary S]

My preference is to have the panel that powers the house located in the house, and the one that powers the garage located in the garage. Separate panels are the best.
Like already mentioned, this doesn't fit every situation.

 

[toyotadriver]

My preference is to have the panel that powers the house located in the house, and the one that powers the garage located in the garage. Separate panels are the best.
Like already mentioned, this doesn't fit every situation.

I have a separate shop building with its own panel. The house garage will, of course, be wired but just for storing cars and such. Not planning on doing actual work in the house garage.

 

[Falcon67]

Make your layout and take a look at the circuit runs. Putting the box in a location that minimizes the circuit runs could save a few $. I put my shop box next to the door on the house side. That minimized the main power run. But I ended up running nearly 1000' of 12-2 Romex because most of the power needed to be on the far side. Live 'n learn.

The good thing about where it is, is that if I have to bail out for some electrical emergency I can kill it all going out the door. Panel access for an emergency should also be factored. Or a main kill at the service entrance.

 

[ishiboo]

I prefer the basement in all the houses I've had.

One thing ill say though is I love the disconnect I added immediately after the meter - makes major panel work 100% safe & easy. Since installing it, I replaced my main panel and added a transfer switch on separate occasions without having to call the POCO.

 

[toyotadriver]

I prefer the basement in all the houses I've had.

One thing ill say though is I love the disconnect I added immediately after the meter - makes major panel work 100% safe & easy. Since installing it, I replaced my main panel and added a transfer switch on separate occasions without having to call the POCO.

I have part of the system installed. There is a 200 amp disconnect on the meter box and then it runs to a 200 amp generator transfer switch. From there, it'll run into the house.

I'm leaning toward the basement.

Thanks for the input.

 

[kbs2244]

I like to keep it as close to the meter as possible.
I am just uncomfortable with long, high power, un-fused runs.
My best was back to back. Meter on the outside of the wall and panel on the inside.
My worst was over 25 feet, I was never comfortable with that.

 

[ishiboo]

I have part of the system installed. There is a 200 amp disconnect on the meter box and then it runs to a 200 amp generator transfer switch. From there, it'll run into the house.

I'm leaning toward the basement.

Thanks for the input.

Great! Then it's just a combination of common sense on where you can place it, based on what works best for your setup.

I am not a NEC guru, others can chime in... but there is a requirement that the unfused run within the house be "kept as short as possible" or something similarly vague... something to keep into consideration if your 200 amp disconnect is unfused.

 

[Jawn]

I like to keep it as close to the meter as possible.
I am just uncomfortable with long, high power, un-fused runs.
My best was back to back. Meter on the outside of the wall and panel on the inside.
My worst was over 25 feet, I was never comfortable with that.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of those long runs either... mine's on dang near the opposite side of the house. In at the attic, down through a bedroom wall, into the basement garage, across 2 sides of the garage, through into the other end of the basement, and down to the panel.