Electrical service cost and size?

[kegracing]

New member here.
Been lurking a while and jealous of many of the garage pictures on here. Lot of great info on here.
I live in TX. Getting plans finalized to build a metal detached garage. Thinking 48'x32' 14' tall. Getting quotes on that now. Doing my budget.
Can someone give me a rough cost for getting new power service ran from the street to the outside meter?
I do not have the extra capacity to run the power off of my house, so need a new service ran. I am thinking 200 amp service? Will have large 220 TIG unit, smaller 220 MIG unit, 220 air compressor. Just hobby work on my race car and fix it work. I do not use them a lot. Shop will hold my race car trailer, car, pickup, kids bikes, lawn stuff, etc. Other than the big stuff, just 110 for hand tools, lights, a couple of small fans, maybe one door opener.
Do I really need a 200 amp service, and is there much of a difference in price, etc. I have always tried to error to the safe side, but doing it on a budget at the same time.
Thanks in advance.
Ken

 

[Spareparts]

Around here the power co. will supply power to the meter/mast, 200 amp is not to much for a garage. Are you going underground or overhead

 

[69gp]

you might want to check with the power company. here in MA there are some locations if it is a single family home you can only have one meter for the property.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Local planning, zoning, code enforcement may be the ones with the one meter per property rule, but the POCO will be familiar with it. Worse, the POCO may charge you a commercial rate on the second meter since it is not on a residence. You need to ask about the rules,

Charles

 

[kegracing]

will be going underground, as house is. Live in city limits of a small town, little south of Dallas. Several neighbors have garages this size or larger, but not sure if they have different electrical or not... will ask.
Couple I neighbors I know have purchased house from original owner, so they will not be of much help with cost, but maybe they can tell me if they have separate meter.
thanks again,
Ken

 

[SiGmA_X]

You could call the POCO and ask. Takes a couple minutes.

Do think about what you need in your shop. 200amp is a ton of power. Your compressor and a plasma (I'm thinking forward for you, and me ) running at the same time (+ lights and audio, which isn't a ton) would be about the highest load for a small shop. I'd be shocked if I needed over 100amp honestly. <15 lights, 5ish audio, <30 compressor, <50 plasma. If you have a really power hungry TIG, that could change it a little.

May be worth upgrading your primary service to a 320 and splitting service to home/shop. I will do this for my future shop (in a future home) to save the $144/yr that we would pay for the additional meter, and -most- all houses I have been looking at have the service near the driveway so it would be pretty straight forward.

 

[wssix99]

Do I really need a 200 amp service, and is there much of a difference in price, etc.

No. You only need capacity for the electricity you will use all at one time. For example, a 200 amp panel could have 300 amps of breakers in it.

If you have all that equipment at your house today, then your house may have all the capacity you need already - but you are talking about a sizable garage, so having extra headroom for all that could be in that garage (in the future) is probably a good idea.


I recall pricing a large underground service for my new home in Chicago and it was $10-15K all in. (We went overhead instead.) Your area could be totally different and I'll bet your local municipality takes a smaller cut of the action.

Looking forward to your electric bill... I expect you'll like having just one meter. In IL, I pay more for my meter and the "privilege" of having one (meter charges, line charges, delivery charges, customer service charge, tax on all that...) than I do the actual electricity. Adding another meter could come close to doubling your bill, (not counting seasons when your A/C is running full bore) even if you don't use that much electricity. You may be better off in the short term or long run by replacing your main service and then running your garage off of that. (You'd add a new main panel and your current house panel would become a sub panel.)

 

[sublimate]

May be worth upgrading your primary service to a 320 and splitting service to home/shop. I will do this for my future shop (in a future home) to save the $144/yr that we would pay for the additional meter, and -most- all houses I have been looking at have the service near the driveway so it would be pretty straight forward.

That's what I just did. House was 150a, w/ no room in the panel. Would have had a major upgrade to the house panel for headroom to power my shop.

Instead I moved the meter to my shop and made it 320a. Then connected up the house panel to a 150a breaker on it and didn't have to mess with the house panel or wiring at all. Have a new 200a panel for the shop. Also ran a 100a subpanel for the attached garage for plenty of overkill.