Upgrading to 60 Amps
How much work is involved to upgrade an apartment’s electricity supply from 40 amps to 60 amps? Does it just involve upgrading the supply into the unit, or does it require rewiring the entire apartment? It’s for a 1300 sq ft unit in a pre-war coop building.
How much work is involved to upgrade an apartment’s electricity supply from 40 amps to 60 amps? Does it just involve upgrading the supply into the unit, or does it require rewiring the entire apartment? It’s for a 1300 sq ft unit in a pre-war coop building.
Thanks for the comments. Actually the current wiring is at 60 (not 40) amps. I had an engineer do an inspection and he recommended upgrading to 100 amps. FYI he estimated the upgrade (including installing GFCI outlets in kitchen and bathroom) would cost around $3,200.
People increase the amperage to the service panel all the time without doing anything to the rest of the space.
The problem you will most likely run into is not “old” wire coming into the panel, but undersized (for 60 amp service). This would require pulling a new feed to your service panel. That in itself is not so bad, but the last time I watched a customer go through this, there was not enough room in the conduit coming up from the basement. They were pretty high up and the costs outweighed the benefits.
Someone else mentioned the feed into the building. At some point that will become a factor as well.
As they said, you really need a licensed electrician to take a look.
Steve
I don’t think you need 100 amp in your house.
Go for 60 as you decided. If you hire an electrician, it is not going take long.
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I agree w everyone, are you sure you need it, but if you do, go to 100.
I have 100 amps in a 3000 sft house, and with judicious use of energy-star appliances, it is enough.
OP Said 1300 Sq Ft.
OP does not specify size of apt. 60A is more than enough for a studio or 1 bed assuming you don’t have electric stove or dryer. Or a pottery furnace.
You might end up needing new service from ConEd to get you the increased amperage. Call some licensed electricians and request walkthroughs and estimates.
Some will suggest a rewire or partial rewire, especially since your increase is likely demanded by an upgrade in appliances, many of which call for dedicated circuits hence new wire runs.
A recent upgrade for a kitchen and bath and all new appliances ran $4000. Not including the cost to repair the holes punched into the plaster.
^^^ Wycoff is correct. 100 amps minimum for modern appliances, Air Conditioning, etc. When I upgraded my house panels, all the electrician’s I got quotes from stated 100 as the standard. Also, an electrician would look at the rating of the feed from the street to the service panels and how is it divided among other apartments. This would also dictate how you can increase the Amps to the apartment.
That is amps to the service panel, so you are talking about upgrading the supply. That being said, if you only have 40 amps coming into the apartment, it probably means your wiring is OLD. (If you open up an outlet do you see cloth covered wires?). You need to call an electrician to get any reasonable estimate of what’s needed, and you should go up to 100 amps, not 60.