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Does a Kitchen Remodel Mean Upgrading Your Electrical Panel? What Older Marin and San Francisco Homes Run Into

Written by Home Team Services on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Not always. Many kitchen remodels are completed on the home’s existing electrical service, sometimes with a new subpanel and sometimes with no panel work at all. Others can’t move forward without replacing the panel, and a smaller number need the utility to increase the service coming into the house.

Which group your project falls into depends on three things: how much capacity the house has now, what the new kitchen will add, and the condition of the equipment already on the wall. All three can be checked before design is finished. The trouble starts when nobody checks until the walls are open.

Panel, subpanel, and service are three different things

These terms get used interchangeably, and that causes confusion when you compare proposals.

The service is the amount of power the utility delivers to your home, measured in amps. Many older homes in San Francisco and Marin were built with 60-amp or 100-amp services. Newer homes commonly have 200.

The main panel is the box of breakers that distributes that power to circuits around the house. It has a fixed number of spaces and a rating that can’t exceed the service.

A subpanel is a second, smaller panel fed from the main one. It adds breaker spaces closer to where they’re needed. It does not add capacity.

So there are two separate ways to come up short. You can run out of spaces, or you can run out of power. They have different fixes and very different effects on a schedule.

Why a kitchen is the room that raises the question

A kitchen uses more circuits than any other room in a house. Current electrical code calls for at least two 20-amp circuits serving the countertop outlets, and most built-in appliances end up on circuits of their own: dishwasher, disposal, microwave, refrigerator, range hood, and the range or cooktop and oven.

An older kitchen may be running all of that on two or three circuits. When a kitchen is fully remodeled, the new work generally has to meet current code, so the circuit count goes up even if you buy nothing new. Requirements vary by jurisdiction and by how much of the room is being rebuilt, so your electrician and local building department have the final word. Where those outlets end up is its own planning question, covered in our post on where outlets should go in a kitchen remodel.

Appliance choices add to it. A gas range needs only a standard outlet for its igniter and controls. An induction or electric range commonly needs a dedicated 240-volt circuit sized to the manufacturer’s requirements, and it’s often one of the largest single loads in the house. Double wall ovens, a beverage refrigerator, a warming drawer, and under-cabinet lighting each take a little more. The hood has a sizing question of its own, which we cover in why a new kitchen might need a bigger range hood.

How the capacity question gets answered

Guessing from the size of the main breaker isn’t enough. The answer comes from a load calculation, which a licensed electrician prepares using a method in the electrical code written for existing homes. It accounts for the size of the house, what’s already connected, and what the remodel will add.

The result tells you one of three things:

  • The existing service can carry the new kitchen, and the panel has room for the circuits.
  • The service is adequate, but the panel is out of spaces. A subpanel near the kitchen often solves this.
  • The service itself is too small for what’s planned.

It’s worth asking for this calculation early, and asking that it include anything else you expect to add over the next several years. An EV charger, a heat pump water heater, or a heat pump for heating and cooling all draw on the same service. Sizing only for the kitchen can mean paying for electrical work twice. If a water heater replacement is on your horizon, our post on the Bay Area’s gas water heater rule explains what to plan for.

Signs your project should have the panel looked at first

None of these proves you need an upgrade. Each one is a reason to have an electrician look before the design is final.

  • The main breaker is rated 100 amps or less, or the house still has a fuse box.
  • Every space in the panel is full, or several are doubled up with slim breakers.
  • You’re moving from a gas range to induction or electric.
  • The house has older wiring types, such as knob-and-tube or cloth-insulated cable, or outlets without a ground.
  • The panel sits in a spot that wouldn’t be allowed today, such as inside a closet or behind a cabinet. Panels need clear working space in front of them, and a kitchen remodel sometimes exposes that the existing location was never right.
  • The label inside the panel door is missing or handwritten in several different pens. That usually means circuits have been added piecemeal over decades.

What older Marin and San Francisco homes add to the picture

In pre-war houses, the electrical system has often been updated in layers, which is a recurring theme when remodeling an older San Francisco home. A newer panel may be feeding original wiring in parts of the house. Opening kitchen walls can reveal splices, abandoned circuits, or wiring that should not be reconnected to new work. A good scope anticipates this by stating what happens if it’s found, so it doesn’t arrive as an open-ended surprise. We go through the wider list in what demolition often reveals in older Marin and San Francisco homes.

Many San Francisco homes are also two or three units with meters grouped together. Changing the service for one unit can involve the shared equipment, the other owners, and more review.

On projects involving remodeling in Marin County, mid-century and hillside homes frequently have the main panel on an exterior wall or at a detached garage, a long way from the kitchen. That makes a subpanel attractive, but the cable feeding it has to get there. The route may run through finished rooms, a crawl space, or a slab, and that routing belongs in the estimate.

Permits follow the property’s location. San Francisco handles electrical permits through its Department of Building Inspection. In Marin, incorporated towns run their own building departments, while unincorporated areas go through Marin County Building and Safety. Confirm the specifics with the office that has jurisdiction over your address.

If the service has to grow, the utility sets part of the schedule

Replacing a panel at the same capacity is mostly a matter of permits, a scheduled shutoff, and inspection. Increasing the service is different, because PG&E has to confirm that the lines and transformer serving your street can support the added load.

PG&E publishes a step-by-step roadmap for panel upgrades. In outline: an application through its project portal, a load assessment, design and a cost estimate if their equipment needs work, then a scheduled disconnect and reconnect once the new panel passes local inspection. PG&E states that timing varies with the complexity of the project and its volume of requests. It also notes that the homeowner is responsible for the costs and permits for wiring work at the home.

The practical point is that this clock runs separately from your remodel. A kitchen can be designed, permitted, and ready to start while the service application is still in review. On a project that needs more service, the application should go in as soon as the appliance list is firm.

Ways to avoid a service upgrade

If the load calculation comes back close, there are legitimate options to discuss with your electrician:

  • Keep one large appliance on gas. Where it’s permitted and it suits how you cook, a gas range removes the biggest new load.
  • Choose appliances with lower electrical demand. Requirements vary widely between models of the same type.
  • Add a subpanel. This works if the shortage is spaces and not capacity. The same approach comes up when planning a dedicated subpanel in a garage conversion.
  • Use load-management equipment. These devices prevent two large loads from running at once, which can let an existing service carry more connected equipment. Acceptance depends on the product and the local inspector.

None of these is right for every house. They are worth pricing before you commit to the longer path.

What should be settled before cabinets are ordered

Electrical capacity is a design-phase decision because it’s tied to the appliance list and the layout.

Decide before ordering cabinets or starting demolition:

  • The final appliance list, with model numbers, since each manufacturer specifies its own circuit.
  • Gas or electric for cooking.
  • Whether the existing panel stays, gets a subpanel, or is replaced.
  • Where any new panel or subpanel will go, and how its feeder cable gets there.
  • Whether a utility application is needed and who files it.

These can wait until later in the project: device and cover plate finishes, the specific under-cabinet fixtures, and decorative lighting, as long as their locations and switching are already on the plan.

What to look for in an estimate

When you compare proposals, electrical scope is one of the places they differ most without saying so. Our guide on how to compare remodeling bids covers the general method. For electrical, look for clear answers to these:

  1. Has anyone looked inside the existing panel, and is a load calculation included?
  2. Is panel or service work included, excluded, or carried as an allowance? An allowance with no basis is a guess.
  3. Who coordinates with PG&E if the service changes, and is that time reflected in the schedule?
  4. Which permits are included, and who schedules the inspections?
  5. What assumption is being made about the wiring behind the kitchen walls, and what happens if it’s in poor condition?
  6. Does the price include patching and painting outside the kitchen where new cable has to be routed?

A lower number that leaves these out isn’t a lower price. It only leaves those decisions to be priced later, after work has started, which is one of the common ways change orders in a remodel begin.

A useful first step

If you’re planning a kitchen remodel in Marin County or San Francisco, bring two things to the first conversation: your appliance wish list, and a photo of your electrical panel with the door open and the label visible. Those two items tell a contractor most of what’s needed to say whether your project is likely to involve panel work.

Home Team Services Remodeling offers complimentary consultations and detailed estimates. We’re glad to look at the panel during the site visit and tell you what should be confirmed by an electrician before the design is locked.

Frequently asked questions

Can I remodel my kitchen on a 100-amp service?

Sometimes. It depends on the size of the house, what else is connected, and what the new kitchen adds. A gas range and modest appliance list may fit. An induction range plus other electric upgrades may not. A load calculation from a licensed electrician gives the actual answer for your home.

Is adding a subpanel the same as upgrading the panel?

No. A subpanel adds breaker spaces and puts them closer to the kitchen. It doesn’t increase how much power the house can use. If the service itself is too small, a subpanel won’t fix that.

Does switching from a gas range to induction require a panel upgrade?

Not automatically. An induction range needs its own 240-volt circuit sized to the manufacturer’s requirements, so the panel needs both the space and the capacity for it. Many homes have both. Homes with small or full panels often don’t.

Who handles the PG&E application if my service needs to increase?

PG&E allows the homeowner or the contractor to submit it. Ask each contractor who files it on their projects, who tracks it, and whether the time it takes is reflected in the proposed schedule.

When in the remodel should the electrical panel be evaluated?

During design, once the appliance list is taking shape and before cabinets are ordered. Finding a capacity problem after demolition usually means a change order and a pause while the utility or the permit office catches up.

Helpful resources

This article is general educational information. Electrical requirements depend on the property, the jurisdiction, the plans, and existing conditions, and should be confirmed by a licensed electrician and your local building department.