When Panel Upgrade Sudbury tells homeowners to quote the bundle instead of the bare swap, it isn't upselling — it's sequencing. The expensive parts of touching your electrical service happen once per visit, whatever the visit accomplishes. Here's the case in full.
Why 100 amps is running out of road in Sudbury
A 100-amp service was generous for the house it was installed in: a 1970s Valley East side-split with a gas or oil furnace, an electric range and a dryer. It is not generous for what Sudbury houses are becoming:
- Electric heat is a northern reality. Plenty of Greater Sudbury homes — especially outside the gas grid in outlying communities — heat with electric baseboards or are moving to cold-climate heat pumps with electric backup. Heating load dominates everything else at −30°.
- A Level 2 EV charger draws 32–48 amps continuously — on a long Sudbury commute, home charging isn't optional equipment.
- The add-ons stack: hot tubs, garage workshops and welders, finished basements, secondary suites.
The referee is the Canadian Electrical Code's Section 8 load calculation — arithmetic over floor area, heating type and major appliances. Run it on a 100-amp service with electric heat or an EV in the mix and it fails routinely. 200 amps is the standard answer, and it's what new builds get by default.
The shared-cost arithmetic
Compare the two paths for a house that needs both the FPE swap now and capacity later:
| Path | What you pay |
|---|---|
| Bundle now — panel + 200-amp service in one visit | $3,000 – $4,500+ total. One permit, one disconnect, one labour mobilization. |
| Split it — bare swap now ($1,500–$3,000), service upgrade in a few years | The second visit re-pays the disconnect, a new permit and much of the same labour — the combined total predictably lands above the bundle. |
The bundle price includes the new 200-amp panel, mast, meter base and service-entrance conductors, the ESA permit, and the utility disconnect/reconnect — booked with Greater Sudbury Hydro or Hydro One depending on your address. Full price context is on the cost page.
What 200 amps unlocks afterwards
With the service upgraded, the projects that used to trigger "you'll need a service upgrade first" become straightforward: the EV charger goes in on a simple circuit, the heat-pump conversion passes its load calc, the garage gets a subpanel, the basement suite becomes feasible. You also exit the panel conversation with your insurer permanently — a modern panel with an ESA certificate is the least interesting thing an underwriter can find in your basement.