


Houston homes live hard. Air conditioners punch through nine months of heat, garage freezers hum along, pools circulate, and more than a few workshops hide table saws and welders. The electrical panel sits in the middle of all that, deciding what gets power and when. If the panel is undersized, outdated, or simply tired, the rest of the system shows it: flickering lights, tripped breakers, warm cover plates, nuisance GFCI trips, or a stubborn EV charger that keeps faulting out. The fix isn’t always a full replacement. Sometimes a precise repair returns a panel to reliable service. Other times, the math says upgrade. The trick is knowing which path you’re on and how to get there safely.
I’ve spent years crawling attics in August, sorting out mystery circuits in flood rebuilds, and planning service upgrades for neighborhoods where the tree canopies are older than the breakers. What follows is a practical, Houston‑specific guide to electrical panel repair and upgrades, with a focus on load calculations, real constraints in older and newer housing stock, and what good residential electrical repair looks like when you want the lights on and the risks low.
An electrical panel is a distribution point and a safety device. It sends utility power to branch circuits and uses breakers to limit current before a wire overheats. If the panel or breakers misbehave, the rest of the home is never truly stable.
Houston adds heat and humidity to the equation. whole home surge protector Heat makes conductors expand, which loosens terminations if they were marginal to begin with. Humidity creeps into garages and exterior service equipment, where it corrodes bus stabs and breaker jaws. AC loads run long duty cycles. That means your main breaker and the bus see high current for hours at a time during peak months. Small defects become big ones when they soak in heat through July and August.
Flood history complicates everything. A panel that took on water during Harvey might still “work,” yet corrosion sits on the bus where you can’t see it. That kind of damage doesn’t trip a breaker on day one, it raises resistance until you notice a warm odor and light flicker under load. I’ve opened plenty of seemingly fine panels to find pitted lugs and green oxide crust around neutrals.
Not every panel problem calls for a full changeout. Repairs make sense when the panel is mechanically sound, parts are available, and the system capacity matches the home’s present and near‑future load. Upgrades make sense when the panel is obsolete, overcrowded, damaged, or simply undersized for modern living.
Common repairable issues:
Signs that push strongly toward an upgrade:
The decision blends safety, code compliance, and long‑term cost. A tidy repair is cheaper now, but if you’re about to add a 50‑amp EV circuit and your main is already breathing hard, a repair just delays the inevitable and makes you pay twice.
Before anyone reaches for a new 200‑amp panel or pulls a replacement main, run the numbers. Houston has plenty of 1,400 to 2,000 square foot ranch homes from the 60s and 70s, plus newer two‑story houses with dual systems. The only honest way to size a panel and service is a load calculation based on the National Electrical Code Article 220. I like to do both a standard (demand factor) calc and a quick appliance‑summary reality check.
What matters most:
A real example helps. A 1,900 square foot bungalow in the Heights with a 4‑ton condenser and gas heat, electric range at 12 kVA, electric dryer at 5 kVA, dishwasher, disposal, microwave, and a detached garage with a small subpanel. Add a 40‑amp EV charger and a 1‑hp pool pump. Run the demand factors and you’ll commonly land near 120 to 140 amps calculated. On paper, a 150‑amp service can carry it. In practice, Texas heat stretches duty cycles, and EV charging likes to run for hours overnight. Bumping to a 200‑amp service gives breathing room, reduces nuisance trips, and future‑proofs for a second EV or heat pump water heater.
The quick check I do on site uses a clamp meter and common sense. If the main is pulling 70 to 80 amps per leg on a mild day before you turn on range, dryer, and EVSE, the system will live at the edge in August. You still complete the formal calculation for permitting, but you already know the recommendation.
Where the panel sits affects both safety and longevity. Many older homes have the main panel in an attached garage. That’s fine, but garage humidity and temperature swings degrade certain breakers faster. Detached garages sometimes have subpanels fed with older 3‑wire feeders where neutrals and grounds are bonded together. That was once allowed for detached outbuildings, but if a metallic path exists between buildings or if you add new circuits, you need a 4‑wire feeder with isolated neutral. Correcting this is a common home electrical repair during remodels.
Townhomes and patio homes built in the 90s to early 2000s sometimes hide panels inside closets or bedrooms where they no longer meet working clearance rules or new 2020 AFCI requirements create mystery trips on legacy circuits. You have to balance code compliance, real‑world function, and what the building department will accept for a like‑for‑like repair versus a true upgrade with a permit and inspection. In flood‑prone areas, raising the panel height to keep it above new base flood elevations can save heartache later. CenterPoint’s meter location requirements also steer decisions about where a new service disconnect can land.
Finally, summer thunderstorms and lightning. Whole‑home surge protection at the panel isn’t a luxury here. AC control boards, garage openers, and LED drivers survive far longer when a Type 2 SPD clamps big voltage spikes. If we’re opening a panel for repair or upgrade, we discuss an SPD while the cover is off.
Modern safety devices expect modern wiring. Arc‑fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs) watch for erratic waveforms. Ground‑fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) monitor leakage current. On newer cables with solid grounds and neat terminations, they work beautifully. On older NM cable with knicked insulation or DIY splices in a hot attic, they can nuisance‑trip.
When I plan an electrical wiring repair that brings a circuit under current code requirements, I pair diagnostics with the upgrade. If an AFCI trips immediately on a bedroom circuit, I test for shared neutrals, bootleg grounds, or a neutrally pinched under a cable staple. Sometimes the cure is simple: separate a multi‑wire branch circuit’s neutrals and install a 2‑pole common‑trip breaker or a listed handle tie, then move the two hots to opposite phases. Sometimes I replace a run from a junction to the first device with AFCI‑friendly cable and new terminations. The goal is code compliance without false trips that drive a homeowner to bypass protection.
GFCI protection in garages, kitchens, bathrooms, outdoors, and laundry areas is non‑negotiable in a humid climate. If the panel can accept GFCI breakers and the circuit layout is messy, I might choose breaker‑level GFCI to protect the whole run rather than fiddling with downstream device placement that gets lost during a remodel.
A proper panel repair starts with a dead‑front inspection and a thermal scan. With the cover on and the system under load, I use a thermal camera to look for hot spots at breakers and lugs. Anything 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit above ambient deserves a closer look. After shutting down and verifying absence of voltage, I pull the cover and evaluate:
If the bus is clean and the structure sound, I replace problem breakers with new, listed units. I correct any double taps by adding a breaker or relocating the splice to a junction box. I reterminate conductors to measured torque. If there’s evidence of water ingress, I fix the source, reseal the panel, and install a drip loop at the service mast if it was missing. Before closing up, I install a panel directory that actually makes sense to a future person with a flashlight. Then I repeat the thermal scan under load to verify the fix.
Upgrades should feel boring once complete. That means you considered the next decade, not just today. In many Houston homes, moving from a 100 or 125‑amp service to 200 amps is the sweet spot. It allows a 40 to 60‑amp EV circuit, a modern range, a dryer, and AC without juggling loads. For larger homes with dual condensers, pool equipment, and an EV or two, a 225‑amp main breaker in a 42‑space panel gives ample room to land circuits cleanly.
Space matters more than amperage on some projects. A cramped 20‑space panel filled with tandems leaves no place for AFCI or GFCI breakers that take full slots. A 30 or 42‑space panel, even at 200 amps, changes your options. Open space reduces heat concentration and, frankly, makes later residential electrical repair faster and cleaner.
Conductor sizes, meter base ratings, and service masts also enter the picture. Upsizing the panel without upgrading the service entrance conductors is not acceptable. For overhead services, I verify the weatherhead height, drip loops, and mast bracing. For underground, I coordinate with CenterPoint on shutoffs and meter pulls, then ensure the new meter can and main breaker combination meet their specifications. Permits and inspections are part of the plan, not an afterthought.
If a generator interlock or transfer switch is in your future, I select a panel that supports a listed interlock kit or plan for a separate service disconnect with a proper transfer switch. Retrofitting an interlock onto an incompatible panel causes more trouble than it saves.
Homeowners ask for a number before we even open the panel. I can give ranges that reflect typical Houston projects, but the true cost hinges on condition and scope.
Where clients see real value is in avoided callbacks and capability. If you plan to add an EV, remodel a kitchen, or finish a garage workshop, a slightly larger panel with clean space and modern protection often costs a small premium now and saves the cost of a second upheaval later. A good contractor will walk you through options in plain terms: keep, repair, or replace, with the math to justify it.
Electrical panel work pairs well with other upgrades. During HVAC replacement, we often find undersized disconnects or shared circuits that violate current code. During a kitchen remodel, the small‑appliance circuits that were optional in 1980 become required, and the panel needs spaces for two 20‑amp GFCI‑protected circuits, a dedicated microwave, and sometimes an induction cooktop on a 50‑amp breaker.
EV charging is the most common driver now. A 40‑amp Level 2 circuit draws 32 amps continuous. Two EVs at night can pull 64 amps combined for several hours, which pushes a 125‑amp service into uncomfortable territory when an air handler and condenser kick on. If you plan to rely on load management devices that shed the EV charger when AC runs, choose a UL‑listed controller and understand the behavior. Some homeowners dislike the start‑stop charge pattern. A 200‑amp upgrade removes that compromise.
Little practices prevent big problems. I torque every lug with a calibrated tool instead of guessing by feel. I won’t land a neutral and a ground under the same screw. I use antioxidant on aluminum terminations, then wipe the excess so it doesn’t attract dust. I avoid back‑stabbing receptacles on new or corrected circuits and pigtail to maintain device integrity.
On older homes with cloth‑jacket NM, I avoid unnecessary bending near the panel and replace short brittle tails with new pigtails in proper wirenut splices or lever connectors rated for the conductors. If a conductor is too short to reach a breaker after tidying, I install a listed splice kit in a gutter or junction box, not a stretchy miracle fix that hides under the cover.
Labeling is part of safety. A clear directory makes emergency shutdowns possible. I test the “master bedroom” label rather than trusting a faded pencil note from 1996. That extra hour pays off the first time a plumber calls asking to kill the whirlpool circuit without guessing.
You don’t need to open a panel to spot early trouble. A few checks help you decide when to call for electrical repair services before something fails hard.
These quick observations aren’t a substitute for a professional inspection, but they help catch issues early and frame a clear service call.
Electrical work tied to the service, meter, or panel typically requires a permit and inspection in the city or the ETJ. Good contractors handle the paperwork and coordinate with CenterPoint for meter pulls and reconnects. Plan for power to be off during a panel change between four to eight hours depending on complexity. Summer heat means we start early to bring the AC back before evening. If a surprise appears, such as rotten double tapped breakers backing boards or hidden water damage, we stabilize the system safely, then return with materials for a proper permanent fix.
For townhome complexes or gated communities, allow extra time for access and any HOA approvals if the meter location or exterior appearance changes. Clear communication prevents the awkward moment when an HOA manager questions a shiny new meter base that doesn’t match the neighbors.
The cost of a quality Type 2 surge protective device is small compared to a fried inverter board in a variable‑speed condenser or a double‑stack of smart dimmers. Houston’s lightning season and the sheer length of utility runs out to certain suburbs make surges a recurring guest. An SPD at the panel clamps the worst of it. It does not replace point‑of‑use protection for sensitive electronics, but it lifts the whole baseline and extends equipment life. I include them on most panel replacements and suggest them during substantial repairs.
Look for a licensed, insured electrician who can explain their approach without buzzwords. Ask what brand of panel and breakers they prefer and why. Listen for details about torque, labeling, bonding, and grounding upgrades. For homes with known problem panels, they should clearly recommend replacement and be able to show documented issues rather than rely on vague fear. If you are comparing bids, make sure each includes the same scope: new breakers or reusing old ones, surge protection, new grounding electrode conductors, meter base replacement if needed, drywall repair allowances, and permitting.
The best experience feels methodical. Someone assesses, runs a load calculation, presents options with numbers, then executes cleanly. Afterward, the panel looks orderly, the directory reads like a map, and nothing smells warm during a summer load spike. That’s the standard for residential electrical repair, not a luxury.
Houston’s electrical systems juggle heat, storms, flood histories, and the steady creep of higher household demand. An electrical panel that was fine fifteen years ago can be out of its depth with an EV charger, an induction range, and LED lighting on sensitive AFCI circuits. The decision to repair or upgrade rests on math, inspection, and your plans for the home. If a repair keeps a healthy panel reliable, do it with care and proper parts. If the numbers or the hardware say you’ve outgrown the service, upgrade with an eye to the next decade and avoid kludges that satisfy the moment but box you in later.
Good electrical repair services respect both the code book and the reality of daily life in a hot, humid city. They treat the panel as the heart of the system, not just a box of switches. With the right load calculations and a clean plan, your panel becomes one less thing to think about when the forecast hits triple digits and everything in the house wants power at once.
All American Electric LLC
Address: 9230 Keough Rd #100, Houston, TX 77040
Phone: (713) 999-3531