BillyBA wrote:

Secondly, to the people who say that I will never have that kind of demand at
one time:
I freaking know that. That's not the point. The point is, will it pass
inspection? What am I going to do if the inspector looks at the size of my home
and all the breakers crammed into the box, asks for a load calc, and I say "well
it's over 150A but hey I doubt I'll use it all the time"?

Your electrician is the expert. You are dabbling. Let your
electrician size the panel as he will be the one responsible for it
passing inspection. There is no reason for you to even speak to the
inspector.

Lastly, I want capacity for future renovations, like a screened in deck. And
the extra panel size will avoid a subpanel, which is a good thing because the
room with the breaker boxes will be my future office.

Your call, but I prefer subpanels. They don't take up an appreciable
amount of space and they make it easier to do work without shutting
down the house.

R