In article , "S. Barker" wrote:
yes, yes, and yes.

Wrong, wrong, and wrong.

The OP's questions in order, with *correct* answers:

Q: Is the power coming into the house standard?
A: No. Not in terms of the service amperage provided, anyway. Many older homes
have service laterals that are capable of providing only 60A. Some newer ones
go as high as 400A.

Q: Can I buy a 200A breaker panel and have 200A service?
A: Not if the feed from the power company isn't capable of providing 200A.

Q: ... or is this determined by the wires and meter?
A: It's determined by the lowest-capacity component in the chain: power
company transformer, power company service lateral, service drop from the
lateral to the meter, meter and meter base, feeder from meter to service
entrance box, rating of service entrance box, rating of main breaker. To have
200A service, *all* of these components must be rated 200A or higher.

s


"Jrludi" wrote in message
...
I own a VERY old house and the wiring is a combination of fuse boxes
and small breaker panels and some individual breakers, sort of added
as they were needed. I am considering a replacing all this and
rewiring. My question is: is the power coming into the house standard?
Can I buy a 200 amp breaker panel and then have 200 amp service or is
this determined by the wires and meter running into the house?



--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.