On Tue, 05 Dec 2017 17:02:19 -0500, wrote:

On Tue, 5 Dec 2017 16:27:10 -0500, Tekkie® wrote:


I was quoted $3500 for 200A Square D service panel replacement which I think
is on the high side.

ELECTRICAL QUOTE
200A Service Upgrade
Service Head
Service entrance cable
Meter base
Square D type QO equipment
200 Amp main breaker panel
40 space max S.P. circuits
Breakers as required
Properly label panel
3/4" plywood panel board built out in front of soil pipes
Good whole house surge protection
GFI receptacle below panel
Copper ground rods and conductors
Proper ground to water service
Intersystem bonding bridge
Removal of old equipment
Clean up
Permit
Inspection



In their quote was a surge protector: PSPproducts.net

PSP H1-75-04N
75kA Surge Capacity
MOV Technology
LED visual indicator
NEMA 4X Indoor/Outdoor rated
Lifetime Warranty
$50,000 Down line Warranty

Upgrade to...

Best (+$300)
PSP HC1C100-06-N
100kA Surge Capacity
MOV & Gas tube technology
Faster Response Time
LED visual indicator and audible alarm
NEMA 6 Indoor/Outdoor rated
Multiple mounting options
Lifetime Warranty
$100,000 Down line Warranty

Any thoughts on the quote and these protectors?


Can you ask for & provide us with a more-detailed quote ?
eg how many feet of underground ? entrance cable :
: material ?
: labour ? ,, complicated excavation ?
Way too many unknowns to judge the quote.
John T.

He said service head so that implies overhead service, no service
lateral (underground).
The SE cable is what goes from the service point at the customer end
of the overhead drop to the meter can and then on to the panel.

This is actually a fairly detailed proposal. The biggest thing I see
missing is the number and type of breakers. Bear in mind he will be
required to use AFCI breakers just about everywhere and the inspector
might require GFCI breakers on any applicable circuit that does not
have device type GFCIs. At $30-40 a pop, that adds up pretty fast.
The other wild card is how much needs to be done to the existing
wiring to mate up with the new panel. If they bump into multiwire
circuits, that might get ugly or require a more expensive 2 pole AFCI.
The alternative is to combine both legs onto one breaker but then you
will have a problem with the 3va per square foot rule if the inspector
is willing to check it out. I know it would ring a bell with me and I
would get my tape measure out. These are usually the rooms as far away
from the panel as they can be, typically bedrooms. It started becoming
a problem in 2002 when they started the AFCI thing.
Prior to that it was common to run a 14/3 to a ceiling box in one of
the bedrooms and split off 2 circuits from there. This was cheaper and
also mitigated the voltage drop.