Amped Up: Understanding Your Home's Electrical Amperage

Your home's electrical system is an important part of keeping things running. You rely on it for everything from running your washer and dryer to charging all your mobile devices.

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Knowing the details of the system might not seem important, but being aware of your home's electrical amperage could be essential. It affects the capacity of your electrical system.

What Is Amperage?

Electrical amperage, sometimes called amp service, tells how much electricity your home's electrical system can handle. Think of it as the maximum electrical current amount that can flow through your electrical components safely.

Amperage can vary significantly, often based on the age of your home. Unless the electrical system has been upgraded, many older homes have smaller amp service. The smaller capacity matched the amount of electricity the average home needed in earlier times. Meanwhile, newer homes usually have a higher capacity because modern families often have many electrical items they run frequently.

How Many Amps Is My Home?

You should be able to find out your home's electrical amperage by checking at your main electrical service panel. There, you'll see a main switch — it might be labeled "service disconnect." You should see a number printed on or near the switch, which represents the amperage. It's also possible your electrical meter will have the amperage listed.

The minimum recommended electrical amperage is typically 100 amps. However, that can vary by the age of your home and its electrical system. Knowing when your home was built could give you a general idea of the amperage it has. If your home was built before the 1960s, it might have 60-amp service. It's possible the electrical system has been upgraded, though, especially if your home has been extensively remodeled.

If your home was built between the 60s and the 80s, it's likely it'll have at least 100-amp service. It's still possible that the electrical system has been updated, so it could be higher. If you have a newer home, it could have 200-amp service. Some homes have even higher capacities — sometimes up to 400-amp service, especially if the home is large or has unique electrical needs.

If all else fails, you can hire an electrician to evaluate your system. They can tell you what electrical amperage your home has, what they recommend and how much it will cost to increase your service.

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Why Does Electrical Amperage Matter?

Your home's electrical service capacity impacts how well it functions, and it's a safety issue. The amperage of your system is the maximum current that can run through your wires and outlets. If you constantly push the limits, you risk everything from minor inconveniences to serious dangers for your family.

If you have a lower amperage, your electrical system likely won't be able to keep up with your modern demands. That often results in circuits tripping in your breaker boxes. If you feel like your breakers are constantly tripping, it could be a sign that you need to increase your amperage. You might have to limit how many electrical items you use at a time to prevent the tripping.

Demanding more amperage from the system than it's designed to handle can also cause overloaded circuits, which can overheat and increase the risk of an electrical fire. Overloaded circuits could also damage any appliances that are connected to the electrical system, potentially shortening how long they last and costing you more money on replacements.

While 100-amp service is the recommended minimum, it often isn't enough to keep up with modern households. You might not have issues with 100-amp service if you have a small home and don't run many high-powered items. However, if you have electrical heating, the system might not be able to handle the load even in a smaller home.

Moving up to 200-amp service gives you the capacity to handle the appliances and electronics in a typical household. New homes typically already offer 200 amps.

You may need to increase to 300-amp service or higher if you have unique electrical needs. For example, if you have a large home with electrical heating, two laundry rooms and several extra gadgets and appliances, you'll likely need more power. You might also want to increase beyond 200-amp service if you have an EV charger installed.