Main Panel (Service Panel)
Also known as: Service panelBreaker boxDistribution panelMain service equipment
The main panel is where the electrical service from PG&E's grid enters your home and gets distributed to the individual circuits powering your outlets, lights, and appliances. The main breaker — the biggest switch at the top of the panel — is the master shutoff for the entire house. Below it, individual circuit breakers protect each circuit from overload.
Panels are rated by their amperage capacity — how much current the panel can handle simultaneously. Older Santa Cruz homes often have 60A or 100A panels; modern homes typically have 200A; larger homes or homes with EV chargers, heat pumps, and solar may have 400A. The amperage rating governs how many simultaneous loads your home can support before tripping breakers.
Most homes built before 1990 have a 100A panel, which is increasingly inadequate for modern electrical demands. Adding an EV charger, switching to electric heat, or installing solar with battery often requires a panel upgrade first. The 200A panel is the current normal for residential service.
Panel work is the most common single project we do, and we treat it like the load-bearing piece of your home's electrical system that it is. We don’t publish prices on the site. You get the cost in writing after a free inspection.
Met this term in a quote or inspection report?
A free whole-home inspection turns jargon into a written assessment of your actual house — you keep the report either way.