Every electrician has favorite electrical components to recommend, and this includes service panels. Electricians also have panels that they avoid and existing, older panels that they recommend tearing out yesterday if not sooner. This is touchy ground, and anything I or the electricians I have worked with recommend will be subject to criticism in some quarters. With that caveat, I can recommend the following guidelines for choosing a panel:- You get what you pay for, so skip the low-end panels.
- Ask as many electricians, electrical suppliers, and builders of high-end homes as you can what panel they recommend; one or two names should keep coming up.
- Buy the best panels made by your manufacturer of choice rather than lower-end units made to compete with similar low-end units from chain discount stores.
Consider what a panel does: It acts as the major line of defense in the event of an electrical problem. You want the best panel possible rather than the most basic. They all will be UL-approved, but it’s better to go with a panel that will meet higher standards than the bare minimum. You wouldn’t buy the cheapest brakes for the family minivan, and this is the same attitude you should take with your electrical panel. What does my electrician recommend? He uses the Square D QO panel. Others recommend Cutler-Hammer or Siemens. All of these are reliable brand names that will serve you well.
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