An electrical service upgrade hamilton homeowners need isn’t about replacing an old panel, it’s about giving your home enough capacity for the way you actually use electricity. Mercanti Electric sizes and installs the right service for your home, based on an actual load calculation, not a guess.
An electrical service upgrade hamilton homes most often need is a straightforward move from 60 or 100 amp service to 200 amp, and it’s by far the most common upgrade we do. Electric vehicles, heat pumps, induction ranges, hot tubs, and home offices have all added meaningful load to homes that were built decades ago on a fraction of today’s demand, and 200 amp service is what comfortably covers that modern reality for the vast majority of Hamilton homes. A smaller number of larger or higher-demand properties need to go further to 400 amp, but that’s the exception, not the default, and a proper load calculation is what tells you which one your home actually needs, not a sales pitch.
Mercanti Electric handles electrical service upgrades across Hamilton and the surrounding area, from 100 amp homes moving to 200 amp service to larger properties requiring 400 amp capacity. Joseph Mercanti brings 13 years of electrical experience and full ESA/ECRA licensing (#7017086) to every upgrade, calculating your home’s actual demand before recommending a service size, and coordinating directly with your utility so the disruption to your home’s power is as brief as possible.
Every service upgrade starts with the same question: what does your home actually need, not what sounds impressive. We calculate your real demand before recommending a size, so you’re not paying for capacity you’ll never use, or worse, installing a service that’s already inadequate for what you’re planning.
This is the upgrade we do most, and for good reason. A huge share of Hamilton’s housing stock was built with 60 or 100 amp service at a time when homes didn’t run an EV charger, a heat pump, an induction range, and a home office off the same panel. Moving to 200 amp service resolves that gap for the vast majority of homes, comfortably supporting modern electrification without the cost or disruption of a much larger project. If your home is tripping breakers, can’t take on an EV charger or hot tub, or is simply still sitting on original 60 or 100 amp service, 200 amp is almost always the right answer.
400 amp service exists for a smaller, specific set of situations, typically larger homes, often above roughly 3,000 square feet, properties with multiple EV charging stations, or homes running electric heating throughout rather than a single heat pump. It’s worth knowing about, but it’s not the default most homeowners should be planning around. A proper electrical load calculation, using the Ontario Electrical Safety Code’s demand factor methodology, is what actually determines whether your home needs 200 amp or the less common 400 amp jump, rather than assuming bigger is automatically better.
For the smaller number of homes that genuinely need 400 amp service, it’s worth knowing this isn’t one oversized panel, it’s a single 400 amp service entrance from the utility that splits into two separate 200 amp distribution panels inside the home. This is the standard, code-compliant way 400 amp residential service is delivered, since panel equipment at that scale is built and rated around the 200 amp increment, and it means planning for two panels rather than one, with circuits grouped logically between them.
A panel replacement inside your home can sometimes be handled with the meter still connected. A service upgrade generally can’t, because it involves the meter base, the service mast, or both, which means your electricity has to be disconnected and reconnected at the utility level, not just inside your panel. In the Hamilton area, that means coordinating directly with Alectra, scheduling the disconnection, completing the upgrade, and arranging reconnection once the new service passes inspection.
This is a meaningfully different process from most electrical work, since it depends on utility scheduling in addition to our own, and it’s not something a homeowner or a general contractor can shortcut. We handle this coordination as part of every service upgrade, so the disconnection window is as short as reasonably possible and reconnection happens promptly once ESA has signed off on the work.
We calculate your home’s actual and anticipated electrical demand to determine whether 200 or 400 amp service is the correct fit.
We evaluate your existing meter base, service mast, and panel location to plan the upgrade.
We pull the required ESA electrical permit before work begins.
We schedule the required disconnection and reconnection with your local utility provider.
We install the new meter base, service equipment, and panel or panels, sized to your calculated demand.
ESA inspects the completed work, and we coordinate reconnection with your utility once it passes, providing documentation for your records.
A poorly executed service upgrade often shows up as recurring capacity problems that shouldn’t exist right after paying for an upgrade. Watch for a contractor who recommends a service size without doing an actual load calculation, especially anyone who pushes 400 amp service as a default upgrade regardless of your home’s real demand. Be cautious of anyone who doesn’t mention utility coordination as part of the process, since skipping it isn’t possible for a legitimate service upgrade, it’s a sign the scope wasn’t planned properly. A proper service upgrade includes a documented load calculation, a pulled ESA permit, coordinated utility disconnection and reconnection, and a final inspection with documentation you can keep on file.
Mercanti Electric provides electrical service upgrade services throughout:
Get an actual load calculation and the right service size for your home, not a guess.
For most Hamilton homes, yes. 200 amp is the far more common upgrade and comfortably covers an EV charger, heat pump, and electric appliances running together. 400 amp is only needed for a smaller set of situations, larger homes, multiple EV chargers, or whole-home electric heating. A load calculation confirms which one applies to you.
This is the standard way 400 amp residential service is delivered, since panel equipment is built around the 200 amp increment. It’s a normal, code-compliant configuration, not a compromise.
Yes, briefly. Because a service upgrade involves the meter base and service mast, your utility has to disconnect and reconnect power as part of the process. We coordinate this to keep the disruption as short as possible.
It depends on your actual electrical load. A licensed electrician can perform a load calculation to determine whether your current service supports what you’re running and planning to add, rather than guessing based on age or square footage alone.
Yes. A service upgrade always requires an ESA electrical permit, along with coordination with your utility for the disconnection and reconnection, and a final inspection before you’re reconnected.
Often, no, not without a service upgrade. Both add meaningful load, and combined with existing household demand, they frequently push a 100 amp service past what it can safely support. A load calculation will confirm whether an upgrade is actually necessary.
The electrical work itself is often completed in a day, but the full timeline depends on permit processing and utility scheduling for the disconnection and reconnection.
