I'm planning to upgrade my electrical service and am interested in getting a 225 amp main load center. I can only find 200 amp meter sockets, though. The next highest ampacity meter socket I can find is 320 A and it's significantly more expensive than most of the 200 A sockets.
Are there any 225 A meter sockets? If not, what are you supposed to do to meter power going into a 225 A main breaker box?
Best Answer
You want a 200A meter socket in this case
The reason you're confused is because meter sockets are rated by their continuous ampacity, but panels and breakers are rated by their maximum nominal ampacity; this difference is most clear in Class 320 work, where a 320A continuous meter base is used either with a single 400A or a pair of 200A service disconnects. As a result of this, a typical 200A meter socket is rated for 200A continuous, and thus will have no difficulty with a 225A service, provided your utility recognizes it as a valid service (not all utilities do!).