Electrical – Breaker box that is full

breaker-boxcircuit breakerelectrical-panel

My box is full and I have a gas water heater and trying to switch to a electric tank. Could I just take out two of my 110s and replace it w a 220v for the new tank.?

Best Answer

Assuming that there are no service capacity constraints, you have a few options:

  1. Replace some of the breakers with tandem breakers. These essentially double the density of each slot. These breakers come in a variety of configurations of both 120/240V and combos with both. This is the easiest of options for a do-it-yourselfer to complete.

  2. Install a sub-panel. You would relocate a number of circuits from the current box to a new sub-panel.

  3. Replace the entire breaker panel with a larger panel. This is the most difficult of the three options and sometimes requires the utility to disconnect your service in order to complete this.

As always, contact a licensed electrician if you are unsure of how to safely make these modifications.