Electrical Panel Upgrade in Tigard, OR
Tigard's Older Homes Deserve More Than a 100-Amp Panel
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Breaker Panel Upgrade in Tigard
When a panel upgrade is done right, you stop managing around your electrical system and start using your home the way you planned. No more rationing circuits before running the microwave. No more wondering if the breaker is going to trip when the heat kicks on during a wet Tigard winter.
You get a system that handles the load your household actually puts on it—today and for the years ahead.
For homeowners in Metzger, Southview, and Downtown Tigard, a lot of that older housing stock was built with 100-amp service. That was fine in 1972. In 2026, with a home office, an EV in the driveway, and a heat pump running through the cold season, it is not enough.
A properly sized upgrade gives you real capacity—not just headroom for today but room to add an EV charger, a backup generator, or a subpanel for an ADU without starting the conversation over from scratch. You know what you have, what it can handle, and what comes next. That clarity is worth a lot more than most people realize before they make the call.
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Licensed Electrician for Panel Upgrades in Tigard
We are a family-owned electrical contractor based in Clackamas, serving the Portland metro area including Tigard and Washington County. We have been doing this work for over 40 years across two generations—which means the electricians showing up to your home in Bull Mountain or Summerlake have seen the full range of what Oregon’s residential wiring looks like, from mid-century panels in older Tigard ranch homes to newer builds that still need capacity planning for today’s electrical demands.
Our review record speaks for itself: 4.8 out of 5 stars across more than 1,400 Google reviews. That kind of volume does not come from a few good weeks—it reflects decades of consistent work and homeowners who felt informed, not pressured, when the job was done.
We carry both a CCB license and a BCD electrical contractor license, which are the two credentials Oregon requires for permitted panel work. Every estimate is free, every installation comes with a 5-year labor warranty, and every job is permitted and inspected the right way.
Electrical Panel Installation Process in Tigard
It starts with a free estimate. One of our electricians comes out, looks at what you have, and listens to what you are planning—whether that is an EV charger, an ADU addition, a kitchen renovation, or a panel that keeps tripping when the house is running at full load. You get a clear picture of what the job involves and what it costs before anything is scheduled.
Once you decide to move forward, we handle the electrical permit through the City of Tigard Building Division on Hall Boulevard. If the project involves a service upgrade—changing the amperage at the meter—we coordinate directly with PGE to schedule the meter pull. You do not have to navigate that process or make those calls yourself.
On installation day, the power goes off for the duration of the work and comes back on the same day once the new panel is in place and ready for inspection. We schedule the city inspection through the permit process and handle that coordination too. For most Tigard homeowners, the whole thing wraps up in a single day—and when it is done, you have a permitted, inspected installation backed by a 5-year labor warranty.
Electrical Panel Replacement and Safety Inspection Tigard
A panel upgrade from us is not just the panel itself. It includes the assessment, the permit pulled through the City of Tigard Building Division, coordination with PGE when a service upgrade is needed, the installation, and the inspection. The 5-year labor warranty covers the installation work—so if something is not right after the job is done, we come back and fix it. That is not standard in this industry, and it matters for a project of this size.
For Tigard homeowners adding an ADU or converting a garage under the city’s middle-housing zoning, the service upgrade conversation often comes before the ADU conversation. A 100-amp panel that is already running a full household load cannot support a second unit. We handle the electrical side of those projects from the panel out—including subpanel installations for the new space.
If you are planning an EV charger, a Tesla Powerwall, a hot tub, or a generator, the panel assessment will factor in the capacity those systems need. We install all of those, which means the panel upgrade and the next project can be planned together rather than treated as separate jobs. The electrical wiring upgrade, the breaker panel upgrade, and any downstream installations are all within scope—handled by the same licensed team, under the same warranty.
Do I need a permit for an electrical panel upgrade in Tigard, Oregon?
Yes—every panel upgrade in Tigard requires an electrical permit issued through the City of Tigard Building Division. The permit triggers a city inspection once the work is complete, which is what confirms the installation meets Oregon’s Electrical Specialty Code. This is not optional, and it is not a formality. Permitted work protects you at resale, keeps your homeowner’s insurance valid, and gives you documentation that the job was done to code.
The contractor doing the work needs to hold both a CCB license and a BCD electrical contractor license to pull that permit legally. We carry both. If you ever get a quote from someone who suggests skipping the permit to save time or money, that is a sign to keep looking—unpermitted electrical work creates real problems when you go to sell the home or file an insurance claim.
How do I know if my Tigard home actually needs a full panel upgrade?
The most common signs are breakers that trip repeatedly under normal household load, outlets or switches that feel warm to the touch, flickering lights when large appliances kick on, or a panel that is simply too old to support what you are asking it to do. Most homes in Tigard built before 1990 were wired with 100-amp service—and if yours falls into that category and you are running a home office, central air, or a heat pump through Oregon’s wet, cold winters, you are likely pushing that panel close to its limit on a regular basis.
That said, not every electrical problem is a panel problem. A single faulty breaker can sometimes be replaced without a full upgrade. The only way to know for sure is to have a licensed electrician assess what you have. We do that assessment as part of a free estimate—so you find out what the panel can actually handle before you commit to anything.
How long does an electrical panel upgrade take, and will I be without power all day?
For most residential panel upgrades in Tigard, the work is completed in a single day. The power goes off at the start of the job and comes back on once the new panel is installed and ready for inspection—typically the same afternoon. If the project involves a service upgrade that requires PGE to pull the meter, the timing depends on when PGE can schedule that step, but we coordinate that directly so you are not making calls to the utility yourself.
Plan for a day without power, and plan to have it back before the evening. For most homeowners, that means making arrangements for anything that genuinely cannot wait—medical equipment, a work-from-home setup, or a household with young children—but the disruption is limited and predictable.
Can I upgrade my electrical panel in Tigard to add an EV charger?
In many cases, yes—and for Tigard homes still running on 100-amp service, the panel upgrade is often the first step before an EV charger can be installed. A Level 2 home charger needs a dedicated 240-volt circuit that draws 40 to 50 amps. On a 100-amp panel that is already managing a full household load, that circuit usually does not exist without an upgrade first.
We install both panel upgrades and EV chargers, so we can assess your current panel, determine what size service you need to support the charger, and handle both projects under the same estimate and permit process. For Tigard homeowners commuting to Portland, Beaverton, or Hillsboro in an electric vehicle, getting the panel right the first time means the charger goes in cleanly and you are not revisiting the electrical system six months later.
What happens if my Tigard home has a Federal Pacific or Zinsco panel?
Federal Pacific and Zinsco panels were installed in millions of homes built between the 1950s and early 1980s, and a number of Tigard’s older neighborhoods—particularly in Metzger and parts of Downtown Tigard—fall within that construction window. Both panel brands have documented issues with breakers that fail to trip under overload conditions, which creates a fire and overheating risk that standard panels do not carry.
Beyond the safety concern, many insurance companies either refuse coverage or charge higher premiums for homes with these panels. If a home inspector or insurance adjuster has flagged your panel brand, that is worth taking seriously. We can assess whether you have one of these panels, explain what that means for your specific situation, and give you a clear estimate for replacing it. The replacement process follows the same permit and inspection path as any other panel upgrade in Tigard.
Does a panel upgrade in Tigard make sense if I am planning to add an ADU?
Almost always, yes. Tigard adopted middle-housing zoning in 2018, and ADU conversions—garage units, backyard cottages, basement apartments—are now a regular part of the city’s residential landscape. The electrical reality is straightforward: a 100-amp service panel sized for one household cannot support two. When you add a second unit, you are adding a kitchen, a water heater, lighting, and climate control to a system that was never designed for that load.
The City of Tigard requires permits for ADU electrical work, and the permit review process will typically surface the need for a service upgrade before the ADU can be energized. Getting ahead of that—assessing the panel before the ADU project is underway—saves time and avoids surprises mid-construction. We handle the panel upgrade, the subpanel for the new unit, and the permit coordination through the City of Tigard Building Division. It is a cleaner process when one contractor manages the full electrical scope from the start.
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