Panel work in Boerne usually starts with a Hill Country home that has either outgrown its original service or never had the load planned for the way the house is actually used now.
Licensed Texas electrician · TECL #33987
Most common work
Boerne homes range from older properties near the downtown grid to newer custom builds out toward Fair Oaks Ranch and Leon Springs. The panels behind those homes vary just as much. Some are 1980s and 1990s split-buss panels still on a 100 amp service. Some are 200 amp panels that were sized before pool equipment, an EV charger, a shop, and a heat pump were ever in the picture. A panel replacement in Boerne is rarely just a like-for-like swap. It is a chance to right-size the service for the way the home is being used today.
The 2023 National Electrical Code adopted by TDLR as the minimum standard in Texas changes what a panel replacement has to include. A new service in Boerne needs a readily accessible outdoor service disconnect marked EMERGENCY DISCONNECT, a Type 1 or Type 2 whole-home surge protective device at the service, and a load calculation that accounts for current and near-term equipment. Each of those was optional or absent in older Boerne installs, and each is part of the scope now.
Bechtold Electric handles Boerne panel work end to end: load study, panel selection, City of Boerne electrical permit, coordination with the serving utility for the meter and service hand-off, install, surge protection, and inspection. The scope is built around the actual house.
Planning notes
The notes below cover what most affects a Boerne project beyond the visible request: access, existing load, future use, and the local permit or utility context.
Most Boerne homes are served by the City of Boerne municipal electric utility, with Bandera Electric Cooperative or Pedernales Electric Cooperative serving some areas, so a panel that involves meter, service-entrance, or service-equipment work has to be coordinated with the utility serving the address for the disconnect and reconnect, not just the city inspection.
Many Boerne homes still carry original split-buss panels or panels from manufacturers that have aged out of trusted field use. A panel replacement is the right time to resolve the panel, the outdoor disconnect, and grounding and bonding together rather than addressing each separately.
A Boerne home with a pool, a detached shop, a heat pump, and a planned EV charger does not always need 400 amps. It needs the NEC Article 220 load calculation completed before the panel is selected, since the calculation often supports a well-planned 200 amp service with load management.
What affects cost
Boerne panel work is priced around the actual scope of the house: how much service is needed, what the meter and service-entrance look like, where the outdoor disconnect lands, and whether sub-panels make sense for detached structures. We confirm scope with City of Boerne Permitting and Code Compliance and coordinate with the utility serving the address before work starts. Bechtold Electric is a licensed, bonded, and insured Texas electrical contractor (TECL #33987), and we pull permits when the work requires them.
A free estimate gives you a clear price for your house. Request a free estimate or call (210) 723-2493.
FAQ
Yes. Panel replacement, service equipment changes, and meter-side work require a City of Boerne electrical permit and inspection, and the serving utility (the City of Boerne, Bandera Electric Cooperative, or PEC, depending on the address) needs the inspection clearance before reconnecting service. Bechtold Electric pulls the permit and coordinates the utility hand-off as part of the scope.
A load calculation under NEC Article 220 is what answers that, not a rule of thumb. Pool equipment, EV charging, induction ranges, heat pumps, and shop loads all push the calculation up. Many older Boerne homes do well on a properly sized 200 amp service with surge protection and modern breakers, even when the existing 100 amp panel is full.
Yes. The conversion replaces the panel, re-terminates the branch circuits, brings grounding and bonding up to current code, adds the outdoor service disconnect required for one and two family dwellings, and installs the surge protective device required when service equipment is replaced.
The serving utility reconnects after the City of Boerne electrical inspection is released. For most homes that is the City of Boerne municipal electric utility; Bandera Electric Cooperative or PEC serve some areas. The meter loop, the service-entrance conductors, and the new service equipment all have to match the configuration the serving utility expects for that address, and the outdoor service disconnect has to be in place and labeled before reconnect.
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