How High Should I Hang my Electrical Panel? 

Ben, one thing to think about is if you are wiring a house for the elderly, make sure that the top breaker is reachable by someone in a wheelchair. That is the reason for the 30” & the 36” clearances. When we had a house redone in 92, because mom was having double knee replacement surgery. Leroy the carpenter recommended that the electric breakers be moved to the porch off the kitchen at a height reachable by a person in a wheelchair. We never regretted that! Since 92 to now 3 people have been in a wheelchair in this house, 1 for 2 months, other 2, 3 to 10 days. Another thing that we did was to install outside outlets on the street & the alley ends of the house. Each one is controlled by a GFI breaker. That way when we come home, we plug the outfit in, turn on the front or rear breaker when we need it. This year on New Years Eve it got down to -28°f. Nice to be prepared. Power went out at 4:30 pm at -22°f. Came back on at 8:00 pm at -26°f. Thank you for the helpful videos! Hello from north east Montana. 10 miles from the Canadian border.

Ben....I've been doing this close to 51 years and always ask a homeowner simple questions...like any handicappec in Wheel Chairs, etc...then hang a panel middle at eye level which puts it aboutbtop of 6 ft, but again you have to size the job site on the length of existing wiring. I've actually hung a panel side by side and bonded the two together using the old panel as a junction box bonding the neutrals and new panel with upgraded breakers. Stripped out all the hot conductors leaving neutrals. Then grounded the new panel by code. Worked very well and saved many hours of labor. Passed inspection! Note: old panel was a Cleveland and weighed a ton. Very well built panel....all copper bus bars and breakers!

In BC Canada, the height to highest breaker is 1.7m or 67”.

In Canada I believe code is 170cm which is approximately 67". Any higher and it will fail inspection. Top breaker needs to be accessible.

Most electricians simplify this for their ease of calculation by setting the top of the panel no higher than 6 feet 7 inches. There are cases where the height may need to exceed the max set by code. Whenever you run into such a situation you need to build a platform for accessibility.

Where I live, NE side of Houston, all the homes in our neighborhood have the panels outside on a rear wall of the house or detached garage. They are water resistant as far as the door being flanged but not watertight with an O-ring or gasket, any conduits on the outside are the watertight kind. We get our power feed from the utility easement underground at the back of the property and it is inside grey plastic conduit, the wiring for the house all feeds through the rear of the panel into the wall. Most of our homes have a 18"-30" roof overhang so the box rarely gets rain unless there is a strong wind. Our meters are usually within a few inches of the side of the box.

Benny, another great informative video. Keep up the great work.

Thank you. That was a good reminder. Businesses where I worked had multiple panels behind false walls. I borrowed a woman's makeup mirror to view the panels. If a custodian had not shown me where the panel was, I might not have found it.

Your panel height is perfect. Keep doing that. Great vid.

My old main panel (old 20 space Square D QO) was next to a sink and its supply lines weaved through wiring out of the top of the panel. I have a short (6'6") basement so I left 12" from the top of the panel to the joists for wiring. I also installed next to a main doorway with no door.

Very helpful video Ben. Do you know if there is a particular way they like to see the panel mounted on the inside of the house. I see you've used plywood. Is that OK in general

Ty thats what I ended up putting the top of my panel @ 6'

Quick question for you. I am trying to avoid paying several hundred dollars for the electric cable needed to run a line from my power box (on the power pole), to a secondary location. (The solid core cables for the 6 awg in my area are about 3.5$ a foot, but I can get stranded 3 awg for a little over 2$ a foot.) But I wasn't sure if it would be possible to do the connection between the 2 panels with that wire, or if it was only possible to use the solid core wires, due to having the neutral and ground separate. (None of the local electricians want to actually answer questions, and after watching your videos you seem like you know a good bit about this stuff.). I want to buy the equipment and then see if I can find someone to install the stuff for me. (It will be running from my power pole, about 70 feet to a storage room that will eventually be the power room for my homestead I am building up, I will eventually be migrating off the grid using solar, and wind power.).

Near the end of the video for the sub panel in the garage where is the best place to bring in the wire into the sub panel. Top, bottom or from the back of the panel ? Say if your main connectors are on the top of the panel is it better to bring the wire from the top ? Or does it not matter where it’s brought into the panel ??

Great video again ben, what’s the lowest you can install the panel? All the way down to the floor?

Another great video. Planning to enclose a recessed panel with rockwool insulation and plywood walls. Is there any requirements for fire? I am considering six inches on sides and 12 top and bottom using cement board that is removable for future cable runs. Thank you!

I installed a mini split that overhangs the top of the panel by a few inches. Even though the space guidelines are respected, I didn't know about the rule for "no equipment installed directly above the panel all the way to the ceiling". Also I didn't think about at the time that if the condensate tray overflowed, it could drip on the panel. That will be an expensive mistake to fix - having the refrigerant reclaimed and then moving the unit over a few inches, then running new line set.

I have a 48” wide alcove with 2 panels mounted in it. There is about 1” clearance in between the enclosures and the walls on either side, with an inch or so in between the two enclosures. Does this satisfy the 30” requirement since there is 48” of working space in front of it?

With the understanding that the NEC says the service panel can’t be higher that 6’-7” High, unless your that tall it should never be a problem if installing the panel at the home owners eye level. I’m 5’-8” so the sub-panels at my home and garage are installed with the main breaker lever at my height, which is close enough for both my wife and I to reset breakers or for me to do electrical work. This is also how the service electrical meter, generac auto transfer switch and main disconnect panel are installed at my height.

You should do a video on how to feed a sub panel from a sun panel in series…. I’ve looked and can’t find anything.. Especially I had a 18 slot Sub panel installed in my shed using 150 feet of 6awg with a 50 amp breaker and have a remaining 30 feet of 6awg.. I want a 20amp receptacle 60 feet away and have 10awg however it’s not easy to wire receptacles with 10awg and I don’t want to pigtail 12awg nor do I want voltage drop with the full Run of 12awg I was thinking of installing an outside sub panel between 1 to 4 breakers using the Remaining 6awg then feeding the receptacle(s) from there Just wondering what advice, suggestions and or ideas you’d have about that.. Thanks

What about a panel installed over a workbench? Does that violate the frontal clearance guidelines? Let's say it's a bench permanently attached to the wall, about 2' benchtop width, 2' below the panel, wires feeding top of panel, ample clearance on either side.

I'm planning on installing a sub panel in a shed in my back yard. The walls are unfinished and the roof rafters are exposed as well. The bottom of the wall where the rafters meet is 6'4 inches tall. The Code book says I need a minimum of 6'6 inches of height for a main panel to be installed. The rafters reach 6'6" after a few inches in front of where I was planning to install the sub panel, but are only 6'4 directly above the location itself. Will i need ro relocate the panel to be within code, or is this a code specific for MAIN panels only?

Since I'm 7'5" I installed my panel at 7'2" and that's accessible for me.

whats the minimum height? I'm considering installing a sub panel but my only option is to go below the main panel, and right now the bottom of the main panel is about 4' off the ground or a bit less... seems a little low for a sub panel. is it?

Good video - got to the point quickly. I'm thinking low panels are generally a bad idea over time. For example in a garage a low panel could be subject to water spray damage if someone were hosing the panel. Same possibility for a flooded basement. Also, an owner may later bury it completely with a desk or junk pile.

Ben, how low can I mount a sub panel? I don’t have room to the left because of my electric water heater and my garage door is to the right of the panel. I want to mount it below the service panel. Is that ok?

I just found your channel and find it very informative. I have a simple question and I would appreciate if you or anyone could answer it. Question? What's recommended for attaching the panel box to plywood or backer board? Can I use 2" hex/washer screws? What I'm doing is wanting to attach a breaker box for my water heater, the box is 12" tall x 6" 3/4 wide. So I want to attach the box to a piece of 2x10 between 2 studs with 2" hex/washer screws.

Ben, Questions: I installed my subpanel in the garage and want to wire my 3 prong 220 outlets. To the best of my knowledge a natural wire isn't required for this industrial equipment. can't seem to find accurate information about if I need a 8/2 or 8/3 wire for my 220 outlets and I'm uncertain if I can use the uncovered copper wire for ground with 220. I'd also like to have a welder outlet at the front and rear of the garage. Is it safe to use wire nuts in the outlet box to run wires to the second plug or do I need a junction box? Do I need metal boxes for the outlets or is plastic ok? Thank you in advance. I enjoy all your videos. They are very informative. You're a very talented young man. Kind regards Paul H Cassidy

A little off topic, but I'm about to do a panel swap and a few of the wires are going to be too short. Rather than splicing a pigtail with wire nuts, which I think look trashy, I'm wanting to go with Wago 221-2411 inline splices because they'll look a lot neater. They're UL approved. What do you think? Thanks.

does anybody know how low to the floor a breaker panel can be mounted? is there a minimum. I want to locate mine about 2 ft off the floor .

How low can you go on the panel? I came across few panels which nearly sitting on the floor.

Can a 2 inch pvc drain pipe run underneath a panel? Against the wall? Its in a basement from a laundry area

can you put a switch in the 30 inches? or receptacle?

Hey Ben. Enjoy these electrical videos. I'm looking to install a subpanel in my garage for some 208V woodworking equipment. Do you take questions regarding this type of work? If so, let me know how to ask them. Thanks for the helpful videos.

As far as EMF activity goes I strongly recommend the Chuck McGill approach if you can afford it. If not, simply gleaning his tinfoil hat method might be the best bang for your buck on a budget. :)

The new regulations require a cutoff switch on any unattached building.. how do you do that?

I see you are holding to wire cables squeezed together with a u tack. I don't think that's to code in Toronto because they can over heat at that point. Where are you living that this is to code? I also seen a video where you talk about the distance of a switch that has to be more than 36 " from a sink. But I don't see that any more. Where is that switch placement video please? Thank you.

Nice garden

thx man

how about outside walls?

In Nigeria it's around 1.8M floor to panel base!!

Can you.mount it under a window in a garage

I've installed a panel with main breaker on bottom as it would have required effort to get the lines in to the top without consuming a lot of space inside the box to run them. It looked odd, but inspector didn't give it a second glance.

Hi. Ben where are you located

Good rule of thumb for height your breaker box should be is main to middle of your face like to your. Nose I'm 5/7 so that be about 5 for 2

Would a garage, where you might park your car be an issue if the car is not always at least 36" in front of the panel?

Can a subpanel encroach on the 30 inches, or does it need it's own 30 inches?

Depends on how tall you are, and if there's a lot of plumbing nearby, or under the surface below. And if you're thinking it... Yes, I'm being a smart arse

What is the minimum height from the floor?

I’m like 450 yeahhhhhhh

I've found that if I place the panel in the bathroom, across from the toilet so I can "do my business" as I'm wiring the panel. But seriously , Interesting video I learned something new so thank you.

There is a ton of new construction here in Maryland where panels are placed inside closets without 36 inch clearance in front and a closed door

WHAT IS THE MINIMUM HEIGHT FOR A OUTDOOR COMBO METER AND BREAKER BOX? Homeline 200Amp 30-Space 42-Circuit Outdoor Ring-Type Semi-Flush Mount Solar-Ready Main Breaker Plug-On Neutral CSED DOING A REMODELLING JOB WITH A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF THINGS TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION. WANT TO PLACE IT BETWEEN A TRIMMED WINDOW AND THE CORNER BOARD APPROXIMATELY 30 INCHES WIDE. WANT TO ENCLOSE THIS UNIT IN A "CABINET" WITH A DOOR THAT ALLOWS THE PANEL'S DOOR TO OPEN 90 DEGREES. WANT THE TOP OF THE CABINET TO BE BELOW THE BOTTOM OF THE PICTURE-FRAMED WINDOWS TRIM . WHICH IS NO MORE THAN 46 INCHES HIGH. ANY INFORMATION WOULD BE HELPFUL THANKS. CHARLOTTE NC.