putting in new service

tracy

thanks for reading this and possibly helping me. well im putting in a new service in a new detached garage. just a few questions. do i need an outside main pannel or can i just put the meter outside and the main inside. running pvc conduit inside and any suggestions will be great. also there is wooden trusses with a 2x10 bottom cord. putting lights and recepticals in ceiling. any advice will be great. thanks. u can email me personally with answers or pics at tracyjr.1980@yahoo.com. thanks

Wildie

A 2X10 bottom cord on the trusses makes me think that you have built a larger garage! More detail would be a help! And what purpose do you intend to use the garage for? A workshop? A welding shop? Will you require a heating system? Where do you live? Thes are some important considerations, and I'm sure others will have other questions also!

tracy

well this is a 40x80 garage with block walls,concrete slab floor, full bathroom,and a full 12x 8x 80 room upstairs. there is not any heat or air planned right now but will installed later. will be doing welding sanding,fabricating. just about everything. have a 80 gallon air compressor,stick and mig welder along with a 9000lb 2 post floor lift. I will be putting in a 200 amp service to this seperate from my house.i am wanting to put the breaker box inside and the meter box outside.i am verry familiar with electricity,went to school for industrial electricity and residential electricity just seeing if there is any pros or cons for what i am doing. i am located in catawba county NC. thanks

InPhase277

I wold email you, but to be fair to others seeking similar info, I'll post here. In my opinion, you should have a main located outside. I personally don't like the idea of unfused conductors entering a building for any length. If you put the meter and panel back-to-back, you can put the main inside. But as usual, check with your inspections department and power company for any special requirements that they may have.

J. V.

I would recommend a meter main. Meter socket with load center. Then install a 200 amp lug panel inside wherever you want. This way you have additional breaker slots outside and a 200 amp main breaker outside feeding the lug panel inside. This setup gives you a disconnect for the service entrance conductors entering the building. These meter main panels are great. I wish I knew about them when I did my service upgrade 10 years ago.

I'm not real familiar with NC. I'm in SC. But you should be able to set the meter main outside on the garage and let the POCO feed it. Thats the way it is done here. Overhead or underground.