When to Replace a Fuse Panel (and What Your Insurer Is Really Asking)

Fuse panels are not automatically unsafe. A well maintained fuse panel with correctly sized fuses can be perfectly serviceable. The problem is almost never the panel itself - it is what has been done to it over sixty years.

The three things that make an insurer nervous: 60 amp service, over-fusing (a 30 amp fuse in a 15 amp circuit), and a panel with no room to separate circuits. All three show up together in most pre-1970 Toronto homes.

You should be planning a replacement if you are tripping fuses regularly, if you are adding a heat pump, EV charger or air conditioner, if you are finishing a basement, or if your insurer has sent you a renewal letter with conditions attached.

A typical 60 amp fuse panel to 200 amp breaker panel upgrade in the GTA runs $2,200 to $4,500 depending on the service mast, the meter base and whether the grounding needs to be brought up to code. It is a one-day job with power off for roughly four hours.

Take a photo of the inside of your panel door and send it over before you book anything. We can usually tell you within a few minutes whether you need a full upgrade or just a repair.