The typical house here went up in 1958. Builders of that year ran 60-amp services, set fuse boxes in the basement and wired outlets with two slots and no ground. Some houses still carry a stretch of knob-and-tube from an older section. Those systems suited a few lamps and a refrigerator. A modern kitchen, central air and a home office ask far more of them.
Our recent Willow Grove panel jobs show the usual path. The old fuse box comes out. In April that meant a new 200-amp Siemens panel, every breaker labeled, plus a rewired meter base outside. PECO pulls and resets the meter, and the township's inspector signs off. The house gains room for the next 30 years of appliances.
Outlets come next. Two-slot outlets get a proper ground or GFCI protection, the way the under-sink outlet did. Fans and lights round out the list, including that windmill ceiling fan. Whatever the job, the price comes in writing before we start, and if we run late we waive the dispatch fee.