From the field
Practical advice from our licensed electricians — safety, upgrades, and knowing when to call a pro.
A 100 amp service is still legal, still sellable and still enough for plenty of gas-heated homes. It stops being enough when a heat pump, EV charger or electric range arrives. Here is how to tell which side of that line your house is on, with a worked load calculation.
Read articleA subpanel adds circuits where you need them without touching the service. The mistakes happen in the details: wire that is really rated 90 amps, neutrals bonded to ground, and detached buildings with no ground rods. Here is how it is done properly.
Read articleEvery panel or service upgrade in Oregon needs an electrical permit and an inspection before the utility will reconnect. In Portland the permit fee is $212 for a service up to 200 amps, plus the 12% state surcharge. Here is who issues it, how to apply, and what happens on inspection day.
Read articleOregon lets owners wire their own home without a license, but not without a permit, and not on a house that is for sale or rent. Portland adds its own conditions. Here is what the law allows on both sides of the Columbia, what is permit-free, and where DIY stops making sense.
Read articleOften, yes. A 100 amp service can carry a Level 2 charger when the load calculation leaves room, especially at 24 or 32 amps, and a load-management device can make room when it does not. A panel upgrade is the fallback, not the first step.
Read articleOregon and Washington have different smoke and carbon monoxide alarm rules for owners, sellers, landlords and remodels. Here is what each state requires, where alarms go, when they expire, why hardwired alarms chirp, and what replacement costs.
Read articleA 1,500-watt space heater pulls 12.5 amps, which leaves a standard 15-amp bedroom circuit no room for anything else. Here is why the breaker trips, why the trip is not the real danger, and what the fixes cost in Portland and Vancouver.
Read articleIn each of the last three winters, hundreds of thousands of Portland-metro and Clark County homes lost power, some for the better part of a week. Here is what a standby generator, a portable with a transfer switch, and a home battery actually cost to install and run in 2026, how long each one keeps the heat on, and what the permits look like in Portland, Vancouver and Clark County.
Read articleThe 30% federal credit is gone for any system finished after December 31, 2025. That changes the math, but not the same way on both sides of the river. Here is what a Portland (PGE) and a Vancouver (Clark PUD) homeowner actually gets in 2026, how much a roof here really produces, and what your electrical panel needs before a single module goes up.
Read articleThe $1,000 federal EV charger credit ended on June 30, 2026, and the $600 panel credit ended the December before. What's left is all local, and which side of the Columbia you live on decides how much you get: Clark PUD pays a flat $500, Pacific Power pays up to $1,500 for income-qualified households, and PGE currently pays nothing toward the charger itself.
Read articleMost Portland-area homeowners pay $2,500–$5,000 for a straightforward 100-to-200-amp upgrade, and more when the meter base, mast, and grounding come along for the ride. Our own jobs typically land at $2,500–$3,500. Here's the full breakdown, including permits and utility steps.
Read articleRoughly one in four Portland homes predates 1940, and the late-'60s boom across the metro left thousands more with aluminum branch circuits. Here's how to identify both, what your insurer will ask for, and what a safe fix costs in 2026.
Read articleNot every electrical problem is an emergency — but some absolutely are. Here's how to tell the difference and stay safe.
Read articleReady for reliable power?
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