The Main Service Panel (MSP), also referred to as the breaker panel, is a distribution point for electrical circuits in the home.  It can most often be found in the basement or in the garage but can be located in other rooms or outside as well. Before searching for it, ask the homeowner where it is located.

WHAT TO COLLECT

• Photo of entire MSP, door closed

• Photo of entire MSP, door open

• Photos of ALL service labels inside 

• Photo of entire MSP with cover removed

• Pull back photo 5' away

• Close-up photos of the wiring

• Close-up photo of main breaker rating

• A 360° view of the room around the panel

In some homes, you will also find one or multiple sub-panels, which are a smaller version of the main service panel.  You will have to ask the homeowner because it is not always located right next to the main panel.  Please note some homeowners might not be aware of where their subpanels are located. As best practice, if there is a subpanel, hold up one finger and take a photo of the MSP, two fingers for the sub-panel, three fingers for a second sub-panel, and so on.

Pro-tip: If you see a breaker with a rating over 70 amp on the Main Service Panel, that's an indication there could be a subpanel present. If you notice this, you can ask the homeowner: 

• Based on what I'm seeing on your Main Service Panel, looks like there are other Electrical subpanels. Could you show me the panel?

• Is there any subpanel present in your garage, basement, or service room?

• Is there any subpanel present in the detached structure? (if applicable)

If the homeowner is unsure about it. Kindly ask him if he could give you access to either the basement or detached structure to do a quick search.

If there is a sub-panel, please gather the same photos as you would with a main service panel.

Below you can find some examples showing but not limited, to the types of subpanels you can find:

As part of the electrical survey, you will need to take pictures of the side of the house where the utility meter is located. Occasionally you will also find an electrical breaker and/or an external service panel on the outside of the house, and we would need pictures of that as well.  This section will show you how to capture these photos.

WHAT TO GATHER

• Close-up of the utility meter info

• Photo 5' from the electrical meter

• Photos of the entire wall

• Photos 6' from the left and right

• Photos above and below the meter

• Close-up of external breaker (if there is one)

• Photos of external service panel including wiring under the cover (if there is one)

Below are some examples of the photos that we need of the utility meter. Note that we have included one example photo for each category, but it is best to take more than one picture in case some turn out blurry.

TIPS ON TAKING GREAT METER PHOTOS

• Photos must be clear so we can read the labels

• Photos of the surrounding area are great so the installers can see how much space they have to install connections

The first example is the photo on the right side, showing a close-up of the meter but we also need:

In some areas, it is common for the main service panel  MSP and/or sub-panel to be located outside the home.  These exterior service panels will be located near the utility meter.

In these cases, follow the same steps as explained previously for any MSP or sub-panel. See the examples below.

Sometimes the utility meter is located on a pole away from the house.  For utility pole meters, please take the same pictures, but also write down the Utility Pole Number.

• Record Utility Pole #

• Close-up photo of meter label

• 3 feet away photo

• Context photos of surroundings

• Take ground-level photos of where the wire leads to at the residence