For homeowners

Types of electrical panel: which one fits your home?

Choose Circuit breaker panel for adding a new circuit breaker at a later date, such as for a home addition, in an expansion slot (DOE-hosted factsheet); Smart panel for regulating a home's peak electricity demand by controlling individual circuits (DOE-hosted factsheet).

The right choice depends on whether the panel has room for new circuits, whether the home's peak electricity demand needs managing, and whether the home still has fuses.

How we know: By InstaBids editorial team with AI research agents. · Sources read: 17 October 2026 · Updated 27 October 2026

DOE-hosted factsheet: whatever the type, an electrical panel is responsible for safely delivering electricity from the utility's power lines to your home.
Type	Best for	Main advantages	Main drawbacks
Circuit breaker panel	adding a new circuit breaker at a later date, such as for a home addition, in an expansion slot (DOE-hosted factsheet)	ENERGY STAR: the main breaker switch should say how many amps the panel receives, so its capacity can be read off the panel	DOE (2023): "low-capacity and space-limited panels in vintage homes cannot accommodate the new loads according to current rules in the National Electrical Code (NEC)", in many cases
Smart panel	regulating a home's peak electricity demand by controlling individual circuits (DOE-hosted factsheet)	ENERGY STAR: lets you use the amount of electricity you currently have by shifting when certain appliances are running; ENERGY STAR: when there is not enough power for everything at once, it can temporarily halt EV charging until "the higher priority appliances do not need all the electricity"	ENERGY STAR describes it as a replacement: "Replace your existing panel with a smart panel"
Fuse panel (fuse box)	no official source names one	no official source names one	Indiana DNR: when fuses kept blowing, a bigger fuse was sometimes put in, allowing the circuit to carry a heavier load than it was designed to, creating a safety hazard; DOE (2023): "low-capacity and space-limited panels in vintage homes cannot accommodate the new loads according to current rules in the National Electrical Code (NEC)", in many cases

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What does electrical panel replacement cost?

For electrical panel replacement prices, see How much does it cost to replace an electrical panel?

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Sources for the facts on this page

U.S. Department of Energy Building Science Education Solution Center, Home Electrification and Electric Panel Upgrades (factsheet by New Buildings Institute), government, read 22 October 2026.
ENERGY STAR (U.S. EPA and U.S. DOE), Make Your Home Electric Ready, government, read 22 October 2026.
U.S. Department of Energy, Building Technologies Office project page, Affordable and Equitable Residential Electrification Under Electrical Panel and Service Constraints (July 17, 2023), government, read 22 October 2026.
Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology, Preservation at the Crossroads newsletter, Lighting It Up (undated), government, read 17 October 2026.