What kind of box would I use to split from 200 amp to 200 amp and 125 amp?

Question

I know exactly what this should LOOK like, but I do not know what I am looking for.

I have 200 amp service to my house. I want to run a 125 amp line to an outbuilding from the house. I will not be overloading anything, the 200 amp for the house is excessive, but I wanted to be able to expand. It is not praticle to run the new line to the pole. I do have a bit of extra space in the bottom of my load center if it can be managed in there, or I can place a box below there, but I want to do it right.

Answer 1

you do have the right idea.... just get another breaker box in the place where you want the 100 amp service!!! Because you have the 200 coming in you can "branch" off of this with a breaker swith running into the new box.... Thus this now being the "NEW POWER" to this area... This is what I did from my home into my Shop.... it works just fine and was inspector approved!!!  Just be sure to install another grounding rod and use the approved 6 gage wire for your area, ( I burried mine in a 3 foot trench)

Answer 2

You cannot "split" your electrical service. If it is a 200 amp service, it is a 200 amp service.

You're better off simply adding a 20 amp breaker to your panel and running number 10 UF Romex to your outbuilding. This will give you 20 amp max at your outbuilding, which should be fine for most things.

Answer 3

You can buy a sub-panel at Home Depot or Lowe's.  In it, put the breakers for your out-building.  You need to feed the sub-panel from the main panel with the appropriate sized breaker.  I recommend using a 2-pole breaker, so the wiring to the sub-panel can be more reasonable in size, and also allows for 2-pole circuits in the sub-panel.  This will, in effect, "split" your service, although the main panel is still protected only to 200 Amps.  If you are utilizing multiple circuits in the out-building, you may want to locate the sub-panel in the building, and just feed the panel with the appriopriate wire from the main panel sub-breaker.