A subpanel extends your electrical system to a specific area — a detached garage, a workshop, a new addition, a pool equipment pad, or an accessory dwelling unit. It provides local breaker space without running a dozen individual circuits back to the main panel.
Common Houston projects
Garage workshops with power tools, backyard offices and studios (increasingly common across the metro), pool and spa equipment, kitchen additions, and garage apartments. Each needs proper feeder sizing, grounding, and permitting.
How it works
Tell us about the structure and what you plan to power. We connect you with an independent provider who sizes the feeder and subpanel, installs it, and handles permits.
Good to know
A subpanel distributes capacity — it does not create it
A subpanel adds breaker spaces and local shutoff for a specific area, but it still draws from the main service. The provider first runs a load calculation to confirm the main panel and service can support the new circuits, then sizes the feeder to the subpanel accordingly.
Where Houston homes typically add subpanels
- Detached garages and workshops with tools, lifts, or welders
- Home additions and garage conversions
- Pool and spa equipment areas, which require their own local disconnects
- Kitchen remodels that add several new appliance circuits
- Generator transfer equipment and EV charging hubs
Before you call — have this ready
- What the new area will power — a rough list of tools, appliances, or equipment
- The distance and path from the main panel to the subpanel location
- Whether the location is indoors, outdoors, or in a flood-prone spot
Permits and code in Houston
This type of work generally requires an electrical permit in Houston, and Texas law requires it to be performed by a licensed electrician. You can verify any license through the TDLR license search and confirm permit requirements with the Houston Permitting Center. The provider you hire should pull the permit — be cautious of anyone who asks you to pull it as the homeowner.
Frequently asked questions
Most projects involving new circuits, panels, generators, or rewiring require a permit through the Houston Permitting Center; like-for-like device swaps generally do not. The independent provider confirms the requirement for your address and pulls the permit when one is needed.
We do not publish or set prices. The provider you are connected with inspects the situation and gives you a written estimate directly — that is the number to evaluate, and you are free to decline it.
Scheduling is set by the provider, and we do not promise response times. When you call, we connect you with a provider covering your area, and they confirm availability and timing with you directly.
Anything involving burning smells, scorch marks, buzzing, or exposed or wet wiring should be treated as urgent — stop using the affected circuit and call today; for sparking, smoke, or fire, call 911 first. Non-urgent projects like subpanel installation in houston are usually fine to plan at normal pace.