Switchboard Upgrade in Hollidaysburg, PA: A Commercial Facility Guide
A switchboard upgrade replaces the main power-distribution equipment that takes incoming utility service and splits it into the circuits feeding a commercial or industrial building. For facilities around Hollidaysburg and Blair County, an upgrade is usually driven by one of three things: the building is adding electrical load the original gear was never sized for, the equipment is aging past the point where parts are still made, or an inspection has flagged a safety problem. This guide walks through what the work involves, how to spot when you need it, and what shapes the price, written for property owners and facility managers, not homeowners swapping a breaker.
What a Commercial Switchboard Upgrade Actually Means
A commercial switchboard is the heavy-duty assembly that receives incoming utility power and distributes it to the panels, transformers, and large loads throughout a building, and upgrading one is a different job from replacing a residential panel. The average U.S. commercial customer paid about 13.41 cents per kilowatthour for electricity in 2025, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, so the gear that routes every one of those kilowatt-hours has to be sized right and kept safe.
Switchboards are typically freestanding, rated from several hundred to several thousand amps, and often distribute three-phase power to a facility. A residential panel, or load center, is a smaller wall-mounted unit that serves one home. If your project is a house or a small apartment, the piece you are looking at is usually a panel, and our electrical panel upgrade guide for Hollidaysburg covers that case. For a store, shop, warehouse, medical office, or plant, the distribution equipment is a switchboard or switchgear, and it falls under our commercial electrical services.
Why Hollidaysburg Facilities Are Outgrowing Their Switchboards
Electricity is not only getting more expensive, buildings are pulling more of it. Data center servers alone accounted for an estimated 7% of U.S. commercial-sector electricity consumption in 2025 and are projected to reach 22% to 33% of commercial building electricity use by 2050, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reports. Even a building with no servers feels the same trend through the rest of its equipment.
The loads that push a Hollidaysburg facility past its original switchboard rating are familiar: commercial EV charging stations, electric heat pumps replacing gas heat, added HVAC for a build-out, new production machinery, and higher-draw kitchen or medical equipment. When the original service was sized decades ago for a lighter building, the switchboard becomes the bottleneck long before the rest of the wiring does. A commercial electrician in Hollidaysburg can run a load calculation to confirm whether you are near capacity before a breaker starts nuisance-tripping.
The pressure on your switchboard
Rising price, rising load, real risk
Three forces push a commercial building past the gear it was originally sized for — and all three are moving in the same direction.
13.41¢
per kilowatt-hour — what the average U.S. commercial customer paid for electricity in 2025
22–33%
projected data-center share of commercial building electricity by 2050, up from about 7% in 2025
7,400
nonresidential building fires tied to electrical malfunction in 2023, about $354.4 million in property loss
Signs a Hollidaysburg Building Needs a Switchboard Upgrade
Electrical failure is not a rare event in commercial buildings. Electrical malfunction was tied to an estimated 7,400 nonresidential building fires and about $354.4 million in property loss in 2023, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Aging or overloaded distribution gear is one of the ways that risk shows up. Watch for these signs:
- Main or feeder breakers that trip under normal operation, or that feel warm to the touch.
- Discoloration, scorching, or a burning smell at the switchboard or its enclosure.
- Buzzing, humming, or crackling coming from inside the equipment.
- Rust, corrosion, or water intrusion in the gear.
- A brand or model that has been discontinued, where replacement breakers and parts are hard to source.
- No open spaces or spare capacity left to add the circuits your operation now needs.
Any one of these is worth a professional assessment. Two or more together usually mean the switchboard is at the end of its service life.
What a Switchboard Upgrade Involves, Step by Step
The work belongs to licensed professionals, and demand for that skill is climbing. U.S. electrician employment is projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the average for all occupations, with about 72,700 openings a year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. A commercial upgrade generally moves through these stages:
- Assessment and load study. An electrician measures existing demand and the loads you plan to add, then sizes the new switchboard with headroom for growth.
- Design and permitting. Plans are pulled together and a permit is filed. The work is inspected under Pennsylvania’s Uniform Construction Code, which is built on the National Electrical Code.
- Utility coordination. Because the main service has to be de-energized, the crew schedules a shutdown with the utility and often stages temporary power to limit downtime.
- Removal and installation. The old gear comes out, the new switchboard is set, and feeders and grounding are terminated to code.
- Inspection and commissioning. The installation is inspected, tested, and energized, and the system is documented for your records.
Larger service work, such as a new underground service, follows the same disciplined sequence. Our 5,000-amp underground service installation in Duncansville is one example of that scale of project in the area.
What Drives the Cost of a Switchboard Upgrade
There is no flat rate for a switchboard upgrade, because the price tracks the size and complexity of the job. Skilled labor is a major factor, and it is not getting cheaper: the median electrician earned $63,190 a year as of May 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, against rising demand for the trade. The main cost drivers are:
- Amperage and capacity. A higher-rated switchboard uses larger conductors, bussing, and overcurrent devices.
- Voltage and phase. Three-phase and higher-voltage services carry different equipment and labor than single-phase.
- Service entrance changes. Moving the meter, replacing the service conductors, or relocating the gear adds scope.
- Utility involvement. A coordinated shutdown, and any transformer or service change on the utility side, affects both cost and timeline.
- Downtime tolerance. After-hours or weekend work to keep your operation running is more labor-intensive than a daytime shutdown.
- Site conditions. Access, existing conduit, and the condition of the surrounding electrical system all matter.
Because those variables swing widely, a real number comes from a site visit rather than a phone estimate. You can request a quote from Adams Electric to get one scoped to your building.
Choosing a Commercial Electrical Contractor in Hollidaysburg
Adams Electric has wired commercial and industrial buildings across Central Pennsylvania since 1919, and that project history is the first thing to look for in a contractor. A switchboard upgrade puts your building’s entire electrical service in one company’s hands, so the contractor should be licensed and insured, comfortable with commercial and industrial gear, and able to coordinate a utility shutdown without leaving you dark longer than planned. Ask to see comparable local work.
A family-owned business now in its fourth generation, Adams Electric serves Hollidaysburg, Altoona, Duncansville, and the surrounding Blair County area. You can review our commercial electrical project spotlights or read how we approach larger jobs as a commercial electrical contractor in the Duncansville area. Matching a contractor’s experience to the scale of your switchboard is the difference between a clean cutover and an expensive surprise.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a switchboard and an electrical panel?
A switchboard is the large, building-scale distribution equipment that feeds power to multiple panels and major loads, usually in a commercial or industrial setting. An electrical panel, or load center, is the smaller unit that serves the circuits in a single home or a small tenant space. Switchboards carry higher amperage and are often three-phase.
How long does a commercial switchboard upgrade take?
It depends on the size of the service and how much of the work has to happen while the building is de-energized. Many upgrades are completed within a scheduled shutdown window, with temporary power staged to limit disruption. The load study, permitting, and utility coordination usually take longer than the physical installation.
Do I need a permit for a switchboard upgrade in Pennsylvania?
Yes. Service and distribution work is permitted and inspected under Pennsylvania’s Uniform Construction Code, which adopts the National Electrical Code. A licensed contractor pulls the permit and arranges the inspection as part of the job.
Will my power be off during the upgrade?
The main service has to be de-energized to replace a switchboard, so a planned outage is coordinated with the utility. A good contractor stages the work, and often temporary power, to keep that window as short as your operation allows.
How do I know if my building is near capacity?
A commercial electrician can run a load calculation that compares your measured demand against the switchboard’s rating. Frequent main-breaker trips, no open spaces for new circuits, and warm or discolored gear are all signals to have that calculation done.
Talk to a Central PA Commercial Electrician
If your Hollidaysburg-area facility is adding load, running aging distribution gear, or failing inspection at the switchboard, an upgrade protects both capacity and safety. Adams Electric brings more than a century of commercial and industrial experience to that work. Call (814) 944-4621 or contact us to schedule an on-site assessment.