Move service or upgrade in place

[projectstarter]

Looking for Advice on 100A → 200A Service Upgrade + Panel Relocation

Hey everyone, ive lurked on here for a while but first post. Looking for some guidance from those with more experience in service upgrades and panel relocation.

I’ve done a fair amount of residential electrical work including panel upgrades, however I don't have experience with the outside work of panel upgrades, like weather heads, meter bases, etc.

Current Setup​

• House has 100A service
• Main panel: old Square D QO (QOBW20M100), located in a bedroom closet, has about 14 circuits
• Subpanel: 40A Murray fuse box located in the garage
• House is about 60 ft across (panel-to-panel distance)
• Existing loads: pool pump, normal household circuits, multiple window/wall ACs, air compressor.
• Future loads: potential hot tub + EV charger/chargers.
• Service drop could enter from either side of house (same distance from pole) no obstructions/height issues.

Planned Upgrade​

The plan is to upgrade the service to 200A, but I’m debating the smartest way to manage the panel locations.

Main Question​

Which approach would you take?

Option A

• Move service drop to the garage where a service entrance actually makes sense
• Install new 200A panel in the garage
• Convert the existing 100A panel in the bedroom closet into a subpanel

Option B

• Upgrade existing service location (still in closet — I believe this is not compliant with current code for panel location) and a larger physical panel would not fit.
• Make the garage panel a larger 100A or 200A subpanel

I previously had a licensed electrician quote the job (about $3,000). He claimed he had utility approval for the meter relocation, but then ghosted me after a couple calls.

What I’ve Already Done​

I decided to get some of the prep work done myself:

• Purchased 100 ft of 1-1-1-3 SER Al and a 100 amp QO breaker
• Picked up a brand new Homeline 200A convertible panel value pack (Marketplace score: $90)
• My thought was to replace the 40A fuse subpanel in the garage with the new panel but keep it fed as a subpanel for now
• The existing subpanel is fed with what looks like #6 or #8 copper MC — I planned to remove and repurpose that and run the 1-1-1-3 SER in its place

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Questions for the Pros​

Is Option A (moving service to garage) the best long-term and most code-compliant solution?
Any issues or things to think about with temporarily installing the new 200A panel as a subpanel besides the obvious like operate grounds and neutral bars?

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Thanks in advance — appreciate any thoughts, code references, or advice before I move forward.

 

[Little Bill]

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