Commercial Electrical Panel Upgrades in Culver City
Power your Culver City property with an electrical service built for today's creative economy. From historic storefronts along Culver Boulevard to the reimagined warehouses of the Hayden Tract and mixed-use at Ivy Station, Shaffer Construction, Inc. delivers commercial-grade panel upgrades that safely increase capacity, improve reliability, and prepare you for future growth. Our licensed electricians assess your current system, complete precise load calculations, secure permits with Culver City's Building and Safety Division, and coordinate with Southern California Edison when a service upgrade is required. Whether you manage a production space near Sony Pictures Studios, a restaurant at the Culver Steps, or a design studio in the Arts District, we minimize downtime with efficient, code-compliant upgrades completed in as little as 1–2 days for standard panels.
Our Work
Benefits
Ready for Advancing Technology
We future-proof your service with scalable designs: 200–400A commercial mains with copper bus bars, spare breaker capacity, and dedicated spaces for EV chargers, solar interconnection, and battery systems. We integrate smart metering, surge protection, power quality monitoring, and submetering for multi-tenant billing. Our one-line diagrams and panel schedules anticipate growth, while IoT-enabled monitoring helps identify load trends and thermal issues before they become outages.
Permits and Safety Compliance
Shaffer Construction manages the entire compliance path: detailed load calcs (CEC Article 220), grounding and bonding per Article 250, working clearances per 110.26, and short-circuit/AIC rating verification. We submit to the City of Culver City Building and Safety Division, coordinate SCE service changes, and schedule inspections around your operations. Our documentation includes as-builts, labeling, and equipment cut sheets to streamline approvals and future maintenance.
Expert Workmanship Guaranteed
Our commercial panel upgrades use premium equipment from Eaton, Siemens, and Square D, bolt-on breakers with verified AIC ratings, copper THHN/THWN-2 conductors in EMT, and NEMA 3R/4 enclosures where exposure demands it. We torque terminations with calibrated tools, perform IR thermography for hot-spot detection, and verify grounding impedance. The result is a safer, cleaner distribution system that reduces nuisance trips and protects sensitive electronics.
Tailored Planning and Design
Every upgrade begins with a site assessment and load study—often with data logging to capture peak demand during business hours. We collaborate with owners, GCs, and property managers to develop one-line diagrams, panel schedules, and cutover plans that limit downtime. If your space is historic or fully leased, we phase work, pre-build assemblies offsite, and schedule after-hours or weekend cutovers for a smooth transition.
What We Offer
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will my business be without power during a panel upgrade in Culver City?+
Most standard commercial upgrades are cut over in a single day, with total on-site work typically 1–2 days. We often schedule after-hours or weekend work to avoid interruptions. For service upgrades involving SCE, a planned disconnect/reconnect window is coordinated in advance to minimize downtime.
Do I need a permit from Culver City for a panel upgrade?+
Yes. The City of Culver City Building and Safety Division requires a permit and inspection for commercial panel upgrades. Shaffer Construction handles the application, plan check responses, and scheduling of inspections. Timelines typically run 1–3 weeks depending on scope and city workload.
Can you upgrade panels in historic or architecturally sensitive buildings?+
Absolutely. We design concealment strategies, select low-profile enclosures, and route conduits to preserve facades and interiors. We coordinate with the city on any design guidelines and phase work to limit disruption in occupied spaces, common in older storefronts and adaptive reuse properties near Helms Bakery and Downtown.
What panel size do most Culver City businesses need—200A, 320A, or 400A?+
It depends on your load profile and growth plans. Restaurants with commercial kitchens and offices with dense HVAC/IT may require 320–400A services, while lighter retail may fit within 200A. We perform NEC Article 220 load calcs and, when useful, temporary data logging to recommend the right size with room to grow.
Why consider submetering during a panel upgrade?+
For multi-tenant properties, submetering enables fair billing, operational transparency, and energy accountability. It can also reveal savings opportunities (typically 5–12%) through schedule tweaks and behavior changes. Adding submeters during a panel upgrade is cost-effective because gear is already accessible.
Ready to Get Started?
Contact us today for a free consultation and quote on your electrical project!
Contact Us