One circuit, a package, or a sub-panel — choosing the right structure
"I need new circuits" has three correct answers depending on the situation, and quoting the wrong structure wastes money in both directions:
A single circuit ($350–$900) is right when one specific load needs power: a new appliance location, a 240V receptacle, an isolated addition. If that load is a high-draw appliance claiming the circuit exclusively, you're describing our dedicated circuit service — same craft, appliance-specific sizing.
A circuit package ($300–$500 per circuit at volume) is right for renovations: a kitchen needs counter circuits, appliance circuits, and lighting circuits as a coordinated set, sized together and roughed-in on your contractor's schedule. We price packages per circuit against the drawings, so the renovation budget is exact.
A sub-panel ($900–$1,800) is right when one area needs three or more circuits — finished basement, garage workshop, rear extension, accessory unit. One feeder from the main panel supplies a local panel, and every circuit in that space runs short and local. Cheaper than three home-runs, infinitely cleaner, and expandable later without reopening the main panel.
Every quote starts with the free capacity check: open slots, total ampacity headroom, and panel condition. If your panel can't support the plan, you'll know first — with real options (tandem breakers where listed, a sub-panel, or a panel upgrade) instead of a surprise mid-job.
Where NYC homes need new circuits most
Kitchen renovations
Counter GFCI circuits, appliance dedicated circuits, lighting — the densest circuit package in any home.
Finished basements & cellars
Sub-panel territory: outlets, lighting, mechanicals, often a laundry — plus the legalization wiring DOB wants to see.
Extensions & additions
Rear extensions and top-floor additions wired as coordinated packages with your GC's schedule.
Garages & workshops
Sub-panel, 240V tool circuits, lighting, and EV-ready conduit while the walls are open.
Home offices
Clean dedicated power for the room where downtime costs money — often one circuit, occasionally two.
Laundry additions
Washer circuit + 240V dryer circuit, the classic two-circuit package for NYC's reclaimed closets and cellars.
Electrification prep
Induction range, heat pump, and heat pump water heater circuits — the gas-to-electric transition, wired right.
Accessory & rental units
Garden and cellar unit circuits, ideally on their own panel and meter. The two-meter setup →
How installation works in NYC's finished buildings
New circuits in open construction are simple. New circuits in a finished pre-war apartment are a craft — and it's the craft we've spent twenty years on. Runs route through basements, joist bays, closets, and the chases old builders left behind; openings are surgical and patched clean; and in buildings with conduit (very common in NYC), we often pull new conductors with no opening at all.
Every new circuit is permitted work under the NYC Electrical Code — we file the DOB permit, schedule and attend the inspection, and hand you the sign-off. In co-ops and condos, the alteration package (scope letter, COI, license) is prepared as part of the job; the process is detailed on our apartment upgrades page.
Service areas
New circuit and sub-panel installation throughout Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx. Planning a whole-house program? The pre-war modernization master plan sequences circuit work with everything else.
Frequently asked questions
A single circuit runs $350–$900 by amperage and distance; renovation packages drop to $300–$500 per circuit at volume; sub-panels run $900–$1,800 installed. Every price includes the DOB permit and inspection.
Same installation craft, different purpose: a dedicated circuit serves one appliance exclusively (the fix for tripping breakers); a new circuit adds general capacity — outlets and lighting for a renovated or new space. We'll tell you which your situation actually calls for.
When one area needs three or more circuits. One feeder supplies a local panel and all circuits run short from there — cheaper than multiple home-runs to the main panel, and you can add circuits later without touching the main panel again.
Often yes: tandem breakers where your panel is listed for them, or a sub-panel fed from a single full-size position. If neither fits — common in older 100A panels already at capacity — a panel upgrade is the honest answer, and we'll show you the math rather than force the cheap fix.
Yes — every new circuit from the panel is permitted work. We file the DOB permit, attend the inspection, and deliver the sign-off. It's inside every quote, never an extra.
Yes — it's how most packages run: priced against the drawings, roughed-in on the GC's schedule, finished after close-in, with our electrical permit sequenced alongside the alteration filing.
What our customers say
"Finished our Maspeth basement with a sub-panel and seven circuits — outlets, lighting, laundry, and a freezer circuit. One feeder upstairs, everything local below. The DOB inspection passed first visit."
"Kitchen renovation circuit package: six circuits priced against our architect's drawings before demo day. The number never moved, the rough-in hit the GC's schedule exactly, and the counter outlets are precisely where the drawings said."
"Needed two circuits in a finished pre-war apartment and dreaded the wall damage. They pulled through the existing conduit — not a single opening anywhere. Twenty years of NYC buildings shows."
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Get a new circuit quote
One circuit, a renovation package, or a sub-panel — tell us the space and the loads, and we'll check your panel capacity free and quote the right structure.
