GhostLoadAuditorFree Panel Check

The electrical-code math, run honestly · NEC 220.82 · CEC 8-200

Don't pay for a $5,000 panel upgrade on someone's gut feel.

Installers quote panel upgrades without running the load calculation. We run the actual code method on your home in two minutes — and when the numbers say you don't need the upgrade, we say so.

Free · No signup · Runs in your browser · 80% continuous-limit rule applied the way an inspector applies it

Panel Capacity ReportCEC 8-200
FAIL116 A calculated on a 100 A service
80 A
limit
100 A
service

116 A

demand

24 A

heat pump

36 A

over limit

REBATE WINDOWBC Hydro is paying a +$1,000 bonus on electric-to-heat-pump installs invoiced by Oct 31, 2026 — on top of the standard $4,000. Rebate data on this site verified 2026-08-02.
START HERE

Free panel capacity check

2 minutes · no signup

Heat pump first, EV charger optional. Pick your country and the right code method is applied automatically.

1,800 ft²

Only used to pick the right rebate programs. It never leaves your browser — we keep just the province or state.

Main panel size (check the main breaker)

Baseboards, electric furnace. 0 if gas or none.

Central AC nameplate. 0 if none.

Industry-average compressor draw. Not sure? 3 ton suits most homes.

No email. No signup. The math runs right here in your browser — we keep only anonymous regional statistics, never your details.

👻

Enter your home's loads and run the check. You'll get the same pass/fail math a licensed electrician starts with — in seconds.

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Two questions decide every heat pump install

in this order
Question 1

Can your panel take it?

The two-minute load calculation — heat pump first, EV charger optional. PASS, WARN, or FAIL against your service's 80% continuous limit, before anyone quotes you an upgrade.

Run the panel check →

FREE · full report with electrician worksheet $25 CAD

Question 2

Is it worth the switch?

A year of your energy bills becomes a measured thermal signature. We size a real cold-climate unit against Environment Canada weather for your address and price the switch at the rate you'd actually pay — or tell you to keep your furnace.

Get your heat pump ROI →

FREE FINDINGS · full sizing + payback report $25 CAD

Includes verified BC rebates — CleanBC up to $16,000, FortisBC $5,000, BC Hydro $4,000 · checked 2026-08-02

FIELD EVIDENCE

Why the math has to be run

129 A

One make-up air unit missing from a building's load calc for 11 years. That's a ghost load.

$2–5k

Typical panel-upgrade quote — often issued without the calculation that justifies it.

$16k

Top verified BC rebate ceiling right now — with the programs that ended quietly removed. Checked Aug 2, 2026.

PROVENANCE

Built by a tradesperson, not a marketing team

RED SEAL ×2

Refrigeration Mechanic · Plumber
Class A Gas Fitter

Built and reviewed by a Red Seal Refrigeration Mechanic · Red Seal Plumber · Class A Gas Fitter with 25+ years of commercial and industrial HVAC/R experience across Western Canada. The calculators run the code methods directly — the same demand factors, thresholds, and continuous-limit rule an electrician applies.

NEC 220.82 (2023) · CEC Rule 8-200 (26th Ed.) · ASHRAE Guideline 14 · NEEP ccASHP · ECCC station data

THE DELIVERABLE

The full report — $25 CAD

The free check gives you the verdict. The full report shows the work: every load, every demand factor, and what to do about the result — a decision page for you, a worksheet page for your electrician. So you can sit across from an installer knowing exactly where the numbers came from.

  • Line-by-line code calculation, cited by rule
  • Upgrade vs. load-management scenarios, with costs
  • EV charger headroom analysis
  • Questions to ask your electrician
  • PDF you can hand to your installer

30-day money-back guarantee — if the report doesn't help, reply to your receipt for a full refund.

If the data can't support an answer, we refuse to give one.

No fabricated sizing. No blended-rate savings math. No rebates that ended last year. When your inputs can't produce a defensible number, the engine tells you exactly what data would fix it — because a wrong answer costs you five figures.

Read the methodology

Common questions

Is the panel check really free?+

Yes. The calculator runs the full NEC 220.82 (US) or CEC Rule 8-200 (Canada) optional-method math in your browser and gives you a PASS / WARN / FAIL verdict with your headline numbers — free, no email, no signup. The paid report adds the line-by-line breakdown, upgrade scenarios, and a PDF you can hand to your electrician.

Can a 100A panel handle a heat pump?+

Often, yes — it depends on your existing loads, not the panel label. A 100A home with a gas range, gas water heater, and gas dryer frequently has room. An all-electric 100A home usually does not, especially with an EV charger. The calculator totals your real loads, applies the code demand factors, and compares against your service’s 80% continuous limit — the same first step a licensed electrician takes.

What is a ghost load?+

A ghost load is a real electrical load that draws current but never made it into the load calculation — a forgotten baseboard heater, an unpermitted hot tub, a radiant floor nobody documented. Ghost loads are why panels that look fine on paper trip on the coldest night of the year, and why an incomplete load list produces a wrong answer.

Does this replace an electrician’s load calculation?+

No. It runs the same optional-method math an electrician uses for a first-pass estimate, but from the loads you enter rather than an on-site inspection. Use it to walk into quotes informed. The official calculation, permit, and installation all require a licensed electrician.

Does it work for EV chargers too?+

Yes. Add a Level 2 charger as an optional load and the calculation includes it at nameplate — or excludes it if you have an energy management system (EVEMS), exactly as NEC 220.82 and CEC Rule 8-106(11) allow.

Planning the rest of your heat pump project? Our sister site HeatPumpLocator.com covers rebates, costs, sizing, and how to hire a contractor.