What can you run on a 100 amp service?

A 100 amp service comfortably runs a small to mid-size home: lighting, receptacles, refrigerator, laundry, dishwasher, and one or two big loads such as central air or an electric dryer.

What it cannot do is stack modern large loads. An EV charger, electric range, heat pump, and dryer together will push a 100 amp service past its calculated limit.

The real answer comes from an NEC 220 load calculation, not the breaker count. Plenty of 100 amp panels hold 30 breakers and still calculate fine because loads are diverse.

Homes electrifying everything, especially adding EV charging or heat pumps, are the ones that genuinely outgrow 100 amps.

See what your panel's feeder actually needs with the 100 amp wire size calculator before deciding whether to upgrade.