Electrical Menlo Park

Electrical work in Menlo Park, where a new panel is wired for the future

In Menlo Park, replacing the main electrical panel does more than swap equipment. Under the city's 2025 CALGreen amendments, the new panel needs capacity and reserved breaker space for an electric range and dryer where those are gas, one Level 2 charger and solar, plus a 30-amp heat pump water heater circuit run to the old tank. In the FEMA flood zone, substantial improvements also keep meters and conduit above the design flood elevation.

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  • Rules on this page checked against 19 public sources, October 2026

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Free to request, and you agree the scope and price with the person you hire before work starts. In California, a job over $1,000 in labor and materials, or one that needs a building permit, must be done by a contractor licensed by the CSLB in the right class. Ask for the license number and check it at cslb.ca.gov.

Before you hire

Before a Menlo Park electrician orders the panel

  1. Ask to see the proposed panel schedule, with the reserved spaces marked for future EV charging, solar and heat pump water heater use.
  2. If the gas range or dryer stays, ask where the future circuit or raceway will end and whether the panel has capacity for it.
  3. For a house near the bay or San Francisquito Creek, ask the city for its free flood zone determination before equipment heights are chosen.
  4. With a battery, ask who files with the Menlo Park Fire Protection District, since the city waits for its approval.
  5. Confirm the C-10 Electrical classification on the contractor's CSLB license record before work starts.
Panel replacement
Reserves room for range, dryer, charger, solar, heat pump water heater
Real-time solar permit
Roof PV to 38.4 kW; no battery, charger or panel upgrade
Flood-zone utilities
Meters, HVAC and conduit at or above the BFE plus 12 inches
Electricity supplier
WestLight Energy, formerly Peninsula Clean Energy; PG&E delivers
Downtown Menlo Park
Downtown Menlo Park. Photo: LPS.1, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The houses here

A city that runs from the bay shore to Interstate 280

Menlo Park is long and narrow, running from the bay shore at the Dumbarton Bridge landing to Sharon Heights near Interstate 280, with San Francisquito Creek along much of its southeastern edge. That spread decides more electrical questions than the age of a house does. Land near the bay is mapped in FEMA's Zone AE, and on any lot in a flood zone the city's rules keep meters, conduit and other utility parts above the design flood elevation when a project counts as a substantial improvement. Across the whole city, the reach code adopted for 2025 treats houses built before 2011 as the ones to improve: larger additions and alterations to them must add two energy or electrification measures, and any main panel swap has to leave room for the electric appliances a house does not have yet.

Free, no obligation. Next, add your details in the request form.

The work

Menlo Park jobs where the 2025 amendments step in

  1. Replacing the main panel

    The city's submittal list for an electric meter replacement or upgrade asks for the existing and proposed panel size, electrical load calculations, a proposed panel schedule and the manufacturer's specifications, with a site plan when the panel moves. The new panel then has to carry the pre-wiring rule: reserved breaker spaces, permanently marked for future EV charging, solar and heat pump water heater use. The city states plainly that this does not require installing a heat pump, a charger or an electric stove, and does not ban gas.

  2. A remodel in a room with a gas appliance

    Section 4.106.5.1 reaches any addition, alteration or repair of a space containing a gas appliance, including outdoor ones such as pool equipment, a gas fireplace or cooking equipment. The plans must show breaker space and capacity reserved in the panel serving that space, plus a raceway or conductors from the panel to a junction box or outlet within 3 feet of the appliance. Where the panel lacks the capacity, the reservation covers as much as is practicable, but the raceway is still required, and the inspector checks it in the field.

  3. Air conditioner out, heat pump in

    Under Municipal Code 12.18.110, replacing or upgrading an air conditioning condensing unit means installing a heat pump instead, unless a hardship form shows the cost difference is too large or the new air conditioner meets the duct, airflow and thermostat measures the city lists. Either way, the lot plan for the permit must show the existing and proposed equipment locations, their distance to property lines, the electric panel location, and the required receptacle location and circuit amperage.

  4. Gas water heater to heat pump

    The city's submittal list for this swap repeats the electrical items on the lot plan: panel location, receptacle location and circuit amperage, plus a floor plan when the heat pump water heater goes somewhere other than the old tank's spot. It also includes a Covered Parking Encroachment Acknowledgment form for the property owner to sign. If the main panel is being replaced at the same time, the 30-amp, 240-volt circuit the pre-wiring rule asks for may already be waiting within 3 feet of the old tank.

  5. Rooftop solar and its disconnect

    Menlo Park's installation requirements ask for a wiring diagram with calculations showing the existing bus and main disconnect will not be overloaded, a rapid shutdown component or the reason it does not apply, and structural calculations for roof attachments spaced wider than 72 inches. The solar disconnect must be readily accessible, within the equipment or within sight and 10 feet of it, and as a policy the city prefers that it be independent of the main electrical disconnect.

Permits and local rules

Menlo Park code sections to read before signing

  • CALGreen 4.106.5, pre-wiring for future electrification

    Menlo Park added Section 4.106.5 to its 2025 CALGreen code through Municipal Code 12.18.070 to 12.18.090. Subsection 4.106.5.1 covers work in areas holding a gas appliance; 4.106.5.2 covers any project that replaces or upgrades the main panel, in houses, ADUs and multifamily buildings. For a single-family home, the panel must accommodate the existing load and future electric cooking, drying, one Level 2 charger and solar sized under Energy Code 150.1(c)14, plus a heat pump water heater circuit. At the building official's discretion, that circuit may serve an alternate water heater space of at least 2.5 by 2.5 by 7 feet.

    Source: City of Menlo Park Building Division (menlopark.gov)

  • Photovoltaic Real Time permits

    The city's PRT process issues a residential solar permit in real time to a contractor holding a California license, under the state's SB 379. It covers existing single-family houses only, with a new roof-mounted system of 38.4 kW or less, a service of 400 amps or less with no panel upgrade, and a 225-amp disconnect and bus bars. Systems that include a battery or an EV charger are not eligible for now. The Menlo Park Fire Protection District, a separate agency, reviews solar installations for the fire code, and where it requires a permit the city will not issue its own until the district approves.

    Source: City of Menlo Park Building Division (menlopark.gov)

  • Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance, Chapter 12.42

    New construction and substantial improvements in the flood zone, meaning work valued at 50 percent or more of the existing structure, must meet the design flood elevation: the base flood elevation plus at least 12 inches. The Public Works plan review checklist permits no utility components below that line, naming gas and electric meters, HVAC equipment and electrical conduits, and the plans must show the bottom of the electric meter. An elevation certificate comes with the application for a substantial improvement, and a post-construction certificate is due before final inspection.

    Source: City of Menlo Park Public Works (menlopark.gov)

  • Flex-Path for houses built before 2011

    Municipal Code 12.16.010 and 12.16.020 require additions and alterations above a set valuation, on single-family houses built before 2011, to include two items from a list. Several are electrical: replacing every screw-in incandescent and CFL lamp with lamps of at least 45 lumens per watt, a heat pump in place of a gas furnace, or a heat pump water heater in place of a gas one. The valuation adjusts for inflation each January, and a recent Home Energy Score of 7 or more exempts the house. The Energy Commission found the ordinance met state law on April 27, 2026.

    Source: City of Menlo Park Building Division (menlopark.gov)

State license for this work: C-10 Electrical. Look up a contractor's license on the CSLB website (cslb.ca.gov).

Free, no obligation. Next, add your details in the request form.

Questions

Menlo Park panel, solar and flood-zone questions

We're only replacing an old panel in Menlo Park. Why do the plans show circuits for appliances we don't own?

Because Section 4.106.5.2 of the city's CALGreen amendments applies to any project that replaces or upgrades the main panel. The new panel needs capacity and reserved breaker space for an electric range and dryer if yours are gas, one Level 2 charger and solar, plus a 30-amp, 240-volt circuit ending within 3 feet of the water heater, labeled spare at both ends. You are not required to buy any of those appliances.

Can our Menlo Park solar and battery get an instant permit?

The solar alone may, through the city's Photovoltaic Real Time process, if the house is an existing single-family home, the roof-mounted system is new and 38.4 kW or smaller, and no panel upgrade is involved. Adding a battery or an EV charger takes the project out of real-time issuance and into regular review, and the fire protection district may need to approve it too.

Our Menlo Park house is in the flood zone. Does a new panel have to go above the flood line?

The ordinance's elevation rules bind new construction and substantial improvements, which the city defines as work valued at half or more of the existing structure. Below that line, the city still encourages owners to meet as many of the ordinance's provisions as they can, and on request it makes a free flood zone determination for a property and gives advice on raising damage-prone components above the flood level.

Where does a home battery's disconnect go in Menlo Park?

The city's installation requirements call for a dedicated, readily accessible battery disconnect, within the equipment or within sight and 10 feet of it, and even when the battery is in the garage the disconnect must be outside the dwelling so emergency responders can reach it. The plans also show the heat detector, and in the flood zone the bottom of the equipment must sit above the design flood elevation.

Who sells our electricity in Menlo Park, and who connects a bigger service?

Menlo Park is a member of WestLight Energy, the agency formerly called Peninsula Clean Energy, and its board includes a Menlo Park representative. WestLight buys the electricity; PG&E delivers it over its poles and wires and sends the single bill. So the connection itself on a service upgrade is PG&E's side, while the city permits and inspects the work on the house.

Where these facts come from

Checked against these public sources in October 2026. Rules and programs change: confirm permit requirements with the city before work starts, and a contractor's license on the CSLB website.

  • menlopark.gov: CALGreen Pre Wiring for Future Electrification Requirements (menlopark.gov)
  • menlopark.gov: Electric Meter ReplacementUpgrade Permit Submittal Requirements (menlopark.gov)
  • menlopark.gov: CALGreen Replacing AC Condenser with Heat Pump Requirements (menlopark.gov)
  • menlopark.gov: FurnaceAir Conditioner Replacement Submittal Requirements (menlopark.gov)
  • menlopark.gov: Water Heater Replacement Submittal Requirements (menlopark.gov)
  • menlopark.gov: Single Family Building Energy Efficiencies Requirements (menlopark.gov)
  • menlopark.gov: Photovoltaic Real Time PRT Permit Submittal Requirements (menlopark.gov)
  • menlopark.gov: Photovoltaic System and ESS Installation Requirements (menlopark.gov)
  • menlopark.gov: plan review checklist fema requirements and sea level rise (menlopark.gov)
  • menlopark.gov: floodplain (menlopark.gov)
  • fema.gov: final public notice chrysler stormwater pump station improvements (fema.gov)
  • menlopark.gov: note to homeowners not undergoing substantial improvements (menlopark.gov)

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