The electrical contractors at LeBeau Electric provide consultation regarding overhead and underground feeders. If you have projects involving new construction or you are involved with a possible conversion make sure to contact our team. Many people just make the assumption that underground feeders are better than overhead.

In order to determine which is best for your project we can look over the differences and how each may benefit you. As far as the utility company is concerned, one is just as good as the other and they can install either one for you. But there are differences that you might want to be aware of.

Underground services are obviously underground in nature. The wires are connected at the utility company’s pole, fed down a pipe into the ground, and through a bored hole in the ground, run into a ground-based transformer. That’s called the line connection, or the primary connection to the transformer. The secondary side of the transformer has wires connected to it that are bored to the electric meter connected to a pole or side of your home. The advantage of the underground feed is that there are no visible wires present and that eliminates the possibility of trees falling on overhead wires.

Overhead service feeds are just that, overhead. They implement power poles that string feeder wires from the utility company’s pole to the power pole by your home. From there, the feed will either be underground or an overhead feed to a service mast through your roof or mounted along the side of your home. Overhead feeds use triplex aluminum wire that is much less expensive and less time consuming than underground wiring. Your total project cost will be less with overhead projects.

The main benefit with underground is that the wires remain underground and out of sight. The main benefit with overhead is ease of work and the associated costs. At Lebeau Electric we want to make sure we properly advise you on your specific project.