A panel upgrade campaign finds homeowners whose electrical service is about to become the bottleneck for something else they want, then books them with your shop. Heat pumps, EV chargers, basement suites, hot tubs, induction ranges and full renovations all push households to ask whether their panel can cope. Our job is to be the clear, local answer when they ask.
We don't assess panels, quote upgrades or deal with utilities. Your electricians do. We produce the marketing that gets them in the door.
Why upgrade work deserves its own campaign
Because the buyer is different. A service-call customer wants someone today; an upgrade customer is planning, comparing and often worried about cost and disruption. Lumping both into one "electrical services" page usually means neither is served well.
There is a timely reason too. On 8 October 2026 the federal government announced a National Heat Pump Rebate for electric cold-climate air-source heat pumps, with up to $10,000 for households below median income and $2,000 for other eligible homeowners. As of October 2026 it hasn't opened, so tell customers to confirm the details with the program before relying on any amount. Some of the households replacing a furnace with an electric heat pump will also ask about their electrical service, and that's the conversation your content should be ready for.
What's included
- An upgrade explainer page written with your electrician: the signs homeowners notice, what happens during an upgrade in your area, how utility scheduling affects timing, and what a quote includes.
- "Planning a…" pages for the projects that trigger upgrades in your market: heat pump, charger, legal suite, renovation.
- Search ads for upgrade terms in your service area, kept separate from emergency service ads so the budgets don't mix.
- A referral kit for HVAC installers and renovators: a one-page summary of your upgrade process and a direct line for their customers.
- Follow-up sequences for quotes sent but not signed, by text and email, with the customer's consent.
Who it's for
Residential and light-commercial electrical contractors who can schedule upgrade work reliably and want a higher average ticket. It suits shops in older neighbourhoods where many homes still carry small or ageing services, and in growth areas where owners are adding suites and chargers.
Timeline
- Weeks 1–3: interviews, explainer page, project pages, tracking.
- Weeks 3–5: launch search ads and the referral kit; contact five to ten HVAC and renovation companies in your area.
- Months 2–6: refine pages with the questions homeowners actually ask; add before-and-after job write-ups with photos of the finished panels.
Upgrade campaigns take longer to judge than service calls. Plan on four to six months.
How we measure it
The number that matters is signed upgrade quotes per month and their total value. We also track the referral source, because a heat pump installer who sends you four upgrades a quarter is worth a phone call and a coffee.
Example: a shop sends 18 upgrade quotes in a month, signs 7, and the average signed job is $4,500. That's $31,500 of booked work. If total marketing cost was $4,000, every $1 of marketing booked about $7.90 of work. Margin then decides whether that is a good month.
Mistakes to avoid
- Fear-based copy. Scaring people about fires reads as a sales tactic and invites complaints. Explain, show your licence, and let them decide.
- No follow-up. Most unsigned upgrade quotes simply stall. A polite text a week later recovers more of them than another ad.
- Ignoring the referral channel. HVAC companies are installing heat pumps in your area right now. Every one of them is a possible source.
- Mixing budgets. When emergency and upgrade ads share a budget, the cheaper urgent clicks win and the upgrade campaign starves.
See how this fits with EV charger marketing and service-call marketing, or check the pricing for running two campaigns together.
Frequently asked questions
Will you tell homeowners whether they need a panel upgrade?
No. Only a licensed electrician can assess that. Our content explains the common reasons homeowners ask the question and invites them to have your electrician look.
How long does a panel upgrade lead take to close?
Longer than a service call. Many homeowners are comparing quotes, waiting on a utility, or planning a bigger project, so follow-up over several weeks matters more than speed alone.
Can we mention government heat pump rebates in panel ads?
Carefully. You can point out that a household planning a heat pump may want its electrical capacity checked, and link the official program page. Don't state rebate amounts or eligibility as if you administer the program.
Do HVAC contractors refer panel work?
Often, if you make it easy. A short referral process with heat pump installers in your area is one of the cheapest sources of upgrade work, and we help you set it up.