Challenger Sub-Panel Replacement — Multifamily Property, Hollywood Area
Branover Contractors replaced insurance-flagged Challenger sub-panels with new Siemens equipment at a multifamily property in the Hollywood area, coordinating the work around occupied units over a multi-month schedule.
Property profile and insurance requirement
The property is a multifamily building in the Hollywood area with individually metered units, each originally served by a Challenger-brand sub-panel installed decades ago. During a coverage renewal inspection, the insurance carrier identified the Challenger panels as a liability and required their replacement as a condition of continued coverage.
Challenger sub-panels are frequently flagged during insurance inspections of multifamily properties across Southern California. Branover Contractors has encountered this trigger repeatedly with property owners and management companies managing similar buildings in the region.
Inspection findings
Inspection of the Challenger sub-panels identified heat damage consistent with a known failure pattern in this equipment: bus bars with visible discoloration and pitting, and breakers with melted housings at the point of connection to the bus. This pattern is consistent with a breaker-to-bus connection that runs hotter than specification under normal load, degrading the metal over time until arcing occurs.
This type of damage is a standard flag point for insurance inspectors and is a primary reason carriers decline to write or renew coverage on properties with this equipment still in service.
Why Challenger panels are frequently flagged
Challenger breakers were subject to a CPSC recall in 1988 for GFCI breakers that failed to provide proper ground-fault protection. Eaton, which later acquired the Challenger line, issued a further recall in 2022 covering close to a million breakers for failing to trip properly under overload conditions. Failure-to-trip is the mechanism that allows heat to build at the breaker-to-bus connection instead of the circuit disconnecting, consistent with the damage identified at this property.
Sources: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall records; Eaton/Challenger breaker recall notices, 2022.
Sub-panel replacement program
The main service and house meters were outside the scope of this project. Work was limited to the individual unit sub-panels, from initial assessment through final inspection.
Panel-by-panel condition assessment
Each Challenger panel was inspected and its condition documented, providing the property owner and insurance carrier with a clear record of findings.
Removal of Challenger equipment
Each Challenger sub-panel and its breakers were removed, including any bus bar hardware showing heat damage.
Installation of Siemens sub-panels and breakers
New Siemens sub-panels were installed to match existing circuit layouts, paired with new Siemens breakers throughout, with no reuse of existing breakers.
Tenant coordination and scheduling
Work was scheduled unit by unit and communicated to residents in advance, limiting outages to the unit under construction at any given time.
Permitting and inspection
Work was permitted and signed off through LADBS as each phase of the replacement was completed.
Phased execution across a multi-month schedule
With units occupied throughout the property and a single contractor responsible for all work, a phased schedule maintained normal property operations for the duration of the project.
Assessment and scheduling
Inspected the property’s Challenger panels, prioritized units showing the most heat damage, and established a unit-by-unit schedule with the property manager.
Rolling replacement
Replaced panels and breakers in scheduled groups of units, closing out inspections on each group before proceeding to the next.
Final sign-off
Completed final inspections on the remaining units and provided the property owner with documentation confirming the replacement work was complete.
Project outcomes
Insurance requirement satisfied
Replacement of the flagged panels provided the property owner with documentation required by the carrier to maintain coverage.
Damaged equipment removed
Melted breakers and heat-damaged bus bars were taken out of service and replaced with new Siemens equipment.
Single point of accountability
One contractor managed the project from initial inspection through final sign-off, serving as the property manager’s sole point of contact.
Insurance-flagged panels require a licensed assessment
Branover Contractors provides inspection and scope-of-work services for properties with insurance-driven Challenger, Zinsco, or Federal Pacific panel requirements.
Branover Contractors, Inc. — CA C-10 Electrical Contractor License #484143. Family-owned and operated since 1985.
