I went through the same gyrations recently. Here are a couple things to consider:
Use a panel that has a copper bus bar. The only commercially available panel I found that fits the bill is a Square-D QO series panel. The QO panels are more for commercial use...the copper is "tinned" so it will not look like copper though. All other panels I looked at had aluminum bus bars, including the Square-D Homeline series.
Your electrician will really fight you when you tell him to put all circuits one one leg but stay strong! FYI, in many panels each leg alternates from slot to slot on each side.....each side is not necessarily on one leg or the other.
One thing I did not do, that I suppose I could have, was to run 10-3 Romex instead of 10-2. 10-2 has two insulated legs and an uninsulated ground. 10-3 has three insulated legs and an uninsulated ground. Some people recommend 10-3 and using the 3rd insulated wire as a ground and not using the uninsulated leg. Supposedly it is possible for the uninsulated ground wire to act as an antennae for RFI. Just something to chew on. One caveat....10-3 is very very stiff.
Lastly, one thing I'd like clarified from someone else....How do you define a sub-panel? We ran a dedicated panel for my audio circuits directly off the meter loop and gave it its own ground. When I hear "sub-panel" I assume this means it is tapped off the main panel.
Good luck!
Use a panel that has a copper bus bar. The only commercially available panel I found that fits the bill is a Square-D QO series panel. The QO panels are more for commercial use...the copper is "tinned" so it will not look like copper though. All other panels I looked at had aluminum bus bars, including the Square-D Homeline series.
Your electrician will really fight you when you tell him to put all circuits one one leg but stay strong! FYI, in many panels each leg alternates from slot to slot on each side.....each side is not necessarily on one leg or the other.
One thing I did not do, that I suppose I could have, was to run 10-3 Romex instead of 10-2. 10-2 has two insulated legs and an uninsulated ground. 10-3 has three insulated legs and an uninsulated ground. Some people recommend 10-3 and using the 3rd insulated wire as a ground and not using the uninsulated leg. Supposedly it is possible for the uninsulated ground wire to act as an antennae for RFI. Just something to chew on. One caveat....10-3 is very very stiff.
Lastly, one thing I'd like clarified from someone else....How do you define a sub-panel? We ran a dedicated panel for my audio circuits directly off the meter loop and gave it its own ground. When I hear "sub-panel" I assume this means it is tapped off the main panel.
Good luck!