Re: panel or sub-panel
From the way MudCat words his original question, it reads, to me, that the garage is attached. If I'm wrong in my assumption, MudCat, ignore what I write next.
The service disconnect is just inside from the meter. The main bonding point between the neutral and the grounding electrode system and all the branch circuit neutrals and all the branch circuit equipment grounds happens at the service disconnect, and only at the service disconnect. . .downstream from the service disconnect (towards the outlets) the neutral must be kept seperate from the grounding electrode system and equipment grounding conductors.
So, in MudCat's case, the panel in the middle of the house must have a neutral bar that is seperate from the ground wires, and this neutral bar must only have neutrals attached to it, and this neutral bar has to "float" without electrical connection to the metal of the box that it is mounted in. The conductors between the location of the service disconnect and panel in the middle of the house will be a feeder. The conductors from the service disconnect in the garage back upstream (towards the power company) out through the meter and to the connection to the power company's conductors are the service entrance conductors.
Edit for typos. It's amazing how many are invisible until the post is in the record - Al
[ July 15, 2005, 04:52 PM: Message edited by: al hildenbrand ]