One of the most important parts of a home is the electrical panel. Without it, electricity has no way to be distributed, so nothing works. With it, you have a system specifically designed to power and protect your home simultaneously. There are several different types of electrical panels, each designed to work efficiently in the space they’re placed. We’ve compiled a list of the most common panels.
Primary Electrical Panels
Main Breaker Panels
You’ll probably find main breaker panels in most homes. They’re the most common type of electrical panel because they can accommodate a variety of circuits.
They act as the central hub of your home’s electrical system and use multiple circuit breakers to manage the flow of electricity.
There are several key components in these panels:
- The main breaker:
- Controls the flow of power
- Protects your home from overloads and short circuits.
- Bus bars – Metal strips that receive electricity from the main breaker before distributing it between individual circuit breakers.
- Branch circuit breakers – Smaller breakers that manage the flow of electricity to specific circuits designated for:
- Outlets
- Lights
- Appliances
- Safety mechanism – Automatically flips off to prevent any fire damage when the breaker:
- Heats up because of too much electrical current from an overload or a short circuit
- Detects a magnetic surge
Load Centers/Fuse Boxes
Before breaker panels, fuse boxes were standard. However, they were difficult to maintain because when your electrical system was overloaded, a fuse would burn out, and you’d have to replace it. The box was still functional without it, but you needed all the fuses to be operational for the best protection. Most fuse boxes can only handle moderate loads, so they’ve been deemed outdated.
The key components in a fuse box include:
- The main switch – Turns off the electricity of the entire home:
- For maintenance
- As a safety precaution.
- Fuses:
- Automatic protection devices.
- It contains a thin strip of metal that melts and breaks a circuit when a fault is detected.
- A Residual Current Device (RCD) – Will disconnect the electricity to prevent shocks if a current is leaking to the ground.
- Bus bars
- Fuse holders/enclosure:
- Metal or plastic casing
- Secures electrical components
- Protects electrical components from accidental contact
Load centers distribute electricity throughout the home and house all the branch circuits in one enclosure.
The key components of a load center include:
- The enclosure – A metal box (rated for indoor or outdoor use) that houses all the components.
- A main breaker or main lugs (MLO) – Primary disconnect that protects the entire panel.
- Bus bars
- Circuit breakers – Individual switches that protect specific branch circuits from overloading.
- Neutral and ground bar
Either option works fine for smaller installations, but keep in mind that modern load centers are safer to use, easier to reset, and code-compliant.
Transfer Switch Panels
These panels are connected to two sources of power, typically the power grid and an alternative source of power, and switch between them as needed. However, this is not the only situation in which a transfer switch panel is useful. They also switch between different generators and grid service entrances:
- Homes may have standby generators if they’re in an area that gets a lot of power outages.
- Many universities and factories have on-site power plants, but will switch to the local power grid when necessary.
- Certain industrial users have massive electrical systems with multiple standby generators and grid access points.
No matter what you’re using your transfer switch for, it needs to have the following components to work properly:
- A switching mechanism – Physically moves the load from the main power source to a secondary power source.
- The control logic/controller:
- Monitors voltage and frequency
- Instructs a generator to start
- Initiates the transfer between power sources
- Sensors – Monitor the primary power supply for anomalies.
- Terminals/lugs – Secure connection points for input lines and output circuits.
- The transfer mechanism/interlock – Prevents hazardous backfeeding by ensuring that two power sources are never connected to the panel at the same time.
- The enclosure – Usually NEMA-rated protection that guards against environmental elements.
Smart Panels
Smart panels operate similarly to standard electrical panels, and they have the added benefit of allowing you to track how much energy you’re using around your house.
The key components of smart panels include:
- Smart circuit breakers:
- Remotely controlled
- Monitor a circuit’s energy usage.
- Offer advanced protection
- Will shut down automatically to prevent damage from overloads
- Sensors:
- Monitor voltage, power usage, and current.
- Constantly feed data to the system so it can identify any anomalies.
- The communication module – Allows the panel to send data to the cloud and receive commands from the app via Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or Bluetooth.
- Energy management system software:
- Analyzes data
- Optimizes your energy usage
- Makes it easy to integrate solar or battery storage systems
- An automation engine – Allows you to set schedules and create rules to automatically manage energy consumption.
Secondary Electrical Panels
Main Lug Panels
Main lug panels don’t have a main breaker. Instead, power runs directly to the panel’s circuit breakers.
They are usually used as secondary panels when power needs to be split across multiple areas, and the main shutoff is installed in the primary panel.
The key components of these panels include:
- Main lugs – Terminal point that connects incoming service cables directly to the bus bar.
- Bus bars
- Branch circuit breakers
- Neutral and ground bar – Terminal bar where all neutral (white) and ground (green/bare) wires are connected.
- Enclosure – Metal box:
- Houses all the components
- Protects the electrical components from environmental factors
- Dead front covers – Metal shield that encloses the internal wiring, leaving only the circuit breaker handles exposed.
- Knockouts:
- Holes pre-punched into the enclosure.
- Enable you to route wires into the panel.
Subpanels
Subpanels are usually found in spaces detached from the main electrical panel and receive power from it to help maintain the electrical load efficiently.
They allow circuits to be grouped closer to a point of use and help prevent voltage drop. Plus, you don’t need to upgrade your main panel because subpanels increase the circuit capacity of your home.
The key components of a subpanel include:
- The enclosure (metal)
- Bus bars
- Branch circuit breakers
- Main lugs or main breaker
- Neutral bar:
- Dedicated terminal for connecting neutral wires
- Must be isolated from the metal enclosure
- Ground bar:
- Separate terminal for connecting ground wires
- Must be securely bonded to the metal enclosure
- Feeder wires – A four-wire feed system from the main panel:
- 2 hot wires
- 1 neutral wire
- 1 ground wire
Wires R Us can help with any types of electrical panels. Our experienced electricians can take a look at your panel, answer your questions, and let you know if everything is working the way it should. Give Wires R Us a call today and schedule an electrical panel check for your home.
