Every residential and light commercial/industrial building utilizes electricity for lighting, receptacles, and/or appliance loads. Conductors are used to bring power from the power lines to the building. A device is needed to divide this power for branch circuits and to protect these branch circuits from overloads and short circuits. This device is called a loadcenter.

Every residential and light commercial/industrial building utilizes electricity for lighting, receptacles, and/or appliance loads. Conductors are used to bring power from the power lines to the building. A device is needed to divide this power for branch circuits and to protect these branch circuits from overloads and short circuits. This device is called a loadcenter.

Electricity moves from the supply source (example, utility) into the building to the loadcenter and is then distributed through the building’s Branch Circuits to the loads. Each branch circuit is connected, or Terminated, at the loadcenter.

Each branch circuit is protected by a circuit breaker housed in the loadcenter. In the event of a short circuit or an overload on a branch circuit, the circuit breaker cuts the power before any property damage or personal injury can occur.

NOTE: New electrical installations use circuit breakers in the loadcenter, so we will not discuss Fuses in this training module.

As a Service Entrance Panel. This is the term for a loadcenter used at the point at where the power enters a building. There can only be one Service Entrance panel per building.

As a Distribution Panel. A distribution panel is simply a loadcenter used at a point beyond the building’s service entrance. This can be useful when adding additional electrical service to an existing building. The power to the distribution panel usually comes from a branch circuit of the service entrance panel.