Electric panels are also called breaker panels. This is a switchboard where you would find all the breaker switches to your house or building. The switches are operated with levers. The main switch controls power generation to the entire house; whereas individual switches control power to specific rooms of the house. The breakers have their own labels so you know which room you are handling.
The electric meter that generates power to your house or building is located outside and routed to the electrical panel. When the circuit breakers are overloaded, they trip. The main circuit breaker controls the power supply of the whole house. Electric panels secure the power supply because fluctuations in power may cause sparks or fire. The circuit breakers are designed to allow a specific amount of current. If they get overloaded, they may rapidly heat up and catch fire. You can reset the breaker when it trips.
Better than traditional fuses
Electric panels are better than traditional fuses because they don’t need to be replaced after damage. Fuses can only take in a certain amount of current and then they melt. When overloaded, fuses blow up and circuit breakers trip. That’s what makes the circuit breaker relatively safer to use because they can prevent short circuits or fires. When the current exceeds the predetermined limits, the circuits would trip and can be reset.
Distribute load evenly
Subpanels can help distribute the load throughout a building evenly. To fix a subpanel, you need to consider what service is being provided as well as what the predetermined power load is. Before setting the sub panel, the main electric panel may have to be upgraded.
Prevent damage
Subpanels are useful as they lessen the circuit load and voltage fluctuations. If there are too many outlets in a certain room consuming power, such as TV, computer, air conditioner and laptop all at once, the circuit breaker would trip. The lever remains between “on” and “off” switches when it trips. In this situation, the solution is to switch off power to a specific room by pressing the lever to the “off” position and then switch it back on.
Regulate electricity consumption
Electric panels enable you to determine whether there is an overload to the circuit breakers and regulate your electricity consumption. You would be able to regulate the number of electrical appliances or devices that are used at one time. If one circuit gets too overloaded, you could switch to another outlet.
If anything goes wrong….
You could tell whether something is wrong with the electric panel if the wiring in your house is done improperly, which could also lead to a short circuit, burning or dark patches. Switch off power to the house. Short circuits or fires can also happen when a hot wire comes in contact with an outlet box or ground wire.