How to Install an Electrical Panel

In this video we will learn how to install an electrical panel.

The electrical panel is the center for the distribution of current out to the electrical circuits.

It regroups all of the essential protective modules to avert risk for the users.

Renvoi à la vidéo "ajouter un disjoncteur au tableau électrique".

To learn more about main and individual circuit breakers, please watch the video "How to add a circuit breaker to an electrical panel”.

Before doing this project, turn off the electrical supply at the mains, and the subscriber’s circuit breaker.

To install an electrical panel, you will need an electrical panel, main and individual circuit breakers, 4 screws and 4 wall plugs, connector strips, 1.5 to 16 mm2 conductors, a pencil, a level, a tape measure , a wire cutter, a wire stripper, a set of screwdrivers, a drill and a hammer.

This project will be carried out in five steps which we will demonstrate in this video.

STEP 1: ANALYSE YOUR ELECTRICAL NEEDS BEFORE YOU START

Choose the panel in function of the size and scope of the system.

Industry norms require a certain number of residual current devices depending on the surface area of the system. For a surface area of less than or equal to 35m2, install 2 individual circuit breakers.

The number of individual circuit breakers is equal to the number of circuits that will need to be protected.

These individual circuit breakers are calibrated according to the circuits they will protect.

16Amps for lighting, 20A for outlets or domestic appliances like washing machines, 32A for a hot plate or electric stove.

STEP 2: INSTALLATION OF THE PANEL

Be careful: Installing an electrical panel must be done in compliance with strict regulations. It must be installed inside the residence, at a height of between 1.0 and 1.8 meters above floor-level, and must be located close to the branch circuit breaker.

Please note that installing electrical panels in bathrooms is prohibited.

Take the cover off the electrical panel.

Place the base against the wall. Mark the point where you will put the 4 screws that will hold it to the wall.

Drill the 4 corresponding holes.

Put the wall plugsinto these holes.

Place the electrical panel frame and screw in the 4 screws.

STEP 3: INSTALL THE CONNECTION MODULES

The circuit breakers clip onto the rail.

At the beginning of each row, attach the 30 milliamps individual circuit breaker.

Then install the individual circuit breakers, in order of decreasing load.

The connector strips will make it possible to connect two modules to each other.

Adjust them by cutting them with the wire cutter, to connect the various individual circuit breakers.

Unscrew the connection terminals at the top of the individual circuit breakers.

Position the first connector strip on the neutral terminals marked N, high on the left of the various individual circuit breakers.

Tighten the screws for the terminals.

Position the second connecting strip on the phase terminals, high on the right side of each individual circuit breaker. Tighten the screws for the terminals.

Repeat these steps for the second row of circuit breakers.

STEP 4: CONNECTING THE CIRCUITS

Begin by connecting the power supply cables.

Cut away any excess in the conductors.

Strip the plastic covering from the electrical wires.

Place the neutral and phase conductors in the terminals which will first have been unscrewed, with the phase, red on the right, and the neutral, blue, on the left. Tighten the screws for the terminal block.

Then connect each row to the power supply.

Place the stripped conductor of the neutral wire into the terminal N of the circuit breaker up to the neutral of the supply terminal.

Tighten the screws for the terminals.

Repeat these steps for the phase conductor.

Tighten the screws for the second row.

Then connect the various electrical circuit conductors at the bottom of each corresponding circuit breaker.

Put them into the terminals and screw in the screws for the terminals.

Repeat these steps for each circuit.

To find out which circuit breaker to attribute to each circuit, please watch the video “How to Protect an Electrical Circuit”.

Renvoi à la vidéo Protéger un circuit électrique.

STEP 5: INSTALLATION OF THE GROUND

Connect the ground input to the green terminal block at the bottom of the panel. Place it in one of the terminals that has a bigger diameter and screw the screws in.

Do the same for the green and yellow protection conductors for the various circuits. Clip the stripped electrical wires into one of the terminals that has a smaller diameter.

Repeat these steps for each conductor.

Reinstall the cover of the panel. Tighten the screws in all 4 corners. Close up the empty spaces at the end of each row with the clip-on covers.

Tip: Label each of the modules.

Turn the general supply back on and then the various circuit breakers.

You now know how to install an electrical panel.