What Are Electrical Services Panels?
An electrical services panel is a box that draws power from a utility and then re-routes it to the numerous circuits found within a structure. The service panel is frequently located close to an electrical meter, and it is a vital part of an electrical system. Homeowners need to familiarize themselves with the location of their service panel so they know exactly where to go when there is a problem with their electrical system.
Buildings that are attached to an electrical grid will get a “service drop,” this is a connection to the grid that allows a structure to receive electrical power. The size of this, however, does vary; for instance, a basic household service drop could be 100 amps. Larger service drops will be needed for the likes of factories, that will need much more power in order to meet their requirements.
The service drop will travel through the electrical meter, thus allowing the utility to see exactly how much power people are using, after which it will travel to the service panel. It will then hit a “main breaker”. Having this is important, due to the fact it allows people to turn off the power to a structure using only a single breaker. Then, the power will be distributed to various circuits that are also controlled by breakers. These can often include dedicated circuits which are used for water heaters and stoves, as they will need their own separate circuits due to the high energy draws.
Service boxes are often called fuse boxes. This is because historically speaking, service boxes used fuses for safety measures. When there was a problem with the current, either one or multiple fuses would blow, thus, cutting off the power and reducing the chances of fire, electric shock, and a few other adverse events. However, today’s service panels come with breakers, which basically work the same as fuses, however, can be reset once they have been tripped for safety, instead of being replaced.
For all your electrical services needs in the Ocean Isle Beach, NC area, please do not hesitate to contact Active Electric today at (704) 412-4170.