Controlled and safe use of electricity is essential. In particular, all the equipment that uses electricity in the enterprises and the devices that ensure the safe operation of the electrical installation is a combination of hardware called electrical panel. In other words, the electrical panel is a cabinet where materials and cables used to distribute the electricity to the systems in the building or plant are together. As such, an electrical panel includes components such as active electricity meters, reactive electricity meters, capacitors, contactors, measuring instruments, power relays, control relays, voltmeters, ammeters, breaker switches, electrical fuses, control switches of electric vehicles and signal lamps.
The electrical panels are smaller in size for housing and include fuses, central automatic breakers, electric meters, staircase automatics and bell transformers. However, the electrical panel of an enterprise may be of various sizes and capacities depending on the size and field of activity of the enterprise.
When placing the electrical panel, the critical parts must not come into contact with each other. This prevents damage caused by short-circuit currents. Electrical panels should be arranged in such a way that they can be easily intervened. The more easily and quickly the panel can be intervened, the more control and safety is ensured.
After the electrical panel installation is completed, the first thing to be done should be grounding. The purpose of grounding is to ensure the safety of people and property. The electrical panel is made of sheet metal and both the panel and the screws, hinges, covers, rails and similar parts are conductors. Meanwhile, high current passes through the power cables connected to the panel and generates magnetic current. All parts on the electrical panel must be earthed for safe operation of the electrical panel.
Importance of Electrical Panel Measurement
Maintenance of the electrical panel is important for the health and safety of people. In addition, safe operation of electrical equipment is provided. In this way, the life span of the equipment used is extended and operating costs are reduced as the failures are prevented. In this way, production and time losses are prevented. In short, regular measurements and maintenance of the electrical panels must be made in order to ensure the health of the employees, work safety and the continuation of the work processes.
In the annex of the Regulation on Health and Safety in the Use of Work Equipment, issues related to maintenance, repair and periodic checks (Annex-III), electrical panels are discussed under the installations. In accordance with the provisions of this article, regular inspections of electrical panels shall be carried out once a year, unless otherwise specified in the relevant standards. In addition, these checks must be performed by electrical engineers, electrical technicians or high technicians.
The following legal regulations should be taken into consideration during the controls:
- Regulation on Grounding in Electrical Installations (2001)
- Regulation on Electric Power Plants (2000)
- Electrical Indoor Facilities Regulation (1984)
- TS EN 60079-14 Electrical devices - Used in explosive atmospheres - Part 14: Design, selection and installation of electrical installations
- TS EN 60079-17 Explosive gas atmospheres - Part 17: Inspection and maintenance of electrical installations
Overheating in the electrical cabinet or cables generally indicates overload or the presence of a defective part on the panel. This can be recognized by regular measurements. Therefore, regular measurements are important in order not to endanger the life and property safety of the employees and the enterprise. The Regulation on Grounding in Electrical Installations, which entered into force in 2001, obliges measurements to be made in order for the electrical panel to operate without problems.
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