LT Panels

Following Points Shall be Considered in Design and Installation of Electrical Panels

• Layout of LT room shall be prepared and checked for all details. Detailed
specification for all panels shall be prepared.
• Vendor shall be asked to submit GA Drawings and Data Sheets. These shall be
checked and approved.
• Operating height shall be clearly mentioned in specifications (min. 300mm, Max.
1800mm)
• Atleast 10% of Spare feeders for each type of outgoing feeders shall be
provided.
• Name Plates details shall be provided. Name plates shall be screw type.
• Gland plate sizes shall be checked for easy installation and maintenance of
cables.
• There shall be sufficent space for termination of cables and easy inspection at
later stage. Terminal shrouds shall be provided.
• All Components shall be easily assessible for checking and maintenance.
Components shall be clearly marked for easy identification.
• Lockable handles be provided on all outgoing feeders.
• Louvers for venticaltion and exhaust fan shall be provided in panels, wherever
required. Exhaust fans shall be controlled with thermostate. Louvers shall be
provided with fine mesh.
• Form of construction shall be clearly mentioned specifications
• Metering details shall be clearly mentioned in all feeders. Multifunction meter with
communication port shall be provided in all important feeders to know the energy
consumption pattern.
• Harmonic Meter shall be provided in main LT panel and other panels of other
main load centers.
• Feeder Interlocking shall be clearly specified in specifications and shall be
checked before commissioning of panel.
• IP protection of panel shall be specified. It shall be atleast IP-42 for indoor panel
and IP-55 for outdoor panels.
• Panel Earthing shall be clearly specified in specifications and shall be duly
checked during inspection.
• Panel construction details shall be mentioned in data sheets. Painting
requirement and colour details shall be provided. Fault level of bus bars shall
also be mentioned.

Following Points Shall be Considered in design of LT switch room

• Sufficient Clearances between panels shall be provided considering operation
and maintenance.
• Distance from wall shall be either more than 1000mm or less than 200mm.
• Sufficient space shall be provided for extention of Main LT panels. Space for
future panels shall be considered.
• Ventilation and heat dissipation of room shall be properly designed.
• Power factor with detuned reactors shall be provided.
• Active Harmonic Filter Panel can be considered if required.
• UPS shall be housed in separate room. Air conditioning of this room shall be
considered.
• Seperate Battery Room shall be provided.

What do the numbers in an IP Rating mean?

The numbers that follow IP each have a specific meaning. The first indicates the degree of protection
(of people) from moving parts, as well as the protection of enclosed equipment from foreign bodies.
The second defines the protection level that the enclosure enjoys from various forms of moisture
(drips, sprays, submersion etc). The tables below should help make sense of it:

IP Ratings - what they mean.

IP Rated Enclosures - quick find chart
A number replaced by x indicates that the enclosure is not rated for that spec.

First Digit (intrusion protection)

1. (or X - see section below): No special protection. Not rated (or no rating supplied) for protection
against ingress of this type.
 2. Protection from a large part of the body such as a hand (but no protection from deliberate
access); from solid objects greater than 50mm in diameter.
3. Protection against fingers or other object not greater than 80mm in length and 12mm in
diameter (accidental finger contact).
4. Protection from entry by tools, wires etc, with a diameter of 2.5 mm or more.
5. Protection against solid objects larger than 1mm (wires, nails, screws, larger insects and other
potentially invasive small objects such as tools/small etc).
6. Partial protection against dust that may harm equipment.
7. Totally dust tight. Full protection against dust and other particulates, including a vacuum seal,
tested against continuous airflow.

Second Digit (moisture protection)

1. (or X - see section below): No protection.
2. Protection against vertically falling droplets, such as condensation. ensuring that no damage or
interrupted functioning of components will be incurred when an item is upright.
3. Protection against water droplets deflected up to 15° from vertical
4. Protected against spray up to 60° from vertical.
5. Protected against water splashes from all directions. Tested for a minimum of 10 minutes with
an oscillating spray (limited ingress permitted with no harmful effects).
6. Protection against low-pressure jets (6.3 mm) of directed water from any angle (limited ingress
permitted with no harmful effects).
7. Protection against direct high pressure jets.
8. Protection against full immersion for up to 30 minutes at depths between 15 cm and 1 metre
(limited ingress permitted with no harmful effects).
9. Protection against extended immersion under higher pressure (i.e. greater depths). Precise
parameters of this test will be set and advertised by the manufacturer and may include
additional factors such as temperature fluctuations and flow rates, depending on equipment
type.
10. (K): Protection against high-pressure, high-temperature jet sprays, wash-downs or steam-
cleaning procedures - this rating is most often seen in specific road vehicle applications
(standard ISO 20653:2013 Road Vehicles - Degrees of protection).

IPX Ratings
Not an entirely valid IP rating, but still occasionally seen on websites offering enclosures (but more
commonly lighting). The "x" simply denotes that the value for that number is missing. You can replace
it with a zero, assuming that it has not ingress protection rating. This may not be the case, but better
safe than sorry. The first number denotes foreign body ingress protection, the second moisture. So
"x"5 for example, means that there is no defined protection from solid objects, but protection against
low pressure water jets, while 5"x" would denote partial protection from dust, but no particular
protection from moisture.
 Distribution Boards
• More number of DB shall be planned to reduce wiring
• Double door construction DB shall be used to avoid physical damage.
• Class-2 SPD shall be provided in each floor DB. More SPD can be provided in
sub-distribution boards as required.
• Central location of load shall be peferrable chosed for DB installation.
• All DBs shall be provided with ELCB. ELCB has two ratings. Current rating and
sensitivity rating (mentioned in milliamperes). Sensitivity rating are generally
30mA, 100mA and 300mA. ELCB sensitivity 30mA shall be used wherever there
are chances of electrical shock higher (wet areas like kitchen and toilets). Higher
sensitivity ELCB can be used with incomer of DB.