Panel builders losing out after switchgear assembly standard

London - Panel and systems builders risk losing business by not exploiting opportunities being created by the IEC 61439 quality standard for low voltage assemblies, Schneider Electric has warned.

"If panel builders don’t embrace new money- and space-saving technologies they risk loosing business to competitors that do,” according to Andy Garfield, customer marketing engineer at Schneider Electric.

Under past legislation it was perfectly acceptable to use the casing of an MCCB as the barrier between live parts and components. However, because it was not clearly specified in the old IEC 60439 standard, panel builders were reluctant to use them, instead opting for configurations with metal barriers built into the switchboard. Consequently, this became common practise, despite it being more costly and resulting in a larger footprint.

“Even though IEC 61439 clearly states: 'the case of a moulded case circuit breaker is defined as a means of providing separation from an adjacent circuit', some panel builders are still opting for more traditional methods," said Garfield.

"However these traditional set-ups can cost up to 20% more because of the additional metalwork involved and require more space, as room is needed for the metal partitions. This could result in their quotes being higher than their competitors who embrace the latest technology.”