The panel represents the very heart of your electrical installation. The device is the starting point for all the electrical circuits present in a building. It provides both the power and protection functions of all devices in the home. But what is an electrical panel made of and what is the importance of each element? Let's take stock in this article.

The circuit breakers

Circuit breakers are the main components of your electrical panel. They ensure the protection of all the electrical circuits in your home. When an overcurrent or a short circuit occurs, the circuit breaker will cut off the power.

Its main difference from fuses or pellets is that it is enough to rearm it after blowing without having to replace it.

There are several types of circuit breakers, namely:

• The thermal circuit breaker: it protects the devices from the risks of overcurrent and fire. It is particularly sturdy and simple. However, it is less accurate and takes time to activate and rearm;
• The magnetic circuit breaker: this type of circuit breaker is effective in preventing a short circuit. It is also very accurate and has the ability to absorb a much higher intensity than normal.
• The magneto-thermal circuit breaker: this type of circuit breaker fulfills the operation of both the magnetic and thermal circuit breaker. In other words, it is suitable for both short circuit and overcurrent cases;
• The differential circuit breaker: this last type of circuit breaker provides both protection against current overloads and short circuits. But its specificity is that it can also protect your home from differences in intensity between phase and neutral. This is often the case when your installation suffers from poor electrical insulation.

The circuit breakers replaced the fuses. These are now present in old buildings, and current safety standards recommend that they be changed by circuit breakers.

Differential switches

Differential switches are used to protect the occupants of a house from electric shock. A switch only covers one or more circuits in a home, but not the entire installation. This is the reason why it is necessary to install several of them at the same time in an electrical panel. In the event of a problem, it isolates the electrical circuit that is the source of the anomaly to avoid any risk of electric shock.

There are different types of differential switches:

• The type A differential switch that protects the stove, stovetop or washing machine;
• The AC-type differential switch that generally corresponds to standard uses such as lighting, sockets and others. Only one is required in a 35 m² house, while 2 are required for a living area between 35 m² and 100 m². Above 100 m², 3 are needed;
• The Hpi differential switch is necessary to protect a freezer, computer equipment or alarm system.

Lightning rods and surge protectors

Lightning rods and surge protectors are devices that serve to protect the house, the occupants and the electrical installation from lightning. A lightning rod is a metal point installed at the top of a house. It is connected to the ground via a cable and drains lightning energy through the metal rod to the ground. In this way, the building is spared, which prevents numerous material and physical damage.

While the lightning rod protects the house, it does not, however, prevent lightning from striking the power lines, which could still affect the electrical installation. To avoid this kind of inconvenience, a surge arrester is necessary. It is installed in the electrical panel and allows the overvoltages caused by lightning to be channelled. As a result, the electrical installation is spared, which puts all electrical appliances in the house out of danger.

The electrical load shedder

A load shedder is a device that automatically manages the power supply to your devices according to your power needs. Its main advantage is that it saves energy. In fact, thanks to the charger, you can subscribe to a subscription that is undersized compared to your usual consumption.

Thus, when you reach the subscribed power threshold, the loader will automatically cut off the power to devices that are not priority in order to compensate for the power needs.

Let's take a concrete example. You operate the radiators in all the rooms in winter. After a few hours, you should use the oven. However, the power you have subscribed to is not enough to meet these needs. The load shedder will then temporarily shut off some radiators so that the oven can work. As a result, you save money while not suffering from a lack of power.

An electrical load shedder can be single-phase, three-phase, or mixed. It can work in 3 different ways:

• In cascade: the device cuts off the power supply to the electrical circuits in a predefined order;
• Cyclically: load shedding is done alternately so as not to always cut the same device circuits;
• In combination of the two: the load shedder works first cyclically, then in a cascade if the rotation is not sufficient to meet the power requirements.

The off-peak switch

Also called day/night contactor, it is a device that allows you to operate devices of your choice at off-peak hours, especially at night. Generally, it is wiser to choose the appliances that consume the most energy in order to save on your bills, including the washing machine, dishwasher, water heater or electric heater. During the day, the power to these devices is automatically cut off to leave only the essential ones working.

It is possible to program an off-peak switch in various ways. Automatic operation allows the devices to operate at predefined times. Forced operation makes it possible to operate devices even during peak hours if the need arises. Finally, the off position stops the operation of the contactor for normal use of the devices.

The off-peak contactor is a modular element of the electrical panel. It is not essential, but can be beneficial for those who have subscribed to an off-peak or high-hour subscription.

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