The primary purpose of a residential
service panel is to safely distribute
electrical loads within the
house. Manufacturers refer to residential
panels as load centers.
Commercial or industrial panels
are called panelboards. The
National Electrical Code (NEC)
doesn't differentiate. In this article,
I'm referring only to the residential
type, which for simplicity's sake I'll
call "the panel" or "the main
service panel." Mobile home
panels have different requirements
and are not covered
here.
Panel Location
The location of a main service
panel should, if at all possible,
be back-to-back with
the meter. The meter base
normally has a knockout in
the bottom or back that is to
be used for the wires exiting
out the meter base and into
the wall. I try to put