Instructions for a Siemens Electrical Panel

An electrical panel refers to the metal casing that contains the circuit breakers inside your home. It is the panel where all the electrical wires inside your house converge. Electrical panels are made by numerous manufacturers, such as Siemens, but all panels are designed following the same standard specifications. Installing an electrical panel requires electrical training, experience, and knowledge of electrical codes, which is why this job should be done by an electrician. Knowing how the task is performed will help you to understand how an electrician accomplishes it.

3/4-inch plywood
Pencil
Stud finder
1 1/2-inch nails
Hammer
Level
Screwdriver
Needle-nose pliers
Cable clamps
Main circuit breaker
Auxiliary circuit breakers
Utility knife
Allen wrench
Wire stripper

Instructions

- 1
  Place the panel against the plywood, trace the box outline with a pencil, then cut the outline with a wood saw. Locate the wall where you wish to mount the electrical panel, and determine the location of the studs behind the wall with a stud finder. Nail the plywood onto the studs after aligning the plywood vertically with a level.
- 2
  Screw the electrical panel onto the plywood, using a screwdriver. Punch the knockout on top and along the sides of the panel with needle-nose pliers. Screw a cable clamp onto each knockout. Slip the neutral, hot and ground cables running from the electric meter through the knockout on top of the panel box.
- 3
  Plug the main circuit breaker, along with the auxiliary circuit breakers, onto the panel board. This is done by hooking the slots at the base of each breaker onto the metal tabs along both sides of the panel board, then pushing the breaker until it locks into place.
- 4
  Pull the cables from inside the panel box, then strip off 1 inch from the tip of each cable, using a utility knife. Plug each black cable (hot) onto each terminal lug in the main circuit breaker. Plug the black cable with white markings (neutral) onto the terminal lug in the neutral buss bar. Plug the wire coming from the ground rods into the terminal lug in the grounding bar. Tighten all lugs firmly with an Allen wrench or screwdriver.
- 5
  Slip each cable running from each circuit through a knockout along either side of the panel. For each cable, cut away the cable sheathing and strip off 1/2 inch from the tip of each inner wire, using a wire stripper. Screw each wire to its corresponding terminal in the following order: black (hot) wires onto the terminal screw on its corresponding circuit breaker, white wire to the neutral buss bar and green/bare wire onto the ground bar. Tighten all screws securely, and make sure there are no loose connections.
- 6
  Tighten each cable clamp plugged into each knockout with a screwdriver. Call your local government electrical inspector to have the panel inspected.

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