Emerson PowerPlex Factory Sealed Enclosed Circuit Breakers Important information

Brand: Emerson

Model: PowerPlex Factory Sealed Enclosed Circuit Breakers

Type: Important information

Emerson PowerPlex Factory Sealed Enclosed Circuit Breakers are the new standard for hazardous location electrical products. They offer a number of advantages over traditional cast-aluminum enclosures, including:

Increased safety: The individual circuit breaker housings provide a flamepath that prevents sparks or hot spots from igniting gases or vapors within the enclosure. This makes the PowerPlex Panelboard ideal for use in hazardous locations where there is a risk of explosion.
Reduced maintenance costs: The individual circuit breaker housings can be easily removed and replaced, without the need to disassemble the entire enclosure. This makes it quick and easy to replace a faulty circuit breaker, reducing downtime and maintenance costs.

Increased safety: The individual circuit breaker housings provide a flamepath that prevents sparks or hot spots from igniting gases or vapors within the enclosure. This makes the PowerPlex Panelboard ideal for use in hazardous locations where there is a risk of explosion.
Reduced maintenance costs: The individual circuit breaker housings can be easily removed and replaced, without the need to disassemble the entire enclosure. This makes it quick and easy to replace a faulty circuit breaker, reducing downtime and maintenance costs.

White Paper

The PowerPlex

™

Panelboard:

Advancing Panelboard Technology

Understanding component-level protection and its beneﬁts

on installation, maintenance and safety.

May 2007

The PowerPlex Panelboard:

Advancing Panelboard Technology

Understanding component-level protection and its beneﬁts

on installation, maintenance and safety.

The combination of hazardous locations and ignition sources, such as circuit breakers, switches

and motor starters, requires highly engineered protection that prevents a single spark or hot spot from

placing facilities and personnel in danger. These technologies may differ around the globe, but the

goal is the same: keep production running smoothly and safely by preventing electrical devices from

causing ignition of the volatile gases or vapors that may exist within the workplace.

The NEC and CEC standards stipulate that hazardous-

location panelboard enclosures must be designed on the

assumption that vapors or gases have entered the housing and

can be ignited. Appleton products operate safely in hazardous

locations by routing the hot gases from the ignition through

precision-machined “ﬂamepaths.” These pathways allow the

gases to cool to temperatures lower than the ignition point of

the surrounding atmosphere before they are released from the

enclosure.

For decades, North American panelboard enclosures have

had ﬂamepaths incorporated into a ﬂange between the outer

housing’s cover and the body. Large cast-aluminum housings

with numerous bolts to retain the cover on the cast body

were required to maintain the explosionproof integrity of the

enclosure. The Electrical Code typically requires conduit or

cable seals for all incoming and outgoing electrical connections,

as part of the ﬁnal assembly, to ensure hazardous-location

protection. All this adds signiﬁcantly to the time, effort and

cost needed to install, maintain and operate panelboards.

The need to reduce downtime and maintenance costs while

preserving safety is driving North American facilities to request

alternative technologies.

IEC Methodology Inspires a Solution

Hazardous location products conforming to International

Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards are designed

on the same assumption that a vapor or gas has penetrated the

housing. Where IEC products differ from traditional North

American panelboard design is that the individual breakers

are “factory sealed” rather than depending on the large cast-

aluminum enclosure for protection. These individually sealed

Appleton’s PowerPlex Panelboard redeﬁnes NEC-style panelboard enclosures

by transferring the protection from the cast enclosure to the component level.

circuit breakers can then be placed within enclosures that

do not require explosionproof construction. When circuit

breakers need to be replaced, the individually sealed ﬂameproof

component is simply removed and swapped with another.

By protecting the individual breakers, IEC panelboard

enclosures do not require the traditional North American cast

enclosure. The enclosures are lighter and are opened easily,

resulting in substantially less downtime with lower installation

and maintenance costs. Factory-sealed IEC circuit breaker

panelboard enclosures do have some disadvantages. The

expensive pre-sealed ﬂameproof circuit breakers create higher

ongoing maintenance costs and may not be readily available.

Also, because they are sealed, the unvented enclosures retain

heat, potentially requiring amperage derating.

Creating North American

Component-Level Protection

Appleton’s PowerPlex Panelboard redeﬁnes North American

hazardous-location panelboard design by transferring the

ﬂamepath protection from the enclosure to the component

level through individual circuit-breaker housings. This allows

for the functional advantages of IEC designs while meeting

NEC/CEC hazardous-location equipment requirements.

The circuit breaker housings offer quick, onsite maintenance

without the disadvantages of higher costs and reduced breaker

performance. The result is a superior hazardous location

panelboard that offers optimum protection, greater application

ﬂexibility and lower maintenance costs.

Circuit Breaker Housing

Each North American circuit breaker is placed within a

housing that features a labyrinth ﬂamepath joint located

between the cover and body (Figure 1). The top cover has a

ridge that encircles the entire opening. This ridge ﬁts into the

lower housing’s channel to form the ﬂamepath. Individual

circuit breaker housings are easily bolted and unbolted for

fast breaker replacements while retaining hazardous-location

integrity. The bottom half of the housing is designed to utilize

standard, off-the-shelf North American circuit breakers for

easier, more efﬁcient maintenance.

Vents are located in the housings to allow for pressure and heat

to dissipate (Figure 2). This minimizes nuisance tripping and

the need for additional circuit-breaker derating. The result is

optimized breaker performance and increased lifespan.

ADVANCING PANELBOARD TECHNOLOGY

FIGURE 1:

The top and bottom

housing include a

labyrinth channel to

form a ﬂamepath.

FIGURE 2:

Each housing is vented

to safely dissipate heat.

ADVANCING PANELBOARD TECHNOLOGY

Electrical Connections

The housings are designed to accept various circuit breaker

combinations, up to three poles, without compromising

ﬂamepath integrity. Circuit breakers are connected to copper

busses that are molded into the bottom portion of the housing.

Electrical busses extend through the enclosure on each side of

the outer sidewall from the inside cavity (Figure 3).

This allows for the circuit breakers to be completely enclosed

with secure terminal contact, while providing connections

to external electrical terminals. The busses feature increased

safety termination that secure connections against years of

vibration and shock.

Circuit Breakers

The PowerPlex Panelboard’s individual enclosures can house

and actuate 1-pole, 2-pole and 3-pole standard North American

amperage circuit breakers (Figure 4). The design of the housing

allows for a variety of circuit breakers and combinations, such as

three separate single-pole circuit breakers. It also allows actuation

of all of these combinations through a switching mechanism

attached to the top of each housing (Figure 3). This design also

enables actuation of the protected circuit breakers from both

inside and outside of the panelboard enclosure.

Increased Installation Flexibility

As a result of transferring the ﬂamepaths to the individual circuit

breakers, the PowerPlex Panelboard is available with outer

enclosures made from stainless steel or glass-reinforced polyester

(GRP). The smooth sides and lighter weight aid in transporting

and maneuvering the panelboard during installations.

The PowerPlex Panelboard offers conﬁgurations with similar

footprints to traditional cast panelboards. For large applications,

or where space is at a premium, the modular design permits

multiple-enclosure coupling. Any size, from the 3-pole main

breaker to the 42-circuit branch-breaker conﬁguration, can be

connected and stacked horizontally or vertically. Additionally,

the panelboard does not require conduit or cable seals,

signiﬁcantly simplifying the installation and/or maintenance

process, thus reducing costs. Installers can add entries to the

enclosure in the ﬁeld without compromising the hazardous-

location rating.

Reduced Total Cost of Maintenance

The PowerPlex Panelboard also simpliﬁes onsite maintenance

by eliminating the removal of the numerous bolts required to

open traditional cast-aluminum enclosures. The Powerplex

Panelboard is unique as it utilizes standard off-the-shelf North

American circuit breakers, with standard North American

amperages and standard North American voltage ratings up to

600 VAC. Work can be easily done in the ﬁeld, whether it’s on

a land rig, offshore platform, petrochemical facility, heat-trace

panel location or another hazardous environment with much

more simplicity and signiﬁcantly less cost.

FIGURE 3: A sectional

view of the protected

circuit breaker.

FIGURE 4: The

individual circuit

breaker housings

can accommodate

variations of 1-,

2- and 3-pole

circuit breakers.

Actuating mechanism

Electrical busses

ADVANCING PANELBOARD TECHNOLOGY

Today, the hourly costs to properly access hazardous-

location enclosures, speciﬁcally those hours associated with

disassembling and re-assembling while maintaining the

ﬂamepaths of precision-machined enclosure covers, can

be exorbitant to facilities. Coupled with the cost of plant

downtime, the PowerPlex Panelboard can provide a much

lower total cost of ownership with simple maintenance when

changing breakers. By incorporating standard off-the-shelf

North American breakers, the PowerPlex Panelboard also

enables facilities to maintain replacement breakers on-site.

This is extremely beneﬁcial for locations such as off-shore rigs

that can incur four times the maintenance costs of onshore rigs.

Continuing the Current of Innovation

The successful development of the PowerPlex Panelboard’s

individual component protection establishes a new standard

for hazardous location electrical products. It also opens the

door to advancements across Appleton’s hazardous-location

electrical product lines, including explosionproof housings for

switch gear, GFCI/EPD devices, photocells and motor starters

– anywhere where there is a potential for an arc or spark

within classiﬁed areas.

The PowerPlex Panelboard represents Appleton’s continuing

dedication to safer and more productive facilities through

innovative technologies and engineering. Complete technical

data and a downloadable product brochure are available at

www.appletonelec.com/powerplex or contact an Appleton

Sales Representative at (800) 621-1506.

Appleton offers a full line of electrical products

for hazardous and industrial locations that

safely and efﬁciently distribute power, exhibit

light and create connections. Each product

is designed and built to maintain a safe and

productive workplace in robust environments

that push man and machine to the limit.

Appleton’s leading edge engineering facilities

include explosion, environmental,

photometric, electric and mechanical labs

that are staffed with a team of experienced

engineers dedicated to developing the best

hazardous location electrical products available

anywhere in the world.

Under the EGS Electrical Group family of

brands, Appleton engineers help shape the

industry by working closely with organizations

such as UL, NECA, NFPA, CSA, NEMA,

ANSI, IEC AND IEEE for new standards

that promote safety and technical innovations.

EGS Electrical Group’s Electrical Code Review

for hazardous locations, published every three

years in conjunction with the NEC code

updates, helps educate facility engineers and

inspectors. For over 150 years, EGS brands

have been providing a rich tradition of long-

term, practical, high quality solutions.

Distributors, contractors, engineers,

electricians and site maintenance professionals

around the world trust EGS brands to make

electrical installations safer, more productive

and more reliable. EGS is a division of

Emerson Industrial Automation.

U.S. / 1.800.621.1506 / www.appletonelec.com/powerplex

Canada / 1.888.765.2226

The Appleton and Emerson logos are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Ofﬁce.

All other product or service names are the property of their registered owners.

Emerson PowerPlex Factory Sealed Enclosed Circuit Breakers Important information

Brand: Emerson

Model: PowerPlex Factory Sealed Enclosed Circuit Breakers

Type: Important information

Increased safety: The individual circuit breaker housings provide a flamepath that prevents sparks or hot spots from igniting gases or vapors within the enclosure. This makes the PowerPlex Panelboard ideal for use in hazardous locations where there is a risk of explosion.
Reduced maintenance costs: The individual circuit breaker housings can be easily removed and replaced, without the need to disassemble the entire enclosure. This makes it quick and easy to replace a faulty circuit breaker, reducing downtime and maintenance costs.

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Emerson PowerPlex Factory Sealed Enclosed Circuit Breakers Important information

Emerson PowerPlex Factory Sealed Enclosed Circuit Breakers Important information

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