Stop building the Brooklyn Bridge into your switchgear

How to count on a smaller, smarter breaker to cut switchboard costs

When choosing low-voltage circuit breakers, capability matters. Flexibility matters. And size matters, too. ABB designed its Emax 2 circuit breaker as a compact cubicle that saves both space and costs. Emax 2 is the first low-voltage air-circuit breaker to offer advanced protection functions and the highest performance in very compact frames. Now you can calculate just how much the small size of Emax 2 can matter to your business.

Emax 2 is available in four sizes, in dimensions from just one cubic foot to no more than three cubic feet. Each unit contains all the accessory wiring that may be required. It’s preassembled and molded into the case. Emax 2 also intelligently manages the distribution of power by ensuring that load consumption remain below a pre-selected limit, it analyzes power quality and makes available more than 3000 information  for energy and plant monitoring. So it replaces much of the external wiring and separate power monitoring and control devices in conventional electrification systems.

The result is that Emax 2 breakers allow panel builders to reduce switchboard sizes and material costs by as much as 25 percent. That translates to big savings on the copper used for the main distribution bus bars, on metal works and on panel columns. In fact, you can easily determine the percentage of raw materials you would save by incorporating Emax 2 breakers in your panels.

Just go online to use the quick, easy Emax 2 Switchboard Downsizing Calculator.

Simply choose the IEC or UL product standard, and then enter three pieces of information: the typical number of breakers per column in your panels, the number and rating of circuit breakers installed annually, and the percentage of 3-pole vs. 4-pole breakers that you use. Click the “Calculate” button, and you will see the percentage savings that Emax 2 would provide you.

These savings soon add up. We estimate that if all the breakers installed worldwide in this category were Emax 2 breakers, the amount of copper consumed in switchgear production would be reduced by 8.8 million kilograms (19.4 million pounds). The savings on other metal parts would total 14 million kilograms (nearly 31 million pounds), enough to build another Brooklyn Bridge.

Watch our video

You can also download our infographic here

Today’s Emax 2 technology allows panel builders to optimize their switchboard design, eliminating the wasted space and expensive materials.. ABB’s online calculator will show you just how much size.