ABB's ReliaGear Lighting Panelboard configurator has been re-designed to work within empower. This getting started guide will help users get familiar with the configurator tool and learn some useful tips for screen navigation and frequent questions.

In this section, we highlight the overall Panelboard configurator screens to get you familiar with navigating the tool. The configurator is broken up into multiple process steps (screens) that you will see highlighted below.

Process steps covered in the overview include:

User the layout screen to enter into Specified Layout mode to place individual breakers into their correct locations if required.

User the Bill of Materials screen to review the BOM before adding the panel to your quote. You can view the complete BOM for all panels (and all items) on a quote by view the quote level BOM.

Within the empower configurator platform, several features have been introduced to help drive user productivity when creating and managing panelboard configurations. These include:

When used, these features enable users to configure a single line item and then re-use the configurations for the active quote as well as future quotes.
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To help users quickly create multiple panelboard configurations we have introduced an advanced save button that gives users several options when saving the current configuration

Save: clicking on the Save button simply saves the current panelboard configuration.

Save & New: choosing this option will save the current line item configuration and create a new blank panelboard.

Save & Copy: selecting this option will save the current line item and then create a new panelboard line item with the exact same options and selections as the previous panelboard.

On the feeders screen within the panelboard configurator, empower introduced the Delete All button. This will delete all currently added feeder lines and reset to the default setting. This feature is very useful when leveraging the Save & Copy or Configurator Favorites options described above. A user can simply copy an existing panelboard line item (which will set all options such as line up, incoming device, etc) and then quickly delete all feeders in order to add the required feeders for the new panel.

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Introduced with empower is the ability to save and load configuration favorites for any product configurator. At any state of the product configuration a user can elect to save the selections as a favorite to be used for future configurations. Users can save multiple favorites for each product configurator.

For panelboards, all process steps (screens) are saved as part of the favorite. These options are applied when a favorite is loaded as a new item.

The Favorites feature is accessed from within the configurator screen and is located in the top right. From this menu you can Save As and Load From saved configurations.

For all product configurators, users can quickly create new or copy existing line items from within the configurator menu. This provides users with an efficient way to create the first panelboard, and then quickly copy to create the remaining configurations. Copying a line item copies all options (lineup, feeders, etc) from the original configuration.
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To access the New and Copy options, select the configurator menu button.

Panelboard Feeder Breakers are entered on the Feeders screen within the empower configurator. As we continue to improve the overall experience and performance of this screen, there are several shortcuts that users can take advantage of. This section will focus on:

The feeder breaker grid within the panelboard configurator is fully configured to support data entry via the keyboard. By using the standard keyboard keys (tab, arrow buttons, space bar, etc) you can navigate and enter feeder breakers.

Advance to next field: use the Tab key on the keyboard to advance to the next input field on the device line item

Activate a drop down: click the space bar to activate a drop down (showing the value list) and then the direction arrow keys to move up and down the list to select the required value.

Add New Line: use the Insert Key on your keyboard at any time to create an additional feeder breaker line.

To enable users the ability to quickly enter feeder breakers, there is a Quick Entry option on the Feeders screen in the panelboard configurator. This option will allow users to enter just the quantity, trip amps, & poles with additional rows added automatically as you 'tab' across the fields.

While entering the information, there is not rule validation done at time of data entry which eliminates the 'waiting time' between inputs. Once you select OK to save your input the feeder lines will be validated against the configurator rules.

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Enter the total number of circuits required including devices and usable spaces. This will be used to calculate the minimum panel size and the usable spaces after all devices have been added. In some cases the panel may be sized up to the next size panel to accommodate.

To use calculate spaces, enter the total circuits in the 'To calculate space enter branch circuits and hit enter' input box. This will then add a breaker device line for the spaces and the quantity with automatically be calculated and it will adjust as you enter more breakers.

Panelboard options have been moved into a new screen titled Options vs. the old modifications screen in Speedi. Use these options to select specific items for the panelboard line item. The options screen has also been updated to show the most frequently used options directly on the screen for ease of selection

Additional options are located in the Options Grid at the bottom of the screen.

Options are saved when using configurator favorites and are also copied when using the line item copy feature in the configurator or the Save & Copy option.

Additional Options have been separated into categories (Box, Front, Metering and Control, Intel, Special Options, & All) to help locate like modification codes.

If you have configured a multi-section panelboard, select Same Box Size to set all sections to the same box size irrespective of their configured height.

Global Modifications

Global modifications is available from the Quote Details page. From there, users must select the specific panelboard line items to apply modifications to. Once a line item is selected, the Global Modifications button will become active.

Once activated, users will be able to select from various panelboard modifications and apply them directly to the selected line items. Simply select the modification (option) and then select apply. Once the modifications are applied, the screen will present the user with a success or error message.

The Specified Layout screen allows users to place panelboard feeder breakers into specific locations within the panel. Users can choose to allow ABB to layout the panel (Auto Layout) or enter into Specified Layout mode and place the breakers themselves according to the panel schedule. There are several options for placing breakers highlighted below.

To activate specified layout, choose the Edit or Clear buttons.

Users can 'Drag and Drop' breakers into their specific circuit location according to the panel schedule. In this mode, users will 'click and hold' to grab a breaker and then drag it into an available circuit on the panel. Releasing the breaker will drop it into the specified location. When placing the breaker, the top left corner of the breaker is the active spot that needs to be within the square of the available location in order to snap into place.

The below illustration shows various locations where placing the top left of the breaker will result in a successful placement of the breaker.
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When using the drag-and-drop feature, users will also notice a color coded activation of the destination location that is used to indicate a valid location option. Users will see a Yellow color for valid locations and a Red color for invalid locations.

Breaker Placement is a feature that has been added to ABB's panelboard configurator specified layout functionality. This new feature will provide an easier way to ensure breakers are placed in the correct position on the panel.

Breaker placement works alongside the existing features such as Clear Layout and Auto Fill. Follow the below steps for using the new Breaker Placement functionality ...

**Note: breaker placement is currently only available for A-Series lighting panels at this time

Split and Fill function is another option that can be used to specify panel layouts. This function instantly places the breakers in the desired location based on the order in which the breakers were entered in the feeders section grid. Select the Split and Fill option on the specified layout where you can place breakers in the grid.

**Note: this function is only available to A-Series panels and breakers under certain ampacities, some manual adjustments might be required. QD, SE, ED, SF, SG branch breakers frames will not apply split and fill. Panel feed direction is not relevant.
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Circuit Number is now available for A-Series panelboards and is located on the options screen of the panelboard configurator. Users can specify the Starting Circuit Number and have the option to select Vertical Circuit Numbering.