A switchboard is opened in a hurry: a fault, a fire, a tradesperson who has never seen it. AS/NZS 3000 asks the board to explain itself. This page sets out what it must carry.
The circuit chart
Every switch, circuit-breaker, fuse and RCD on the board must be identified with the part of the installation it supplies, on the board or beside it (Cl 2.10.5.2). A chart on the door does this: one line per way, saying what each circuit feeds. "Circuit 7" is not enough; "Kitchen sockets" is.
All marking is in English, legible and indelible (Cl 2.10.5.1). The clauses set no letter height or colour.
The main switch
- Each main switch is marked MAIN SWITCH, and it must stand out from the other switchgear by grouping, colour or a similar means, so it can be found in an emergency (Cl 2.3.3.5(a)).
- Where a board has more than one main switch, each is marked with the part of the installation it controls (b).
- A solar inverter, battery or generator has its main switch labelled with its energy source (e), and where opening a main switch brings that supply in or isolates it, a notice shows where its main switch is (c).
The main switchboard
A main switchboard is marked MAIN SWITCHBOARD. The door of a room or cupboard that holds it is marked, and a notice at each entry emergency services use shows where it is (Cl 2.10.2.4). A single domestic installation is exempt.
Inside the board
- Bars are marked active, neutral or earth, unless the conductor colours already show it (Cl 2.10.5.3).
- Terminals are marked or arranged so each circuit's active and neutral can be found. At the main neutral bar, the MEN connection and the main neutral are marked (Cl 2.10.5.4).
- A neutral shared by two or more circuits is marked with the actives it serves (Cl 2.10.5.5).
- A fuse whose base does not show its element rating has the rating marked (Cl 2.10.5.6).
A sub‑board
A sub‑board's isolating switch is marked with the circuits it isolates (Cl 2.3.4.4), and its chart works the same way.
Make the chart and labels for a board with the circuit chart tool. A worked house board with solar is in A circuit chart for a house board with solar.