Lighting Control Panels

MLP, commonly referred to as Main Lighting Panel or simply as a Lighting Control Panel is a rectangular, metallic box containing circuit breakers and sometimes fuses, although the best term to use for a panel containing fuses is a fuse box. This panel controls the lights in a building and protects the branch circuits.

The use of the terms MLP and fuse box can be used interchangeably since these two have the same functions. But this is erroneous since they have slight differences in their usage which should be acknowledged. The main difference between an MLP and a fuse box is that while a fuse panel uses fuses to control and protect branch circuits, am MLP uses moulded-case circuit breakers. Giving a good example of this is an MLP for one family residence can connect the branch circuits of every room (also known as single-based circuits), to the primary power input.

In the market, there are various types of Main Lighting Panels (MLP), for example; the A-series MLP type, the low-Voltage MLP, the high-Voltage MLP, a generator MLP, the Bypass Isolation MLP and much more. If one desires to purchase one they should have the know-how of how to get around this task. Different buildings have different lighting needs, and not only that, different people have different designs that they would like to be incorporated in their buildings. At the end of the day, the Main Lighting Panel (MLP) is a must for any household or commercial building owner. It helps save on a lot.

• MLP has one main circuit breaker which is able to disconnect the main power input from the branch circuit breakers. This ability can be effective in a number of ways for instance when there is a power surge from the main input, you will be able to switch off the power.
• There are other circuit breakers that serve the branch circuits. This enables you to quickly switch off power from specific problem areas, like certain rooms in a household or even a commercial building.
• This circuit breaker is easily reset, as compared to the fuse which when it burns, it has to be automatically replaced.
• This advantage is very critical in saving your electrical appliances at home or in your commercial building. A circuit breaker, in an MLP is internally calibrated to automatically switch itself off (this is called tripping) when there is a certain maximum overload on the input power. This means that a home or commercial building owner does not have to worry when there is a large power surge and they are not available to switch the breakers off.

Once the panel system detects a fire, it engages in certain intervention measures that help to deescalate the damage. Setting off an alarm system is one such intervention because it leads to prompt responses from the fire fighting and rescue teams. Another mechanism entails the sprinkler system, which counters the fire by sprinkling water around the affected areas. Generally, these special panels are considered as the first line of defence against the threat of fire. However, it is necessary for the owners and managers to ensure that the entire alarm system is in perfect functioning order at all times.