It All Starts with the Installation
Learn how one contractor pre-wires off-site for fast, efficient production.
When Mike Arket, owner of Arket Electric in Schenectady, NY, was first introduced to the Leviton Load Center two things came to mind: the installation and the redesigned, advanced circuit breakers. That changed everything.
Arket has been in business for 35 years, and a few years ago was the electrical contractor for netZero Village in Rotterdam, NY. That project led to work on the current Solara Luxury Apartments project, another netZero construction by the same developer, Dave Bruns of Bruns Realty Group. When specifying the load center for Solara, Arket learned from his Leviton representative, Howard Katz, that the Leviton Load Center had hit the market. “I said to Howard that I would pitch it for Solara because I believed in it,” said Arket. When he did, Bruns was on board.
Fast and Easy Installation – Arket Style
One of the biggest challenges Arket typically faces when installing load centers is working in the dark. When examining the Leviton Load Center, he realized that he could do the production work off-site and then transport the units to the jobsite and install them. “It just goes together very easily and quickly. The biggest advantage of this process is having only to trim it out on site. It saves a lot of time…and I don’t have wires sticking out. I have control in the shop, more so than in the field, so they’re not mis-wired,” said Arket.
His process begins with a spreadsheet identifying each load center unit in the project – where it’s going, the gauge of wire to be used, bottom or top feed, where the homeruns end up – everything is measured out and specified. He has all the wires ready to go on large spools in his shop, and the long worktable is marked in “feet” for easy reference as the wires are unwound from the spools and laid on the panel. For example, “Circuit #1, 12-gauge wire, 37 feet long – you’ve got to keep track of the spools – and then it’s just standard procedure: take the knockouts out, strip all the wires out, terminate it. And I think it’s so cool that we can terminate the hot wire in here because we can see what we are doing,” Arket explained.
“When I first tried installing the Load Center, I did it myself on nights and weekends, just to try it,” said Arket. “I realized what I needed to do and how to better the process, so it works for me. My guys can do 4, maybe 5, in one day.” The terminated load centers are laid out and then transported by pallet to the jobsite for final installation. “Once they are installed, just snap in the circuit breakers and you’re ready to go. It’s all about the installation to me,” he commented.
Redesigned Circuit Breakers
The fact that circuit breakers can be installed when the unit is “heated up” resonates with Arket because he does not have to install circuit breakers in darkness and does not have to keep them locked-up overnight at the jobsite or in a truck to prevent potential theft.
As for the Smart circuit breakers, Arket leaves that decision to the homeowners since they are the end users and can better determine what loads they would like to monitor. He commented, “They have their place. If there’s a reason, such as you’re taking on water in the basement and your sump pump trips out, I think that’s a good use for it.”
The Bottom Line
Faster installation is a great way to improve productivity and enhance a businesses’ bottom line. Whether the job calls for one load center or dozens, the Leviton Load Center offers the complete package – safe, smart and easy to install, your way or the Arket way!