Usage
Industry
How do I know if I have CTL panels?
To determine if the panel will accept CTL or Non-CTL duplex/quadplex breakers is by taking a look at the bus. The bus will either be notched and shaped like a U or it will be unnotched and solid.
What's the difference between CTL and non-CTL breakers?
CTL breakers have a rejection feature on the bus connection side of the breaker. This prevents them from being used in certain areas of a loadcenter. Non-CTL breakers do not have this rejection feature and will fit in any space in the loadcenter.
What are tandem circuit breakers used for?
A special kind of circuit breaker is the tandem breaker, which is designed to allow two 120-volt circuits to be fit into a single slot in the circuit breaker box. They are normally installed in situations where the breaker box is already full with no available slots for additional circuit breakers.
What is Tandem circuit breaker?
A tandem circuit breaker is a double circuit breaker that takes up the space of a single circuit breaker on a panelboard. You'll also hear them called duplex, slimline, twin, half-height, half-inch, double and wafer breakers, depending on local customs.
Are tandem breakers bad?
Tandem breakers are safe and legal to use only when the panel is designed for them and only in the slots that accept tandem breakers.
What is class CTL tandem breaker?
CTL is an acronym that stands for Circuit Total Limitation, a safety feature of modern electrical panels and breakers. It is primarily for control of where a type of breaker that combines two breakers into one and fits in a single panel slot—called a “tandem" breaker—can be added to the panel.
Do tandem breakers share a neutral?
Unlike the standard/ single-pole breaker, a tandem breaker doesn't use a cable with three wires (2 hot and 1 neutral). Due to its physicalities, this double breaker is not compatible with having a shared neutral wire since it simply uses one power phase/busbar. This breaker can only handle two individual cables.
Can two circuits go on one breaker?
Yes, it's fine to combine circuits onto one breaker, at which point they become one circuit.
How many 20 amp breakers can you have on a 200 amp panel?
Most 200-amp breaker panels have 40 to 42 slots of single-pole breakers or 20 slots for double pole breakers.
What is the difference between a tandem and double pole breaker?
0:433:00Tandem or 2 Pole Breakers?! - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThe tandem breaker is used in place of a single pole breaker. Where you would need to usually whereMoreThe tandem breaker is used in place of a single pole breaker. Where you would need to usually where you have a full panel. And you need an extra circuit.
How many circuits can be on a 100 amp panel?
Typical 100-amp panels have 20 circuits, meaning they can handle 20 full-sized breakers. 20/24 panels can hold 16 full-sized and 4 twin breakers (24 circuits in total). The number of breakers can max out to 30-42, too, depending on the design of your 100-amp pane.
Can 2 circuits share a neutral?
What is a multiwire branch circuit? A multiwire branch circuit is a branch circuit with a shared neutral. This means there are two or more ungrounded (hot) phase or system conductors with a voltage between them and a shared neutral.
What is a CTL panelboard?
Class CTL Panelboard - A panelboard that has physical means to prevent the installation of more than 42 overcurrent devices, or if fewer than 42, that number for which the panelboard was Page 10 Panelboards Marking and Application Guide UL and the UL logo are trademarks of UL LLC © 2016 8 designed and rated.
What is CTL in electrical?
Circuit total limitation (CTL) is one of the present-day standards for electrical panels sold in the United States according to the National Electrical Code. This standard requires an electrical panel to provide a physical mechanism to prevent installing more circuit breakers than it was designed for.
How many circuits can you put in a 100 amp panel?
how many breakers can you put in a panel? It can hold 16 full size breakers and 4 twins breakers for a total of 24 circuits. Many 100 amp panels are simply 20 circuits. 20 full size breakers only.
What is CLT panel?
The panels’ ability to resist high racking and compressive forces makes them especially cost-effective for multistory and long-span diaphragm applications. In structural systems, such as walls, floors, and roofs, CLT panels serve as load-bearing elements .
What is CLT?
Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a wood panel system that is rapidly gaining popularity in the U.S. after being widely adopted in Europe. The strength, dimensional stability, and rigidity of CLT allow it to be used in mid- and high-rise buildings.
How many degrees are CLT panels?
CLT panels consist of layered lumber boards (usually three, five, or seven) stacked crosswise at 90-degree angles and glued into place. Finger joints and structural adhesive connect the boards.
How thick is a CLT panel?
Finger joints and structural adhesive connect the boards. Board thickness typically varies between 5/8 inch to 2 inches, with board width ranging from 2.4 to 9.5 inches.The panels can be manufactured at custom dimensions, though transportation restrictions dictate their length.
What is CLT wood?
What is CLT? Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a wood panel system that is rapidly gaining popularity in the U.S. after being widely adopted in Europe. The strength, dimensional stability, and rigidity of CLT allow it to be used in mid- and high-rise buildings.
How many stories can CLT be left exposed?
As with other mass timber products, CLT can be left exposed in building interiors — up to 8 stories in the 2021 IBC, offering additional aesthetic attributes. Like other mass timber products, CLT can be used in hybrid applications with materials such as concrete and steel.
Why did the project team choose CLT?
The project team chose CLT for its ability to store carbon and the smaller environmental footprint the material afforded the project. Check out the project page for images of the building and to learn how CLT and glue-laminated timber (glulam) were used in the design.
What is CTL in electrical?
Circuit total limitation ( CTL) is one of the present-day standards for electrical panels sold in the United States according to the National Electrical Code. This standard requires an electrical panel to provide a physical mechanism to prevent installing more circuit breakers than it was designed for. This has generally been implemented by restricting the use of tandem (duplex) breakers to replace standard single pole breakers.
How many circuits can be on a panelboard?
The 2008 code did away with the previous 42 circuit limitation on panelboards. One can now order panelboards with as many as 84 circuit places, and a corresponding ampacity rating. If a panelboard with a sufficient number of breaker positions is installed in the first place, the need for non-CTL breakers should be eliminated.
Why are panels dangerously overloaded?
As a result, numerous unsafe situations have resulted where panels were dangerously overloaded because these non-CTL breakers continue to be used. With the use of non-CTL breakers, panels can be configured with the total number of circuits in excess of the designed capacity of that panel.
Can Eaton breakers be used in plug on loadcenters?
In their 2019 catalog Eaton now specifies that their non-CTL breakers are "Suitable for use in plug-on neutral style loadcenters" which negates the replacement only rule.
What is CLT wood?
Cross-laminated timber (CLT) (a sub-category of engineered wood) is a wood panel product made from gluing together layers of solid-sawn lumber, i.e., lumber cut from a single log. Each layer of boards is usually oriented perpendicular to adjacent layers and glued on the wide faces of each board, usually in a symmetric way so that the outer layers have the same orientation. An odd number of layers is most common, but there are configurations with even numbers as well (which are then arranged to give a symmetric configuration). Regular timber is an anisotropic material, meaning that the physical properties change depending on the direction at which the force is applied. By gluing layers of wood at right angles, the panel is able to achieve better structural rigidity in both directions. It is similar to plywood but with distinctively thicker laminations (or lamellae).
What are the advantages of CLT?
CLT has some advantages as a building material, including: 1 Design flexibility – CLT has many applications. It can be used in walls, roofs or ceilings. The thickness of the panels can easily be increased by adding more layers and the length of the panels can be increased by joining panels together. 2 Eco-friendly – CLT is a renewable, green and sustainable material, since it is made out of wood. It can sequester carbon, but differences in forest management practices translate into variations in the amount of carbon sequestered. 3 Prefabrication – Floors or walls made from CLT can be fully manufactured before reaching the job site, which decreases lead times and could potentially lower overall construction costs. 4 Thermal insulation – Being made out of multiple layers of wood, the thermal insulation of CLT can be high depending on the thickness of the panel. 5 CLT is a relatively light building material – Foundations do not need to be as large and the machinery required on-site are smaller than those needed to lift heavier buildings materials. These aspects also provide the additional capacity to erect CLT buildings on sites that might otherwise be incapable of supporting heavier projects, and eases infilling projects where construction is especially tight or difficult to access due to the preexisting buildings around the site.
What is grouping step in CLT?
The grouping step ensures the timber of various categories are grouped together. For construction grade CLT, the timber that has better structural properties will be used in the interior layers of the CLT panel while the two outermost layers will be of higher aesthetic qualities. For aesthetic grade CLT, all layers will be of higher visual qualities.
What is panel lay up?
A panel lay-up is performed to stick the individual timber layers together. According to section 8.3.1 of the performance standard ANSI/AP PRG 320, at least 80% of surface area between layers must be bound together.
When was the T3 building completed?
Completed in September 2016, T3 in Minneapolis, USA, also by Michael Green Architecture, was first modern timber building to be built in the United States in more than 100 years, and at the time of completion was the largest in North America.

Overview
- Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a large-scale, prefabricated, solid engineered wood panel. Lightweight yet very strong, with superior acoustic, fire, seismic, and thermal performance, CLT is also fast and easy to install, generating almost no waste onsite. CLT offers design flexibility an…
Code Requirement
Non-CTL for replacement only
Gallery
Circuit total limitation (CTL) is one of the present-day standards for electrical panels sold in the United States according to the National Electrical Code. This standard requires an electrical panel to provide a physical mechanism to prevent installing more circuit breakers than it was designed for. This has generally been implemented by restricting the use of tandem (duplex) breakers to replace standard single pole breakers.
See also
The 1965 edition of the NEC, article 384-15 was the first reference to the circuit total limitation of panelboards. As of 2008 , the location of this language is at Article 408.54 now titled "Maximum Number of Overcurrent Devices." Non-CTL panels have not been made by reputable manufacturers since 1965. Though this may change due to the 2008 repeal.
External links
Circuitboards and panelboards built prior to 1965 did not have circuit total limiting devices or features built-in. To support these old panels, non-CTL circuit breakers that bypass the rejection feature are still sold "for replacement use only." As a result, numerous unsafe situations have resulted where panels were dangerously overloaded because these non-CTL breakers continue to be used. With the use of non-CTL breakers, panels can be configured with the total number of cir…