jproffer said:
Just FYI also, 2-200amp panels equals 800 amps total, 200 per phase, per panel. Most people forget this or just don't know. :Thumbs:
Mr. Proffer is obviously not an electrician. Two 200 amp rated panels can be connected to a 60 amp service. The rating of the panel is the maximum rating, and has nothing to do with the service size. You may feed any panel up to (but not over) its rating. This is very often done. This house with two 200 amp panels may have only had a 200 amp service. The second panel may have been added to provide more "slots", since the NEC artificially limits the max panel spaces to 42. Two 200 amps panels are often hung behind 200amp, 320amp, and 400amp service equipment.
Besides the above, 2-200 amp panel IS NOT 800 amps. What an outrage this statement is to a real electrician. IF these panels were supplied by a full size service, the panels would only provide 400 amps at 240. This is how services are described, by their current capability at 240 volts. True, if you had only 120 volt loads, then you would load it at 800 amps at 120, but this is NOT A NORMAL WAY TO DESCRIBE A SERVICE.
The 25 kilowatt generator that the was originally asked about is about 100 amps. The second 200 amp panel in this thread could have been the "emergency panel" for the emergency circuits, connected through a transfer switch to the genset.