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I recently had my 50yr old 100A main panel replaced with a 200A Siemens panel (MC2040B1200EFC). It is the incarnation with the 200A main breaker at the bottom (earlier versions were center fed which would have alleviated my problem). At the same time I had the electrician add a 50A inlet for a generator (because SoCal Edison likes to turn off my power any time the wind blows, like 29 hours on Thanksgiving) and a 100A subpanel in the garage for future electric vehicle charging.
This was all done with permits and the inspector has signed off on it, but I currently have no generator interlock kit. This is because the panel label states that:
As such, the 100A breaker feeding the subpanel is immediately above the main breaker. This means the 50A breaker for the generator inlet can't be placed next to the main breaker meaning there is no way to add an interlock kit.
I'm not sure what to do about this. I have considered moving the 50A breaker next to the main breaker and then moving the 100A breaker up above it, but that violates the panel label. But which is worse - violating the panel label, or not having an interlock kit which, if my wife or I mess up, could electrocute, injure, or even kill a lineman?
My guess is the restriction on the panel label is to prevent too much current having to flow up the panel bus bars and past all the other in use breakers. However, in this case, the 50A breaker would be off in most cases (except when on generator power) and if I were on generator power, the main would be off as well as the subpanel (not gonna charge an EV off my generator). So the additional current would only be flowing past a turned off breaker connected to nothing in the nominal use case.
What would you do in this situation?
This was all done with permits and the inspector has signed off on it, but I currently have no generator interlock kit. This is because the panel label states that:
Any 80-100 Amp max. circuit breaker must be installed in the lowest position in the branch panel. All other positions are limited to 70 Amp max. circuit breakers.
As such, the 100A breaker feeding the subpanel is immediately above the main breaker. This means the 50A breaker for the generator inlet can't be placed next to the main breaker meaning there is no way to add an interlock kit.
I'm not sure what to do about this. I have considered moving the 50A breaker next to the main breaker and then moving the 100A breaker up above it, but that violates the panel label. But which is worse - violating the panel label, or not having an interlock kit which, if my wife or I mess up, could electrocute, injure, or even kill a lineman?
My guess is the restriction on the panel label is to prevent too much current having to flow up the panel bus bars and past all the other in use breakers. However, in this case, the 50A breaker would be off in most cases (except when on generator power) and if I were on generator power, the main would be off as well as the subpanel (not gonna charge an EV off my generator). So the additional current would only be flowing past a turned off breaker connected to nothing in the nominal use case.
What would you do in this situation?