New:

AEC definitions

What Is a Panel Schedule?

Last reviewed: September 2026

A panel schedule is the table for one electrical panel. Each row is a circuit: breaker size, poles, the load it serves, and often the calculated volt-amperes. The panel name on the schedule must match the one-line diagram and the label on the equipment.

Start for freeView use cases
PANEL LP-2A208Y/120V 3PH 4W | 225A MLO | SURFACE | FED FROM T-2CKTDESCRIPTIONBKRVAPHVABKRDESCRIPTIONCKT1RECEPT RM 30120/1971A61520/1RECEPT RM 30423RECEPT RM 30220/11401B95520/1EWC45LIGHTING CORR20/1804C81220/1LIGHTING RMS67RECEPT RM 30320/1668A41020/1DATA RACK89FCU-120/1957B20/1SPARE1011RECEPT RM 30420/11379C20/1SPARE1213EWC20/11301ASPACE1415LIGHTING RMS20/11125B109720/1RECEPT RM 3011617DATA RACK20/1879C100120/1RECEPT RM 3021819SPARE20/1A77120/1LIGHTING CORR2021SPARE20/1B110520/1RECEPT RM 3032223SPACEC92120/1FCU-124CONNECTED LOAD 18.4 KVA | DEMAND 14.9 KVA | 51 APHASE A 6.2 KVA PHASE B 6.1 KVA PHASE C 6.1 KVA1APANEL SCHEDULESSCALE: NONE1234CONSULTING ENGINEERSREVISIONSPROJECTCEDAR LOFTSSCALENONEDATE11/03/2026KEY PLANSHEET TITLEPANEL SCHEDULESSHEET NUMBERE-701

What you're looking at

Panel Schedules, annotated

A panelboard schedule with every circuit, breaker, phase, and load, totaled for connected and demand load.

  1. 1Circuit numbers, odd left and even right
  2. 2Load description matching the plans
  3. 3Breaker size and phase
  4. 4Connected and demand load totals
Shows
Circuits, breaker sizes, and loads for one panel
Name matches
The one-line diagram and the equipment label
Used for
Design, estimating, and safe operation
Spares
Should be listed honestly, not as unnamed loads
Updated when
Circuits are added or moved
Closeout
The door directory matches the record schedule

Definition

Panel schedule

Estimators, reviewers, and the field all use the schedule. It is how you see whether a panel has spare capacity and whether a required circuit, such as a fire alarm or a mechanical unit, exists. The physical directory in the panel door should match the schedule at closeout. A schedule that was never updated after a change is how the wrong breaker gets turned off. Loads on the schedule support the feeder and the utility service. They are not decorative.

In depth

How to read a row

The circuit number, the poles, the breaker ampacity, the description, and the load. A two-pole breaker occupies two rows. Counting those as two separate 120 volt circuits double-counts the panel.

The header states voltage, phase, the main breaker, and the fed-from source. That source must exist on the one-line.

Names are safety

LP-2A on the schedule, the one-line, the room sign, and the shop drawing should be identical. Informal names get someone hurt during a lockout.

Descriptions should say the room, not 'receptacles.' A directory that says 'misc' is not a directory.

Spares and demand

The design should show connected load and the demand the code allows. A panel drawn full, with no spares, will be full the first time someone adds a circuit. Say how many spares were provided.

Adding a circuit in the field without recalculating the feeder is how a panel is overloaded quietly.

Revise the schedule with the work

A mechanical unit added by change order needs a circuit, a breaker, and maybe a feeder change on the one-line.

Cloud the schedule. At closeout, issue the record schedule the facilities team will trust.

Examples

Panel schedule on a real project

  • 01

    Panel LP-1 is fed from PP-1 on both the schedule header and the one-line. Circuit 7 is a 20 amp breaker for the copy room.

  • 02

    A two-pole breaker for a heater is shown across two circuit numbers. The load is counted once.

  • 03

    The as-built directory in the panel door matches the record panel schedule, including two circuits added by change order.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

A table of the circuits in one panel, with breaker sizes and what each circuit feeds. It is part of the electrical drawings.

The panel name, voltage, and where it is fed from should match the one-line exactly.

The list posted on the panel itself. At closeout it should match the record panel schedule so operators know what a breaker controls.

They are capacity for future circuits. A schedule that hides loads in unnamed rows overstates the spare capacity.

Keep reading

Related terms and workflows

What Is a One-Line Diagram?

A one-line diagram, also called a single-line diagram, shows an electrical power system as one line from the utility service through switchgear, transformers, and feeders to the panels. The single line stands for all phases. It is a schematic, not a conduit route.

What Is an Equipment Schedule?

An equipment schedule is a table on the drawings that lists pieces of equipment, keyed by a mark, with the capacity, size, and electrical data the design requires. The plans show where the mark sits. The specification states quality. The submittal has to satisfy both the schedule and the spec.

What Is MEP?

MEP stands for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing. It is the set of building systems that heat and cool, power and light, and supply water and drain waste, and the engineers and contractors who design and install them.

BIM and IFC

Query electrical equipment when the model and the schedule should agree.

What Is a Panel Schedule? | Nomic