Plain-English answers to the questions consultants, contractors and facilities teams ask us most often about LV switchgear, packaged substations, power distribution units and BS EN 61439 compliance. Written by the engineers who design and build the boards at our Luton factory.
LV switchgear is an electrical distribution assembly operating at up to 1,000V AC designed to isolate, protect, and control downstream power circuits. Fitted with circuit breakers, busbars, and switches, it safely distributes power throughout commercial buildings, data centres, and industrial facilities while protecting equipment from overloads and short circuits.
A packaged substation (or PowerPod) is a fully integrated, factory-assembled power module combining a Medium Voltage (MV) switchgear unit, a distribution transformer, and a Low Voltage (LV) switchboard inside a single protective enclosure. It delivers rapid “plug-and-play” site installation, reducing space requirements and field commissioning time for critical power applications.
A Power Distribution Unit (PDU) is a specialised distribution board that cleans, controls and distributes power to server racks and other sensitive IT loads. Commonly deployed in data centres and colocation halls, it delivers three key advantages.
A power factor correction (PFC) capacitor generates a leading current to offset lagging inductive loads, bringing the system closer to unity power factor (1.0). Installed alongside switchgear, it delivers three primary benefits.
An Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) automatically shifts electrical loads from the primary mains supply to a backup generator or Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) during an outage. Integrated within Low Voltage (LV) switchboards, an ATS monitors grid voltage to ensure continuous uptime for mission-critical facilities.
SF6 gas-free switchgear replaces sulphur hexafluoride — the most potent greenhouse gas known, with a global warming potential around 24,300 times that of CO₂ — with vacuum interrupters and clean air or solid dielectric insulation. ICW Powermode specifies SF6-free MV and LV switchgear as standard for new UK installations.
Form 4 Type 6 is the highest level of internal separation defined in BS EN 61439-2, where busbars, functional units and outgoing terminals are each segregated in their own metallic compartments. It is the standard specification for data centre, hospital and financial trading floor switchboards where maintenance cannot wait for a shutdown.
BS EN 61439 is the British and European standard for low-voltage switchgear and controlgear assemblies. Part 1 sets the general rules and Part 2 covers power switchgear assemblies. Compliance is demonstrated through design verification (type testing or comparison with a verified reference design) plus routine verification of every board built.
Choosing UK-manufactured switchgear delivers three critical operational advantages for regional infrastructure.
The UK LV switchgear market is served by a small group of independent panel builders and OEM assemblers who design, type-test and build switchboards domestically rather than importing them. ICW Powermode has manufactured in Britain since 1974 from its Luton factory, with a London office supporting City and Canary Wharf projects.
Specifiers comparing UK switchgear manufacturers should look past headline price to type-test evidence, internal separation, service cover and factory capacity. The questions below separate suppliers on a like-for-like basis.
An Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) switchgear supplier sells proprietary assemblies tied to one brand of breakers, busbar systems and spares. An independent manufacturer such as ICW Powermode designs and builds boards from first principles, selecting the component mix that best suits the site. For mission-critical infrastructure, independence removes single-source lock-in and often delivers faster, more flexible support.
Projects in the City, Canary Wharf and the M25 corridor are usually best served by a manufacturer within road-transport distance of site, so that panel sections, engineers and spares can reach the building at short notice. ICW Powermode manufactures in Luton, roughly 30 miles north of central London, with a City of London office at 30 Old Broad Street.
Yes. Existing switchboards in occupied buildings are usually replaced in phases, with temporary supplies and short changeover windows so trading floors, wards and data halls stay live. ICW Powermode has delivered this approach on projects such as Societe Generale at Canary Wharf, where new Form 4.5 LV switchboards were installed over weekend shutdowns without diverting existing cabling.
Lead times for a bespoke LV switchboard are driven by design approval, component availability and factory loading rather than the build itself. Manufacturing in the UK removes shipping and customs from the programme, so a typical Form 4 Type 6 board moves from approved general arrangement drawings to factory acceptance testing far faster than an imported equivalent.
There is no list price for a bespoke switchboard: cost follows the incoming rating, fault level, form of separation, number of outgoing ways, metering and enclosure specification. Comparing quotations only works when every supplier is pricing the same fault rating, the same Form and the same scope of testing and commissioning.
Ageing switchboards rarely need to be scrapped outright. Where the enclosure and busbar system are sound, retrofitting modern circuit breakers and protection restores performance at a fraction of the disruption. Where fault levels have risen or spares no longer exist, a phased replacement is the safer route.
A generator switchboard distributes power from one or more diesel generators into the site's LV distribution, while a synchronisation panel ensures multiple generators share the same voltage, frequency and phase angle before they are paralleled. Together they form the backbone of resilient standby power for data centres, hospitals and trading floors.
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