unfinished.one

Uniformat D5010

Panelboard

Also called panel, electrical panel, distribution panel, lighting panel

  • Confidence C
  • Version 0.3.0 (permanent link)
  • Reviewed 2026-10-22

This is version 0.3.0. The latest is 0.4.0.

Service life

50 yearsmedian of the stated lives · sources say 25–50 years
0510152025303540455055602550

Years in service. The band runs from the shortest to the longest life the sources state, so it shows how much they disagree, not how long 80% of units last. The line is the median of the stated lives.

Basis

  • 50 years · CNA e-Tool Estimated Useful Life Table, p13 · HUD CNA 3.4.4.1.1 “Building service panel” — U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (planning life)
    Same life for family and elderly properties. US multifamily housing.
  • 50 years · CNA e-Tool Estimated Useful Life Table, p13 · HUD CNA 3.4.4.2.1 “Tenant electrical panel” — U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (planning life)
    Same life for family and elderly properties. US multifamily housing.
  • 25 years · Design standards: employer's requirements – Technical Manual (ER-DFE-XX-XX-T-X-0201, revision A-C01), p275 · 5.7.4 “LV circuits and distribution boards: 25 years” — Department for Education (England) (design life)
    Printed page 275. Distribution boards (panelboards). Minimum life expectancy (design requirement) for DfE-funded school buildings. Minimum design requirements placed on contractors for school buildings, not observed replacement ages. Section 5.1.4 (sanitaryware) refers to CIBSE Guide M Appendix 12.A1 'in general'.

How sources are chosen and recorded: sourcing policy.

Municipal lives for electrical (D50)

39 municipalities in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta state a life for electrical as a whole, in 30 distinct tables: 10–50 years, median 20. 47 rows come from capital asset policies (accounting lives, used for amortization) and 7 from asset management plans (planning lives, used to forecast replacement). They describe the system rather than this component, and none is a measured life.

Median 20 yearsKingston: Electrical Equipment, 10 yearsGrey Highlands: Exterior Lighting, 15 yearsMeaford: Electrical - Exterior Lighting, 15 yearsThe Blue Mountains: Exterior Lighting, 15 yearsLloydminster: Permanent Structures - Electrical, 20 yearsLloydminster: Portable Structures - Electrical, 20 yearsComox Valley: HVAC systems, mechanical, plumbing, wiring, etc., 20 yearsCranbrook: HVAC, plumbing, lighting, etc, 20 yearsParksville: Electrical Infrastructure, 20 yearsTelkwa: Electrical/Plumbing/Fire, 20 yearsAmherstburg: Mechanical/Electrical - HVA, Lighting, Security systems, Electrical Panel, 20 yearsGrey Highlands: Interior Lighting, 20 yearsGrey Highlands: Ice Surface Lighting, 20 yearsHuron: Patrol Yards - Building Electrical, 20 yearsHuron: Property Services - Building Electrical, 20 yearsHuron: Housing - Building Electrical, 20 yearsHuron: Homes for the Aged - Electrical, 20 yearsKenora: Buildings - Electrical System, 20 yearsLondon: Building Components - Services (HVAC, lighting, communication, plumbing etc.), 20 yearsMeaford: Electrical - Interior Lighting - Standard, 20 yearsMeaford: Electrical - Interior Lighting - High Wattage, 20 yearsMeaford: Electrical - Emergency Lighting, 20 yearsThe Blue Mountains: Interior Lighting, 20 yearsThe Blue Mountains: Ice Surface Lighting, 20 yearsWelland: HVAC/Electrical/Mechanical, 20 yearsDuncan and North Cowichan: Building Other (Electrical, Mechanical, etc.), 25 yearsLantzville: Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing, 25 yearsTofino: Systems - mechanical, electrical, HVAC, 25 yearsBrantford: Buildings - Electrical, 25 yearsBrantford: Site Works - Lighting, 25 yearsGreater Napanee: E25 Plant Mechanical & Electrical, 25 yearsKirkland Lake: Buildings and Improvements - Mechanical/Electrical, 25 yearsRainy River: Building Improvements - Electrical/Plumbing, 25 yearsRainy River: Building Improvements - Electrical/Plumbing, 25 yearsThe Blue Mountains: Electrical System, 25 yearsBrockton: Mechanical/Electrical (Heating/Cooling System, Refridgerating System), 40 yearsGreater Madawaska and Quinte West: Electrical, 40 yearsSimcoe: Electrical, 40 yearsTrent Lakes: Electrical, 40 yearsMeaford: Electrical - System, 50 yearsFort St. James, Revelstoke and 3 more: Electrical/Plumbing/Fire, 15–20 yearsOkanagan-Similkameen: Electrical/Plumbing/Fire, 15–20 yearsSalmo: Electrical/Plumbing/Fire, 15–20 yearsVulcan County: HVAC (electrical, mechanical), 20–30 yearsBancroft, Centre Hastings and 2 more: Electrical/Plumbing, 25–30 years0102030405060

Years. Each dot is one stated life and each bar a stated range; equal values stack. Hollow marks are planning lives from asset management plans; filled marks are accounting lives from policies. The dashed line is the median. Policies that copy the same table count once.

All 45 stated lives
MunicipalityAs writtenYearsKindSource
KingstonElectrical Equipment10accountingp15 · 2016
Grey HighlandsExterior Lighting15accountingp11 · 2026
MeafordElectrical - Exterior Lighting15accountingp17 · 2020
The Blue MountainsExterior Lighting15accountingp11 · 2019
Fort St. James, Revelstoke, Rossland, Sicamous, Tumbler Ridge · same tableElectrical/Plumbing/Fire15–20accountingp5, p9, p7, p9, p5 · 2010
Okanagan-SimilkameenElectrical/Plumbing/Fire15–20accountingp11 · 2023
SalmoElectrical/Plumbing/Fire15–20accountingp6 · 2016
LloydminsterPermanent Structures - Electrical20accountingp11 · 2023
LloydminsterPortable Structures - Electrical20accountingp11 · 2023
Comox ValleyHVAC systems, mechanical, plumbing, wiring, etc.20accountingp6 · 2010
CranbrookHVAC, plumbing, lighting, etc20accountingp9 · 2010
ParksvilleElectrical Infrastructure20accountingp9 · 2023
TelkwaElectrical/Plumbing/Fire20accountingp8
AmherstburgMechanical/Electrical - HVA, Lighting, Security systems, Electrical Panel20accountingp8 · 2026
Grey HighlandsInterior Lighting20accountingp11 · 2026
Grey HighlandsIce Surface Lighting20accountingp11 · 2026
HuronPatrol Yards - Building Electrical20planningp42 · 2025
HuronProperty Services - Building Electrical20planningp57 · 2025
HuronHousing - Building Electrical20planningp68 · 2025
HuronHomes for the Aged - Electrical20planningp77 · 2025
KenoraBuildings - Electrical System20accountingp15 · 2026
LondonBuilding Components - Services (HVAC, lighting, communication, plumbing etc.)20accountingp2 · 2023
MeafordElectrical - Interior Lighting - Standard20accountingp17 · 2020
MeafordElectrical - Interior Lighting - High Wattage20accountingp17 · 2020
MeafordElectrical - Emergency Lighting20accountingp17 · 2020
The Blue MountainsInterior Lighting20accountingp11 · 2019
The Blue MountainsIce Surface Lighting20accountingp11 · 2019
WellandHVAC/Electrical/Mechanical20accountingp8 · 2021
Vulcan CountyHVAC (electrical, mechanical)20–30accountingp5 · 2024
Duncan, North Cowichan · same tableBuilding Other (Electrical, Mechanical, etc.)25accountingp17, p9 · 2011
LantzvilleElectrical, Mechanical, Plumbing25accountingp11 · 2019
TofinoSystems - mechanical, electrical, HVAC25accountingp12 · 2009
BrantfordBuildings - Electrical25planningp10 · 2025
BrantfordSite Works - Lighting25planningp10 · 2025
Greater NapaneeE25 Plant Mechanical & Electrical25accountingp16 · 2012
Kirkland LakeBuildings and Improvements - Mechanical/Electrical25accountingp10 · 2020
Rainy RiverBuilding Improvements - Electrical/Plumbing25accountingp11 · 2010
Rainy RiverBuilding Improvements - Electrical/Plumbing25planningp17 · 2026
The Blue MountainsElectrical System25accountingp11 · 2019
Bancroft, Centre Hastings, Hastings Highlands, Wollaston · same tableElectrical/Plumbing25–30accountingp5, p4, p6, p5
BrocktonMechanical/Electrical (Heating/Cooling System, Refridgerating System)40accountingp2 · 2009
Greater Madawaska, Quinte West · same tableElectrical40accountingp17, p38 · 2025
SimcoeElectrical40accountingp19 · 2025
Trent LakesElectrical40accountingp10 · 2009
MeafordElectrical - System50accountingp17 · 2020

Of 54 rows, 2 were compared with an image of their page; 52 were matched to their page automatically (the label and number appear in the page text). Follow the page link before relying on an automatically matched row. About the policies · All approved rows as JSON

Preventive maintenance

17 tasks in 1 work order.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12Annual

Months from the schedule start. Download the tasks as CSV for a CMMS, or ask the MCP tool get_pm_schedule for dated visits.

Annual · 17 tasks

Source: TM 5-692-1 Maintenance of Mechanical and Electrical Equipment at Command, Control, Communications, Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) Facilities: Recommended Maintenance Practices, Table 21-1 Typical secondary distribution maintenance

TaskPage
Check warning signs are in placep173
Inspect enclosure for damage, openings and corrosionp173
Clear blocked air passagesp173
Investigate unusual odorsp173
Inspect electrical connections for degradation and tightnessp173
Inspect insulation for discolorationp173
Inspect equipment grounding conductors and connectionsp173
Check indicating lightsp173
Clean equipmentp173
Tighten electrical connectionsp173
Verify equipment groundingp173
Infrared scanp173
Overcurrent test critical-load molded-case breakersp174
Contact resistance test critical-load breakersp175
Operate each breaker by its handlep175
Measure and record neutral currentsp175
Perform harmonics analysisp175

Frequencies are ISO 8601 durations in the data (P3M = every 3 months).

Open questions

  • Every source here is a published planning, design or accounting life. None is observed replacement data.
  • Some maintenance intervals come from TM 5-692-1, an Army manual for mission-critical (C4ISR) facilities; they may be tighter than typical commercial practice.

Know the answer? Send it with a source to [email protected].

Cite this

Citation

unfinished.one (2026). Panelboard, v0.3.0. https://unfinished.one/c/panelboard/v/0.3.0

BibTeX

@misc{unfinished_panelboard_0_3_0,
  title = {Panelboard},
  author = {{unfinished.one}},
  year = {2026},
  version = {0.3.0},
  url = {https://unfinished.one/c/panelboard/v/0.3.0},
  note = {CC BY 4.0}
}

Licence CC BY 4.0 · How to cite · JSON · Versions: 0.4.0, 0.3.0, 0.2.0, 0.1.0