LINE/SIDE Load Side

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Alwayslearningelec

Senior Member
Location
NJ
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Estimator
I understand line side to be where the power is coming from and load side where it is going . Is that right? How do I get an understanding exactly what it is? Looking at a riser if I am going from a MDB to lighting and appliance panels, the line side is the feeder going to the panels and the load is he branch circuitry. What is there is a disconnect and xfrmr?

Thanks.
 
Line and load are relative terms. If you follow the LINE side, you will eventually find yourself back at the power generator. Follow the LOAD side, and you'll find yourself at the end use.

If you're at, say, a luminaire, the switch that controls it is on the load side at the luminaire's point in the circuit. If you're at the breaker that feeds that circuit, the same switch is now on the load side of you. Upstream and downsteam are similar terms and can be used interchangeably.
 
This brings me back to my begining in the industry.

Here I was, looking at the load side of a panel, providing the feeder to another panel and the same conductor was a line side when it got to the new panel.....I struggled with it for a little while, until I realized the conductor may have been the same, but the terms described location(s).
 
I struggled with that one, too, when I first came in to the field. My brain would see "load" as that which was coming in. Now, I have a hard time seeing just the opposite. :roll: :)

Hang in there. You'll get it and a whole lot more. :D
 
Horse, think of your house's service:

The load side of the utility transformer feeds the line side of the meter. The load side of the meter feeds the line side of the main breaker. The load side of the main breaker feeds the line side of the branch circuit breaker. The load side of the branch circuit breaker feeds the line side of the switch. The load side of the switch feeds the line side of the load.

Got it now? :smile:
 
This is one of many examples I could give in which we do not finish our sentences. Instead, we use shortened terms and phrases. If we made a habit of using a few extra words (not necessarily every time we speak, but at least once in a while, to remind us what the words mean), we could get our message across more clearly.

End of philosophy lesson.

When you say "line side" or "load side," you are not being complete in your description. You need more words. You need to say, "line side of the breaker," or "load side of the GFCI receptacle," or "line side of the service disconnect," or "load side of the transformer." As has already been pointed out, the same set of conductors can be the "load side of the distribution panel" and the "line side of the branch panel."
 
charlie b said:
This is one of many examples I could give in which we do not finish our sentences. Instead, we use shortened terms and phrases. If we made a habit of using a few extra words (not necessarily every time we speak, but at least once in a while, to remind us what the words mean), we could get our message across more clearly.

End of philosophy lesson.

When you say "line side" or "load side," you are not being complete in your description. You need more words. You need to say, "line side of the breaker," or "load side of the GFCI receptacle," or "line side of the service disconnect," or "load side of the transformer." As has already been pointed out, the same set of conductors can be the "load side of the distribution panel" and the "line side of the branch panel."
Click to expand...


Well said, otherwise almost everything could be considered both line and load side.
 
don't over-complicate

don't over-complicate

I try to keep things as simple as possible. No matter where I am or what type of device is in front of me I (to date) have always just looked at it as

Line = (power) In
Load = (power) Out

so far in my experience this has always been sufficient.
 
So if have a feeder going from a distribution board to a lighting panel, it is load side of distribution board and line side of lighting panel??
 
charlie b said:
This is one of many examples I could give in which we do not finish our sentences. Instead, we use shortened terms and phrases. If we made a habit of using a few extra words (not necessarily every time we speak, but at least once in a while, to remind us what the words mean), we could get our message across more clearly.

End of philosophy lesson.

When you say "line side" or "load side," you are not being complete in your description. You need more words. You need to say, "line side of the breaker," or "load side of the GFCI receptacle," or "line side of the service disconnect," or "load side of the transformer." As has already been pointed out, the same set of conductors can be the "load side of the distribution panel" and the "line side of the branch panel."
Click to expand...

Well said Charlie. And, we can't always assume the line side of a breaker or disconnect is at the top. It may have been installed improperly but works just fine.

Maurice
 
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