What is a Busway?

Before learning about electrical panels, bus plugs and other details of an electrical system, it is important to understand how power gets from the utility company, into your home and to your appliances. In the old days, the power company sent electricity through electrical cable made of copper wires. This design was replaced by the much safer busway system. The electricity is sent through a modular "track" style system which can be set up in a variety of ways.

The busway is insulated with a protective coating to prevent accidental electrocution and placed inside a protective enclosure. There are two kinds of busways. One is called a feeder busway, used to send electricity to a far-off place. The other is called a plug-in busway. This uses a collection of outlets and could be considered a kind of extension cord for an electrical system. Once a busway connects your building to the electrical grid, bus plugs are installed to control electrical distribution within the home or office. Bus plugs can be circuit breakers, fuse boxes, or special-purpose bus plugs.