Power Sources

Manual power sources

Manual Power Sources represent supplies that exist outside the planner hierarchy, such as generators, venue distribution boards, temporary mains supplies or incoming power from another supplier.

Select Add Manual Power Source to open the table-style creation window. Add one or more rows, enter a name, type and notes for each source, and reorder the draft rows before adding them to the project.

1. Open the Power Sources tab.
2. Select Add Manual Power Source.
3. Add a row for each required source.
4. Enter a clear source name, select its type and add relevant notes.
5. Drag rows into the required order.
6. Confirm to add all listed power sources.

Viewing and editing sources

Manual power sources load collapsed. The collapsed row shows the source name, type and total draw, with an Expand control for its detailed card. Use Expand all and Collapse all to change the complete view.

The View filter can show all, single-phase or three-phase sources. Automatically created sources are hidden by default but remain available for downstream assignments; enable Show automatically created sources when they need to be inspected.

A manual source can be edited after creation, but only its name and notes can be changed. Its electrical rating remains fixed to protect existing compatibility and loading relationships.

Auto sources

Auto Sources are created automatically from eligible distro outputs. They allow downstream distros to be connected to parent distro outputs while still calculating load back through the parent distro and upstream source.

Eligible outputs are generally 32A and larger non-Socapex outputs. Auto Sources are shown separately so users can see downstream connections without manually creating virtual sources.

Assigned distros

Each source card shows the distros currently assigned to that source. The assigned distro list includes connected load and an Open button for quick access to the relevant distro in the Distro Editor.

Use this area to check that every source is feeding the expected part of the system and that the hierarchy matches the physical installation plan.

Source loading and warnings

The Power Sources tab calculates the load assigned to each source and displays phase loading. Overloads, near-capacity conditions and three-phase imbalance warnings are shown directly on the relevant source card.

For three-phase manual sources, imbalance warnings identify which phase is highest and which phase it is being compared against. Automatically generated downstream feeds also report imbalance as a dismissible system warning, but downstream imbalance never receives critical status because the complete upstream supply may remain balanced.

Deleting and reordering sources

Manual sources can be moved up or down to match the order you want shown in the planner and reports. Auto Sources follow the distro hierarchy and are not manually reordered in the same way.

If you delete a manual source that is currently feeding distros, those distros will be unassigned. Review the System Overview afterwards to reconnect anything that still belongs in the system.