ETAP defines a bus as a switchgear, switchrack, motor control center, or a point between any two branch-type devices. Panels and sub-panels are not considered buses. ETAP calculates the number of buses per project file.
There is no limit to the number of buses you can draw in each ETAP project.
Limitations are imposed when you run calculations. ETAP verifies that the number of energized buses during the calculation is less or equal to the license limit.
Equipment cables and sub-panels are considered part of the load; therefore there is no need to use a bus or node for the load terminal connection. It would take thousands (1,000s) of buses in other software to model the same system in ETAP with one hundred (100) buses.
In the example below, three (3) buses are required to model the system, versus seven (7) buses normally (one extra bus for every load terminal). |
