Powering the future: 6 ways UL 67 panelboard and UL 891 switchboard OEMs can accelerate data center delivery
Surging demand for data center capacity is creating a significant growth opportunity for UL 67 panelboard and UL 891 switchboard manufacturers. To capture it, electrical OEMs must rethink legacy, custom approaches and accelerate delivery with more modular, repeatable electrical distribution solutions that meet today’s tighter timelines without compromising safety or reliability.
Fueled by AI and other technological advancements, the demand for data center capacity is expanding at a remarkable pace. Recent analysis suggests global demand for data center capacity could grow around 20% per year, roughly doubling worldwide capacity by 2030.1 At the same time, new facilities are being designed for far higher rack power—often 15–50 kW, compared with about 5–8 kW just a few years ago.2 In parallel, modular delivery is compressing construction timelines from roughly two to three years to about 16–20 months.3 For UL 67 panelboard and UL 891 switchboard manufacturers, this boom represents a tremendous opportunity but also creates intense pressure to deliver safe, reliable power distribution faster and more efficiently.
To meet the needs of data center clients, OEMs have traditionally designed and built panelboards and switchboards from scratch, treating each lineup as unique with its own drawings, documentation, and certification path—an approach that often struggles to keep pace with rising demand. Replacing that model with a modular, pre‑engineered solution, sets the stage for faster engineering, smoother certification, and more scalable data center power distribution. Here are six ways using modular components in OEM designs accelerates delivery, increasing competitiveness and opening up new opportunities.
1. Fast track design
By adopting pre‑engineered components, OEMs can dramatically reduce one‑off engineering effort, simplify layouts and wiring, and create proven interior designs that can be reused across projects and phases. Standardizing the electrical interior gives engineering more time to focus on designing enclosure and integration details to match each site’s requirements.
2. Remove certification delays
Using UL‑recognized components lets OEMs bypass the certification grind. Large manufacturers like ABB typically have in‑house certification programs, deep UL relationships, and economies of scale. Because these building blocks are already evaluated to UL 891 and Annex G guidelines, OEMs can assemble compliant switchboards without sending every new design through full-scale testing, effectively skipping 8–16 months of lab work and approval cycles. For data center projects racing against aggressive timelines, pre-certification removes a major schedule risk and helps increase market competitiveness.
3. Use plug-and-play components
Plug‑and‑play components reduce the amount of specialized labor needed in the factory, so OEMs can turn around new purpose-built solutions with consistent quality and much shorter lead times. These solutions can also be easily assembled on-site, making shipping easier and installation faster as there is less need for re‑wiring during installation.
4. Choose components designed to work together
Selecting pre‑tested, UL‑recognized components is essential, but it is just as important that these components are proven to work together as a complete system. When components are tested as an assembly—not just individually—it reduces the risk of hidden incompatibilities that show up late in the build or during commissioning. Relying on a single vendor for the core component package helps ensure that coordination, selectivity, and mechanical fit have already been validated, so OEMs can drop tested building blocks into their designs and bring data center solutions to market with far fewer surprises and much greater confidence.
5. Increase capacity per enclosure
Data centers typically bill by the rack and square foot, so every enclosure has to carry as much capacity as possible. By choosing components that support dense bus stacks, double‑sided panelboards, and higher‑amp lighting interiors, OEMs can pack more circuits and more power into the same footprint. Higher densities per enclosure helps developers keep layouts compact while still meeting aggressive load and growth targets.
6. Design for future expansion
Creating future-ready panelboard and switchboard designs starts with choosing components and layouts that keep the data center developer’s options open rather than locking them into a specific configuration. Flexible feed arrangements—top, bottom, or center—mean OEMs can serve different room layouts and add new sections later without rebuilding the lineup. Pairing those feeds with bolt‑on, field‑reversible, plug‑in breakers creates panels that are easy to reconfigure. Technicians can add or shift circuits in the field, and devices plug directly into the bus stack with minimal disruption. Together, these scalable building blocks let developers grow capacity in place, extend runs quickly, and keep data center power distribution aligned with changing rack and load profiles.
Riding the wave of data center growth
There’s little doubt that data center capacity will continue to grow. The real questions are how fast and by how much. OEMs that can transition from slow, custom builds to modular, pre-engineered designs are better positioned to stay on top of today’s demand curve, deliver reliable power distribution at scale, and be ready to capitalize when the next wave of data center growth rolls in—potentially even bigger than the current projections.
References
- McKinsey & Company, “AI Data Center Growth: Meeting the Demand,” October 28, 2024. ↩︎
- CoreSite, “AI and the Data Center: Driving Greater Power Density,” December 11, 2024. ↩︎
- Broadstaff, “Data Center Construction Timeline: Phases, Duration & Delays,” March 25, 2026. ↩︎
Authors
Ansh Tejani, Product Marketing Manager · ABB Electrification Business
Ansh Tejani is a Product Marketing Manager for EOEM Solutions at ABB Electrification Business. He holds a Master’s in Engineering Management from Northeastern University and brings a background in product development and analytics to his work with OEM panel builders.
Gustavo Iaqueli, Product Marketing Manager · ABB Electrification Business
Gustavo Iaqueli is a Product Marketing Manager for Breakers and Switches at ABB Electrification Business, where he supports product strategy and go-to-market for transfer switch and breaker technologies serving OEM panel builders.
