How do you calculate cost per panel?

Multiply the number of panels by the build cost per panel, apply your capture rate, add fixed costs, then divide by the panel count. With 100 panels at $45, an 80% capture rate and $250 fixed cost, total is $3,850 and cost per panel is $38.50.

What is a good cost per panel for a distribution panelboard?

It depends on ampacity, bus rating and enclosure type, but the useful discipline is comparing your per-panel figure against your quoted sell price. If the $38.50 example is your loaded cost and you sell at $55, you are running roughly a 30% gross margin.

Why include a fixed cost separate from per-panel cost?

Engineering, submittal drawings and UL 67 label prep happen once per order regardless of quantity. Spreading that $250 across 100 panels adds only $2.50 each, but across a 5-panel job it adds $50 each, which is why per-panel cost falls as volume rises.

What does the capture rate represent?

It is the share of the theoretical full unit cost that actually applies, useful for reflecting standard discounts, volume pricing on breakers, or partial burden allocation. At 80% it drops the captured value from $4,500 to $3,600.

Cost per panel vs total order cost, which should I quote from?

Quote the total ($3,850 here) to the customer, but manage the shop from the per-panel number ($38.50) so you can spot when a design change pushes a single panel over its cost target.

How do I lower my cost per panel?

Increase batch size to dilute the fixed engineering cost, negotiate better breaker and bus pricing to lower the per-panel rate, and standardize enclosure and wireway layouts so labor capture improves.

Switchgear, Panelboards & Electrical Distribution calculator

Cost Per Panel Calculator

Cost Per Panel breaks a switchgear or panelboard order down into a defensible total and a per-unit build cost. Estimators and shop managers use it when quoting distribution assemblies where a chunk of the cost is variable per panel and a fixed slice (engineering, submittal drawings, UL label evaluation) is spread across the run. Getting the per-panel number right is what separates a healthy margin from a job that eats the shop's time. It is the first calculation most panel builders run before committing a price to a mechanical contractor.

What this calculator does

Cost Per Panel breaks a switchgear or panelboard order down into a defensible total and a per-unit build cost.
Use it when cost per panel in switchgear, panelboards and electrical distribution is being put through a switchgear, panelboards and electrical distribution weighted-cost review.
It computes the total cost of a panel order as panel count times unit build cost times capture rate plus fixed cost, then divides back to a per-panel figure.

Formula used

Cost Per Panel cost = quantity × rate × capture factor + fixed cost
Per-unit cost per panel = total cost ÷ quantity

Inputs explained

Number of panels in the order:
Build cost per panel:
Billable / capture rate:
Fixed engineering & drawing cost:

How to use the result

Use it when quoting a batch of panelboards or switchgear sections and you need both the order total and a clean unit price to compare against a target margin.
The capture rate is a single blended factor; it does not model per-panel option variation, freight, or escalation on copper and steel between quote and build.

Current U.S. benchmarks

The producer price index for copper and brass mill shapes stands at 559.593 (BLS, May 2026), up 76.8% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move. Global copper trades at $13,484 per tonne (IMF via FRED, May 2026).
Industrial electricity averages 8.66 cents per kWh across the U.S. (EIA, Apr 2026), up 5.5% from a year earlier. Energy-intensive steps carry this directly into unit cost.
On-highway diesel averages $4.58 per gallon this week (EIA), trending down over recent periods. Truck tonnage is up 3.4% year over year (ATA via FRED).
The U.S. has 21,668 machinery manufacturing establishments employing about 1,086,146 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

Common questions

How do you calculate cost per panel? Multiply the number of panels by the build cost per panel, apply your capture rate, add fixed costs, then divide by the panel count. With 100 panels at $45, an 80% capture rate and $250 fixed cost, total is $3,850 and cost per panel is $38.50.
What is a good cost per panel for a distribution panelboard? It depends on ampacity, bus rating and enclosure type, but the useful discipline is comparing your per-panel figure against your quoted sell price. If the $38.50 example is your loaded cost and you sell at $55, you are running roughly a 30% gross margin.
Why include a fixed cost separate from per-panel cost? Engineering, submittal drawings and UL 67 label prep happen once per order regardless of quantity. Spreading that $250 across 100 panels adds only $2.50 each, but across a 5-panel job it adds $50 each, which is why per-panel cost falls as volume rises.
What does the capture rate represent? It is the share of the theoretical full unit cost that actually applies, useful for reflecting standard discounts, volume pricing on breakers, or partial burden allocation. At 80% it drops the captured value from $4,500 to $3,600.
Cost per panel vs total order cost, which should I quote from? Quote the total ($3,850 here) to the customer, but manage the shop from the per-panel number ($38.50) so you can spot when a design change pushes a single panel over its cost target.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.