Collecting Data for EasyPower: Field Data Collection Guide

EasyPower is popular with electrical contractors and smaller engineering firms that run arc flash studies as a service. The interface is considered more accessible than ETAP and the learning curve is shorter than some alternatives. But EasyPower cannot close the data gap between the electrical equipment on the wall and the model in the software. Someone still has to collect that data in the field, and the accuracy of the study depends entirely on how well they do it.

This page covers what EasyPower needs for an arc flash study, why contractors are particularly exposed to data quality problems, how errors affect study results, and how 70Ez helps field technicians collect the data EasyPower needs.

What EasyPower is

EasyPower is power system analysis software developed by EasyPower LLC, based in Portland, Oregon. It performs short circuit analysis, protective device coordination studies, arc flash analysis under IEEE 1584, load flow, motor starting, and cable ampacity calculations. It is well-regarded for its arc flash module and its usability for engineers and contractors who are not full-time power systems specialists.

EasyPower is particularly common in the Pacific Northwest, reflecting its origins, and has a strong user base among electrical contractors who offer arc flash studies as part of their service portfolio. For firms that run a moderate volume of studies rather than running arc flash work full-time, EasyPower's interface is often cited as an advantage over more complex platforms like ETAP.

The underlying study methodology is the same regardless of which software is used. EasyPower runs the short circuit calculations, feeds those results to the coordination study, and uses both to calculate incident energy under IEEE 1584. The output is incident energy values, arc flash boundaries, and PPE requirements for every modeled bus in the system.

EasyPower and the data gap

EasyPower builds its model from user-entered data. Every element in the one-line has a data entry dialog where nameplate values and settings are entered. The model reflects what was entered. Like SKM PowerTools and ETAP, EasyPower cannot pull data directly from installed equipment. The field collection step still has to happen before the model can be built.

The data requirements are fundamentally the same across all three platforms. EasyPower needs utility source impedance, transformer nameplate data, cable parameters, circuit breaker data, fuse data, and bus ratings. Getting that data from the field to the software accurately is the challenge.

EasyPower does have a reputation for being approachable, but approachability in the software does not change what happens in the field. An engineer or technician still has to walk the facility, read nameplates, and record values. The field environment is the same regardless of which software is waiting back at the office.

Why contractors are particularly exposed to data quality issues

Electrical contractors offering arc flash studies often have a different field data collection process than dedicated engineering firms. A few specific factors contribute to higher data quality risk.

Field technicians rather than engineers in the field

At an engineering firm, the person collecting field data often understands why each data point matters. They know that the transformer impedance affects every fault calculation downstream. At a contractor, the person in the field may be a skilled electrician who has not been told which fields are critical versus which are nice-to-have. Without that context, it is easier to estimate a cable length or skip a breaker setting that is hard to read.

Less formal data collection process

Engineering firms that do high volumes of arc flash studies tend to develop formal data collection processes with standardized forms, verification steps, and clear handoff procedures to the engineer. Contractors doing arc flash studies as a secondary service may not have those processes in place. Data arrives in inconsistent formats, and the engineer building the EasyPower model has to sort it out before entry can begin.

Pressure to complete studies quickly

Contractors often sell arc flash studies alongside construction or maintenance work, and clients expect the study to be completed on a tight schedule. That schedule pressure can lead to shortcuts in the field: estimated cable lengths, missing settings, skipped verification steps. The EasyPower model gets built from incomplete data, and the results reflect that incompleteness.

What EasyPower needs from the field

The data requirements for EasyPower follow the same pattern as other arc flash analysis platforms. Here is what each element category needs.

Utility source

EasyPower models the utility as a source with available fault current at the point of delivery. The engineer needs available symmetrical fault current in amps (or equivalent source impedance) from the serving utility in writing. The utility voltage level is also required. Some utilities provide an X/R ratio along with the fault current; that value is useful for the model.

Transformers

Transformer data is the most critical input for fault current calculations. EasyPower needs: rated kVA, primary and secondary voltage, impedance percentage from the nameplate, X/R ratio, and winding connection type. The nameplate impedance should always be used over standard impedance tables. Actual transformers vary from standard values, and that variance propagates through the fault current calculations for every downstream bus.

Buses

Each bus in the EasyPower one-line needs a nominal voltage and a bus identifier. Bus naming should match the facility's actual equipment designations. When the EasyPower bus names do not match the physical equipment labels, applying the correct study labels to the correct equipment becomes a manual reconciliation step that adds time and introduces the possibility of error.

Cables and conductors

EasyPower calculates cable impedance from conductor specifications. The inputs needed: conductor size in AWG or kcmil, conductor material, insulation type, number of conductors per phase, length, and conduit type. Length is the most frequently missed field. For short runs inside a panel or switchgear, the impedance contribution is minimal. For long runs to remote panelboards or outdoor equipment, getting the length right matters for the fault current calculation.

Circuit breakers

For thermal-magnetic breakers: manufacturer, catalog number, frame size, trip rating, and interrupting rating. For electronic trip breakers: all of the above plus the as-found settings for long-time, short-time, and instantaneous trip functions. The as-found settings are what determine the actual clearing time in the field. Using the settings from a one-line drawing or a panel schedule instead of the actual breaker settings is a common error that affects incident energy calculations.

Fuses

Fuse data requires manufacturer, fuse class or type, current rating, voltage rating, and interrupting rating. EasyPower applies the fuse's time-current curve in the coordination analysis. An incorrect fuse type produces an incorrect curve, which produces an incorrect clearing time, which produces an incorrect incident energy value for equipment protected by that fuse.

Motors

Large motors contribute to fault current. EasyPower models them with rated HP or kW, voltage, and full load amperes. Small motors are typically lumped at the bus level rather than modeled individually. The field technician should record motor nameplate data for motors above approximately 50 HP, or per the engineer's instruction based on the specific system.

EasyPower element data and what to collect in the field

The table below maps EasyPower element types to the key input fields and what to collect in the field. For a complete field collection reference with checkboxes, download the free arc flash field data collection checklist.

How clean field data improves EasyPower study quality

EasyPower produces results that are as accurate as the data behind them. The same is true of every power system analysis platform. But the effect of data quality on study output is worth making explicit.

A contractor who collects complete, verified nameplate data, records as-found breaker settings, and measures or confirms cable lengths will produce an EasyPower study that reflects actual field conditions. The incident energy values will be as accurate as the IEEE 1584 methodology allows. The PPE requirements will be appropriate. The labels will be meaningful.

A contractor who estimates cable lengths, uses standard transformer impedance values, and takes breaker settings from the panel schedule rather than the physical breaker will produce a study that may look complete but contains inaccuracies at multiple points. The study will still produce numbers. Those numbers may not reflect the actual hazard at the equipment.

NFPA 70E 2027 requires that arc flash risk assessments reflect actual system conditions. A study built on estimated or incorrect field data does not satisfy that requirement in any meaningful sense, even if the report is stamped and the labels are applied.

Clean field data is not just a quality issue. It is a liability issue for the contractor performing the study and for the facility owner relying on the results.

How 70Ez helps contractors using EasyPower

70Ez addresses the field data collection step that precedes EasyPower entry. Field technicians use the app to photograph equipment nameplates. The AI reads the nameplate and populates the data fields for that equipment type: transformer kVA, impedance, voltages; breaker manufacturer, frame, trip rating; fuse class and rating; cable size and material.

The technician reviews the AI-extracted values against the nameplate image on the device before moving to the next piece of equipment. Corrections are made in the field, where the equipment is still in front of them. The engineer receives organized, exportable records in formats designed to work with EasyPower.

For contractors, this changes the field collection process in a concrete way. Instead of a technician hand-writing nameplate data into a paper form that gets transcribed into EasyPower later, the technician photographs and verifies. The engineer receives structured data. The manual transcription step is removed. The rate of transcription error goes down.

70Ez does not replace the engineer or the EasyPower model. The arc flash study, the coordination study, and the arc flash analysis still require qualified engineering judgment. What 70Ez replaces is the informal, error-prone data collection process that too often feeds a formal analysis with uncertain inputs.

Field verification before EasyPower entry

Before entering field data into EasyPower, a brief verification step improves model quality. The verification does not need to be extensive. It needs to catch the errors that matter most.

• Compare every transformer impedance value against the nameplate photograph. Not the field notes. The photograph.
• Check cable lengths against as-built drawings where available. Flag discrepancies for field re-verification rather than assuming the drawing is correct.
• Confirm that as-found breaker settings were read from the physical breaker, not from the panel schedule or coordination study.
• Verify that bus names in the field data match the bus IDs you plan to use in the EasyPower one-line. Consistent naming from the start saves reconciliation time later.
• Confirm fuse class and manufacturer for every fuse in the model. Generic fuse selections are one of the most common EasyPower data shortcuts and one of the most consequential for coordination accuracy.

These checks take less time than fixing errors in the model after the study is built. Finding a wrong transformer impedance during data review is a one-minute fix. Finding it after the one-line is complete, the short circuit study has run, and the arc flash labels are being prepared means rebuilding part of the model and re-running the analysis.