IES Learn · History
Brand Stories
Plain, sourced histories of the companies behind the names on panels, breakers and switches. History only, not endorsements.
Every brand on a wall plate or panel door started with a few people and an idea. These short profiles tell those stories, with sources on every section. We add more only when we can check them. IES isn’t affiliated with any of these companies.
- Square DFrom a Detroit fuse shop to one of the best-known panel names in America.Read the story →
- LutronA physicist, a spare bedroom and the light dimmer that fits in a wall box.Read the story →
- WestinghouseAn inventor’s AC company whose home breaker line lives on at Eaton.Read the story →
- Cutler-HammerMotor controls from Chicago and Milwaukee, and the CH panels many homes still have.Read the story →
- General ElectricBorn from Edison’s company in 1892; its home panels now carry ABB’s name.Read the story →
- LevitonFrom gas-light mantle tips on the Lower East Side to switches, outlets and panels.Read the story →
- Federal Pacific (FPE)Stab-Lok panels went into millions of homes; here is what the record shows.Read the story →
- ZinscoA West Coast family company whose panels are now decades old.Read the story →
- I-T-E and BullDogThe Philadelphia breaker maker and the Pushmatic company behind today’s Siemens line.Read the story →
- SiemensA Berlin telegraph workshop of 1847 that grew into the company behind today’s Siemens home panels.Read the story →
- EatonA truck-axle company that became the home of Cutler-Hammer and Westinghouse panels.Read the story →
- HubbellThe pull-chain socket and the plug-and-outlet idea, from a Bridgeport loft.Read the story →
- More comingWe add a profile only when we can source it well.
Solar, batteries & backup power
Newer names you may see on a solar array, a home battery or a standby generator. For how these systems tie into a home, see our solar, batteries & renewable energy guide.
- GeneracLightweight generators from a Wisconsin garage, and the home standby generator.Read the story →
- EnphaseThe company that put a small inverter behind each solar panel.Read the story →
- Tesla Energy (Powerwall)A car company’s battery know-how, put on the garage wall.Read the story →
- SolarEdgePower optimizers that tune each solar panel, feeding one inverter.Read the story →