Need Power Design Answers for a Future Expansion? We Have Questions!
Are you considering a new electrical service? Do you want to include enough capacity for future
expansions? Well, you can either pay a little now or pay a lot later. The main electrical gear at the
service entrance needs to be sized for the new building. However, just a little more capacity and some
provisions for future expansion circuit breakers would future-proof the service and avoid a completely
separate service.
If the new building needs about 2,000 amps of service and the future expansion needs at least another
2,000 amps, then a separate service would be a more economical option. In this case, planning for
another utility transformer and secondary feeder routing during the initial construction design phase
will be an enormous help when the expansion area is actually built since the site and underground
provisions for the future capacity will already be installed.
Capacity is a term that is vague to many people. Electrical engineers in the construction industry use
the capacity to describe the gap between the amount of power used (or intended to be used) and the
current ratings of the circuit breakers and/or conductors (wires). There are many factors that need to be
included in this calculation, like smoke purge fans, fire pumps and infrequent loads like elevators or
heating or air conditioning units that operate seasonally. The best way to find out the capacity of your
electrical system is to contact a licensed electrical engineer – because we will have questions for you!
