Effective commercial electrical installations – your complete guide

Do you need wiring and related components for commercial electrical installations? Whether your business houses a corporation or a factory floor, keep it running smoothly by making sure electrical requirements are safely installed.

Here is your complete guide to safe and effective electrical systems in commercial premises.

WHAT ARE COMMERCIAL ELECTRICAL INSTALLATIONS?

Commercial electricians generally handle the installation and maintenance of electrical components in businesses. This includes office buildings, housing developments, hospitals, and schools. These typically involve security systems, air conditioning systems, cabling, lighting, and other equipment.

Commercial electrical installations are very different from residential ones in several essential ways.  In business premises, new wiring remains fully accessible and out in the open, typically safeguarded by conduits to protect against hazards.

Electrical wiring in business premises uses thermoplastic materials featuring nylon high resistance coating inside the conduit to protect wiring. If flammable liquids, gases, or other hazardous substances are in the environment, the electrician will make sure wiring and outlets are installed a safe distance away from these components. Depending on the potential hazards nearby, special insulation might be used to further shield the wiring.

The majority of commercial installations require 3-phase power installation. This involves a 208-volt wide leg with a neutral wire and two 120-volt legs. These voltage qualities are essential to keep motors and wiring operating properly in commercial environments.

HOW DO RESIDENTIAL ELECTRICAL INSTALLATIONS DIFFER FROM COMMERCIAL ONES?

Domestic installations don’t require the same level of voltage and phase power as commercial spaces. Most residential installations require single-phase power, rather than the 3-phase power of commercial wiring. Residential wiring involves two hot wires covered with black and red insulation, plus a white, neutral wire. Single-phase residential electrical wiring also requires a green wire for grounding.

In addition, most residential wiring electricians install a 2-phase circuit with 240 voltage power for appliances like water heaters, stoves, and dryers.

KEY ASPECTS AND PARAMETERS OF ELECTRICAL SETUPS IN COMMERCIAL PREMISES

While commercial electrical installations vary according to the building, environment and any hazardous components, some key aspects are always involved. They include:

○ Convenience Outlets

○ Lighting

○ Distribution Panel Board

○ Service Entrance

○ Branches and Feeders

○ Emergency Lighting and Signals

Let’s take a closer look at these

Convenience Outlets

Commercial premises always require the acting electrician to install numerous convenience outlets in the form of sockets. Wall outlets are essential to power all your equipment, electronics, devices, and any other plug-in items.

The kind of electrical sockets used for business electrics depends on your work environment. Factors such as the number of occupants using the workspace at any one time will affect how many outlets you need. Besides this, your commercial space’s other electrical components (like cables) will change the type of sockets you require.

Lighting

There are endless components to consider regarding the lighting scheme in your business’s space. Electricians typically install lights in the latter part of the fit out process, so it is best to begin with general light wiring, then move to the more complicated lighting components.

Distribution Panel Board

Your commercial space’s distribution panel board is responsible for transmitting electricity throughout the building using subsidiary circuits. The panel board is also comparable to a breaker or fuse.

If you want faster reactionary speed, choose distribution boards with extensive wiring capacity and accessible door handles.

Service Entrance

In commercial applications, the service entrance is the location where grid electricity enters your premises for routing to the rest of the service or building.

The service entrance might be overhead wires connected to a utility pole, or a more complicated set up such as a trough with multiple switches.

Branches and Feeders

If your business requires extra speed, things like branch circuits and feeders could be necessary depending on your distribution and service boards. Speak to our expert team to determine whether you can get a speed jump by having these installed.

Emergency Lighting and Signals

Emergency lights and fire signals are fitted and the end part of the electrics install. The safest way to put them in is to have them near simple wiring for speed and efficiency.

TIPS TO SPEED UP THE INSTALLATION PROCESS

Running commercial wiring through a space is a project that requires a considerable investment of time. It is important to be patient and not skimp on the details, or you could end up with faulty wiring at best and a dangerous hazard at worst. However, there are certain routes you can take to speed up the process without sacrificing quality control or safety.

Busbar

The busbar is a group of ducts manufactured from sheet metal that transmit electrical currents. If you want to enhance your speed levels, installing an I-line busbar is the optimal choice.

Most conductors are made from copper wire, and are the medium through which electricity passes. The copper cannot come in contact with anything else, or it could affect the current. As a result, conductors have a protective sheath, the combination of which forms a wire. If you combine multiple wires with one sheath for a boost of electrical power, you have a power cable.

Busbars are a replacement for power cables and are one of the simplest options to install. If you want to speed up your installation time, busbars are an effective way to go.

Wiring Approach

Electrical contractors have limited jurisdiction over wiring and installation procedures due to the stringent regulations in place. However, they can make certain changes to speed up the process.

This includes adjusting the cable to make it easier to insert through holes, creating fish tape connections, and organising electrical boxes methodically.

Conductor Specifications

A conductor is a wire that transmits electrical currents from their origination to their final point. You can select either coated or uncoated wires in different sizes. The size ultimately depends on the current’s capabilities and manufacturing materials.

Your commercial electrician will choose the conductor’s specifications based on the level of electricity you will require it to transmit.

Containment Type

Your containment safeguards your cables. Containments can be secured metal boxes that contain cables and shield them from elements like moisture, heat and erosion.

It is crucial to make sure to ground a containment properly, so it wards off radio frequencies. Most are metal but you can use plastic if your cables already have protective RF coverings.

If you want to speed up the electrical installation process, the fastest and simplest type of containment to put in is electrical metal tubing or EMT.

EMT is manufactured from aluminium or galvanized steel, so it is not difficult to bend or cut. Plus, EMT is light to work with and reams well, so your electrician can install this type of containment in a much shorter amount of time.

TO SUM UP…

The safest commercial electrical installation is one that meets your needs without sacrificing efficiency. It is wiser to have a slower setup that checks off all your wiring requirements than one that leaves out key aspects.

Installing the wiring for an office packed with lights, printers, computers, and air conditioning is much more complicated and involved than installing wiring for a family residence.

When choosing an electrician to conduct your commercial electrical installation, pick a professional team with years of experience in commercial electrics.

At Fusion, you can trust our team to be NICEIC accredited and fully qualified and experienced in dealing with all kinds of commercial installations.

Give them a call now on 01530 249752, or click here to drop us a line.