Tanning salon service size...

[ultramegabob]

I just got a call from a customer that is wanting to rent one of their tennant spaces to a tanning salon business, the tennant says that the bed supplier told them they should have a 1000 amp 3 phase service. I dont have any info on these units yet but a 1000 amps sounds like an awful lot, I was wondering on how to calculate the demand for a business like this. has anyone on here done a tanning salon?

 

[bob]

I just googled tanning beds and they draw 15 to 20 amps at 240 volts.

 

[ultramegabob]

I just googled tanning beds and they draw 15 to 20 amps at 240 volts.

I googled earlier and saw some up to 41 amps, I dont know how many beds that large a business would use, I would guess that a salon would have several standard beds and a couple premium beds.

 

[tkb]

Don't under estimate the load requirements for a tanning salon.
The taning beds use a lot of power.
The ones that I have seen draw about 60 amps each on three phase.
They all needed buck boost transformers also because they are factory wired for 240 volts 3?.

 

[eds]

Its been 5 or 6 years since I did one from the ground up. I recall a couple of the beds needing a 125 amp circuit ( I think) I know I ran 1.25 emt to them. I thought they had some sort of A.C incoporated so you would feel cool while you cooked. I had to a couple of bed that needed 60 amp circuits, and a couple that were 90 amps. All bed required a buck boost x-former ( bed manufacture supplied). Total # beds around 10 with provisions for 2 more super beds. 600 amp 3 phase and I don't recall taking any kind of demand factors. A.C load for the space might be upsized also.

 

[ultramegabob]

A.C load for the space might be upsized also.

That is exactly why I posted this question on here, that is a good thing to think about! It didnt cross my mind, but I bet your right, they are going to need more A/C with a bunch of beds running.

 

[scotteng]

I've done a couple of tanning salons and they are the largest load user of any retail tenant by far. Between the high load for each bed, for which there is no derrating factor, and the higher AC requirements, they can easily exceed 50w/sq. ft. You will want the salon owner to commit to a bed manufacturer and bed model(s) in writing before design, then contact the manufacturer to get the exact electrical requirements for each bed type. I too recall their being buck/boost transformers required, but I think we ended up doing it on a separate panel designated for the beds. Get it in writing, if the owner changes their mind on the bed manufacturer or types, it can dramatically change the electrical requirements.

 

[LarryFine]

I hate it when I hit "quote" instead of "edit."

 

[LarryFine]

Bob, the two choices are to either just accept the manufacturer's recommendations and price accordingly, or wait for someone to do the engineering necessary to do an appropriate load calculation.

The customer needs to understand the costs of sizing the service properly, as well as the possible costs of not doing a calc with the right numbers. But, don't do engineering you won't get paid for.

Recently, I bid a restaurant remodeling where the EE spec'ed a 70a 3ph circuit for an existing (and to remain) walk-in freezer that was chugging along just fine on an existing 20a 240v 1ph circuit.

The difference was enough to trigger an in-my-opinion unnecessary upgrade to the existing service, so I priced the job both ways. I didn't get the job; I guess it was the EE's resenting my opinion.

 

[ultramegabob]

Bob, the two choices are to either just accept the manufacturer's recommendations and price accordingly, or wait for someone to do the engineering necessary to do an appropriate load calc.

The customer needs to understand the costs of sizing the service properly, as well as the possible costs of not doing a calc with the right numbers. But, don't do engineering you won't get paid for.

I am just researching this a little so I can give some intelligent input to my customer, they havent leased the space yet, they were just picking my brain about what they will have to do to upgrade the service.

 

[SEO]

Do tanning beds draw full power continous or do they have some type of temperature control?

 

[electricalperson]

Do tanning beds draw full power continous or do they have some type of temperature control?

do they even get hot? i thought they were just UV lights inside

 

[LarryFine]

I am just researching this a little so I can give some intelligent input to my customer, they havent leased the space yet, they were just picking my brain about what they will have to do to upgrade the service.

I grok. My thoughts still apply. Anything you say without any real info is what we fondly refer to as a WAG.

 

[LarryFine]

do they even get hot? i thought they were just UV lights inside

Oh, yes. Check out a tanning bed or booth when you have the time.

 

[Cow]

Jesus, I can't imagine laying in a 60 amp tanning bed getting cooked, I mean tanned. That takes more power than a damn oven!

I'll stick to sunlight...:roll:

 

[eds]

A couple more things to think about

Generally beds are daisy chained with communications cable allowing the front desk to control time allowed once the start button is pressed

Most beds have pull out ballast trays under the bed

Disconnects should be within sight

Always wear the eye googles when troubleshooting

All troubleshooting generally leads back to a burnt wire