sfav8r
Senior Member
- Location
- San Francisco Bay Area
thanks for all the replies. Let me clarify a couple of things.
I don't mind the load calc on the EXISTING installation. My complaint is that the inspector wants the calcs done with 2 appliance circuits per unit, 1 laundry circuit per unit, etc. even though these are 1 bedroom apartments that don't have those items. I think the calc. should be done on the ACTUAL existing load and my suggestion was to throw a monitor on the main and record the REAL demand which I think is reasonable. The inspector's opinion is that these units all get upgraded over time and therefore we need to install the service accordingly (let me emphasize again that I don't call this a new service). While I agree it would be nice to do, I think that falls under the category of opinion and is not enforceable. Keep in mind there really isn't an argument with the inspectore here, he told me what he wants and I'm deciding how I'm goin to proceed.
It seems logical to me that I am replacing 40 year old FP sub panels and installing new panels and breakers properly sized for the loads. Whatever load is on the main is not changing and has served perfectly fine for the last 40 years. The inspector suggested that if they can't do the entire job at once, that they wait until next year to do the entire job. To me this is just not a better solution from a safety point of view.
If this was a single family with a meter/main outside and an FP panel in the garage, would upgrading the FP panel without changing the service be a problem? The new service would be nice, but the safety is definately enhanced by swaping the panel out and IMHO there is no violation either way.
Finally, a previous poster commented that "the inspector has the right to know if a new installaion is overloaded." I agree completely. The new panels will not be overloaded and we are not touching the service.
Thanks again for all the perspectives. It's always good to see how other people perceive the same situation.
I don't mind the load calc on the EXISTING installation. My complaint is that the inspector wants the calcs done with 2 appliance circuits per unit, 1 laundry circuit per unit, etc. even though these are 1 bedroom apartments that don't have those items. I think the calc. should be done on the ACTUAL existing load and my suggestion was to throw a monitor on the main and record the REAL demand which I think is reasonable. The inspector's opinion is that these units all get upgraded over time and therefore we need to install the service accordingly (let me emphasize again that I don't call this a new service). While I agree it would be nice to do, I think that falls under the category of opinion and is not enforceable. Keep in mind there really isn't an argument with the inspectore here, he told me what he wants and I'm deciding how I'm goin to proceed.
It seems logical to me that I am replacing 40 year old FP sub panels and installing new panels and breakers properly sized for the loads. Whatever load is on the main is not changing and has served perfectly fine for the last 40 years. The inspector suggested that if they can't do the entire job at once, that they wait until next year to do the entire job. To me this is just not a better solution from a safety point of view.
If this was a single family with a meter/main outside and an FP panel in the garage, would upgrading the FP panel without changing the service be a problem? The new service would be nice, but the safety is definately enhanced by swaping the panel out and IMHO there is no violation either way.
Finally, a previous poster commented that "the inspector has the right to know if a new installaion is overloaded." I agree completely. The new panels will not be overloaded and we are not touching the service.
Thanks again for all the perspectives. It's always good to see how other people perceive the same situation.
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