- Location
- Lockport, IL
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Engineer
I am at the early stages of a project that will require me to determine the ?existing spare capacity? of a number of facilities located throughout the country. The idea is that the client is considering some significant load additions. I would be using the 30 day metering process described in 220.87 to attempt to justify the load additions. I have three general topics for which I have questions.
- What is the best way to arrange for someone to install and remove the meters, and to send me reports of the recorded data? In the past, for some small projects in my own area, I have used one or two local companies (testing specialists) that do this type of work. But now I am looking at thirteen different states. Am I likely to find a single company that can handle this on a national basis, or should I look for local contractors?
- My guess is that many of the affected panels will not have Arc Flash stickers on them. My other guess is that the client is not going to want to shut down operations long enough to connect the meters. Has anyone dealt with this situation already? I don?t want to rely on NFPA 70E Table 1307(C)(9)(a), because I can?t be certain of the clearing times or the available short circuit current. Any hints?
- Under the assumption that there will be no delays determining the appropriate PPE, and the assumption that the company (testing agency or EC) performing the load tests is local to the facility, what is a good ball-park cost for installing the meters, taking the data, removing the meters, and sending the report?