400-600 amp service installation input/advice

[c2500]

I am new here so please bear with me. I am a SC Licensed Residential Electrician. I have a situation where my family owns a warehouse complex that is now storing alot of the Bus/Rv's that owner's wish to hook up a 30 or 50 amp plug. I am allowed to do commercial work with limits. The current service is a single phase 200 amp panel that has a 200 amp CT meter set up. I am looking to expand this to 400 or maybe even 600 amps. I know from a previous commercial install I will have to have a fused main disconnect at the stated amperage. From there I was looking to install a 400amp panel. Is this the right approach? Or should I look toward multiple 200 amp panels? The only other load is lighting and a few receptacles.

I am also looking to sub-meter the individual power consumption.

Any input would be appreciated

Thanks,
c2500

 

[augie47]

from my experience, you will find multiple 200's to be less expensive. I would think a discussion of proposed load and metering possibilities with POCO might be the 1st order of business.

 

[c2500]

I have had one discussion with a Duke Engineer, mainly that the upgrade is doable. They normally do not care about the equipment past the meter, but since it is CT metered I they will. I am just trying to get "my ducks in a row" so to speak so I can have the formal meeting with them as well as for permits.

 

[jrannis]

You are going to have it professionally designed but I would see if you could install a seperate riser and meter for the RVs and keep the house meter, that way you would not have to rebuild the whole service

 

[Rewire]

Have you thought of a multi meter pack,we did a storage building and used GE mini mods to meter 12 spaces.

 

[augie47]

my guess

my guess

unless you want the new power seperately metered, since you already have a 200 amp that is c.t. metered, I still think it best just to add the two new service panels, grouped with the original, and route them to (thru) the existing CT.,taking into account all this said sight unseen.
Such situations are fairly normal in these parts.

 

[c2500]

Sight unseen...trust me it is a site to behold. I was stuck installing a new baseboard heater in a pump house there today..only to find one leg of the 240 was missing, this was after I found that the fire system was powered by #10 wire that was screwed down to the meter side of the main breaker. Gives one that warm fuzzy feeling. Fortunately (sort of) the wire did feed into a fused 3 phase disconnect with different rated fuses. Suffice it to say tommorow I will be running alot of conduit and wire.

It appears they either gutted a 3 phase panel and made it single phase or replaced the original 3 phase with a single phase. (A defunct carpet company once resided in the space)

The biggest problem I have is that this warehouse is fed by 2 different meters. The county already is had a fit that there are multiple meters on each of the buildings. It almost took an act of congress to install a seperate service for an independent office building that was originally fed from a warehouse. I will be stuck using the one main meter then submetering from there....assuming it is legal to do so in South Carolina.

c2500