400 AMP Panel Board with 250 KCMIL Cable

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dasan384

Member
Location
Miami, Florida
Hello everybody, I have a question about an issue I had today. I'm designing a restaurant in a food court of a new shopping mall. At the beginning, the amperage required for the restaurant was 300 amps at 277/480, they had a lot of equipment, and the owner said that in the future they would add more load to the place. For this reason, I specified a 400AMP Panel at 277/480. The Landlord sent me the as-builts for my space which confirmed that I had an empty 4" conduit available for the restaurant. However, they just found that those plans were wrong and they sent me the plans for another space, now they say that I have a 2 1/2" C which is good for up to 250 MCM, so approx 250 AMP available. the good news is that they took out some of the equipment, so the new load is 225 AMP at 277/480, the bad news is that they already ordered the 400 Amp Panel because they are way behind the schedule. The two options they gave was to run the 4" C from the electrical room to the electrical room of the restaurant at owner's expenses or to reorder the Panel for a 250AMP Panel, but this would cause more delay in the project. My question os there is any problem with using a 250 MCM cable on a 400 AMP Panel? They have not ordered the Main on the Landlord electrical Room yet.

Thanks in advance
 
electrofelon

electrofelon

Senior Member
Location
Cherry Valley NY, Seattle, WA
No problem with having a larger panel than needed. The only time it would matter is if it is served by a service in which case the main breaker would need to protect the conductors at their ampacity (plus next size up). I assume this is served by a feeder and not a service?
 
infinity

infinity

Moderator
Staff member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
If you use the 250 Kcmil then it will need to be protected at 250 amps. You can still use the 400 amp panel. What size raceway and type is it?
 
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dasan384

Member
Location
Miami, Florida
electrofelon said:
No problem with having a larger panel than needed. The only time it would matter is if it is served by a service in which case the main breaker would need to protect the conductors at their ampacity (plus next size up). I assume this is served by a feeder and not a service?
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Yes, that's correct is being served by a feeder. Thanks
 
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