800amp residential service

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What everyone else said about the POCO is right on, they will need to be involved for a service that big, and depending on your area may require/need engineered drawings and a load calc before they will even permit and engineer your service.

Locally we have to have POCO engineered drawings for a service that size so we can install it how they want it, and get it inspected as per their plans. They wont even talk to you about it until you have, plans, load calcs, application for power, and a permit in hand. Then they review it for 30-days before they let you know if you can have a service that big, or they might ask for civil drawings and then think about it for another 30-days, before they send you the engineered drawings.

The best you can do for your client is make a deal to provide sleeves for his service while yall work out the details with your contract, the plans and the POCO.
 
The last 800 amp service that we did, the POCO ct from the x-former itself and we came in the house with 3 3'' conduits to a I-line panel. Quite a bit of coordination between the City inspections department, the POCO, the builder, and ourselves, but we had 3 to 4 months to work it out
 
I thought all power has to be shut off with one disconnect if the amperage is under a certain amount (1200 amps?)
 
ultramegabob said:
what could one family need with a 800 amp service, is this castle heated with baseboard heat???
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You just have to go w/ what the load calc says. I know a guy building a 10k sq. ft. house that was going to have a 800A service until they switched to gas appliances.
 
eds said:
The last 800 amp service that we did, the POCO ct from the x-former itself and we came in the house with 3 3'' conduits to a I-line panel. Quite a bit of coordination between the City inspections department, the POCO, the builder, and ourselves, but we had 3 to 4 months to work it out
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Very good advice, usually over 600amps you will be CTed. I doubt the transformer will be shared so they might put them at the TX.
If they will fit, I try to only use 4" for my underground conduits.
You could terminate in a gutter or a nice 800 amp panel board.
Did you consider Cable and telephone conduits?
 
ultramegabob said:
what could one family need with a 800 amp service, is this castle heated with baseboard heat???
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I just did a house with a 1,600a service.

I blame the engineer, no matter how much fat I stuffed in the load calc, it just would not go over 800a but he INSISTED his was correct and that is what the owner got.
 
ITO said:
I just did a house with a 1,600a service.

I blame the engineer, no matter how much fat I stuffed in the load calc, it just would not go over 800a but he INSISTED his was correct and that is what the owner got.
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where do you get 1600 amp single phase switchgear, or do they allow 3 phase in residential there?
 
ITO said:
I just did a house with a 1,600a service.

I blame the engineer, no matter how much fat I stuffed in the load calc, it just would not go over 800a but he INSISTED his was correct and that is what the owner got.
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I bet he forgot about only having to figure the larger of the heating and cooling loads, and calculated the total connected load instead.
 
LarryFine said:
I bet he forgot about only having to figure the larger of the heating and cooling loads, and calculated the total connected load instead.
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Hard to say. I've known guys to brag about the 1,200 and 1,600 amp resi services they've built. Since this is a small area, I have to chuckle when I hear that, because I know of those jobs. They were farmsteads. That's sorta 'cheating' to call them a resi service. Two-hundred or 400 might go to the house, but the rest goes to the farming operation. Farms are a real "treat" to do a demand load calc for, so it's mostly an educated guess based on similar installations.
 
ITO said:
I just did a house with a 1,600a service.

I blame the engineer, no matter how much fat I stuffed in the load calc, it just would not go over 800a but he INSISTED his was correct and that is what the owner got.
Click to expand...
I did a service upgrade awhile back on a 2,500 square foot home. The home had a 125amp service and had all gas appliances except for the central air conditioning.

The homeowner's brother in-law was an engineer and told him that he needed at least a 400amp service and didn't know how it ever passed inspection even though every home in the neighborhood had the same 125amp service.

I did a load calc and showed him the results and how I came up with them. The 125amp service was adequate but he still didn't believe me and still wanted the upgrade done. I asked him how his brother in-law did the calculations to determine the home needed at least a 400 amp service but he said he didn't know. I assume he added up the amperage ratings of the breakers to come up with this.

The home was only about 5 years old so the service was in good shape. I was able to convince him that a 200amp service would be more than enough for the home and upgraded it to 200amps. I should have just sold him the 400amp service though. :)
 
aline said:
I did a service upgrade awhile back on a 2,500 square foot home. The home had a 125amp service and had all gas appliances except for the central air conditioning.

The homeowner's brother in-law was an engineer and told him that he needed at least a 400amp service and didn't know how it ever passed inspection even though every home in the neighborhood had the same 125amp service.

I did a load calc and showed him the results and how I came up with them. The 125amp service was adequate but he still didn't believe me and still wanted the upgrade done. I asked him how his brother in-law did the calculations to determine the home needed at least a 400 amp service but he said he didn't know. I assume he added up the amperage ratings of the breakers to come up with this.

The home was only about 5 years old so the service was in good shape. I was able to convince him that a 200amp service would be more than enough for the home and upgraded it to 200amps. I should have just sold him the 400amp service though. :)
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I dont a big hydroponic operation takes that much power!
 
I didn't do the service, but I worked in a house a few years ago right on the Potomac River. I estimate the home at 15,000-20,000 sq. ft. It had a 1000 amp service. Five 200A GE panels right in a row. I never got around the outside to see the rest. It would have taken 5 minutes in a golf cart just to get there. The garage was larger than my whole house (no kidding).

Yes, it did have an elevator and the H.O. insisted I use it (I guess she didn't want my laborer feet on her stairs). Was like standing in a moving phone booth.

Mark
 
Here is the house I am working on now. 600 amp service with CT, dsisconnect, and ATS. Now, I had the added benefit of being given the job before concrete and block walls. :roll:
But I went the CT route with two 3" pvc to disconnect and then 3" from disconnect to ATS.

MilesCT.jpg


MilesATS.jpg


Not sure if it is any help, but I threw it in since it is a current discussion on a current project. I have used the meter combos with multiple 200 amp disconnecting means, so spacing configurations and equipment lugging will be a deciding factor in what you do, but for me, the less equipment the better.
 
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