regarding the lighting loads, nec table 220.12 does not have restrooms or anything like it. another document that i have (from iesna) for recommended illumination levels indicates 300 lux at the floor for restrooms, 300 lux at 3 ft. above floor for classrooms, and 400 lux at 3 ft. above floor for offices. so from this (considering all of the lights are the same efficacy), i can derive that the restroom lights should require a little more power than a classroom and around the same (or a little less) power as an office. nec table 220.12 indicates that schools (i.e. classrooms) are 3 va/ft while office buildings (i.e. offices) are 3 1/2 va/ft. so, in consideration of the above and for the purposes of determining the lighting load, i am going to lump the restrooms in with the offices. unless of course, somebody informs me that this is incorrect. btw, this is for an addition to an existing building, and i only need to know the electrical demand of the rest of the building in order to ensure that the main electrical panel is big enough to handle the addition and existing areas.
if anyone cares, just a little background on myself. basically, i am an architect trying to expand my competence. i currently work with and have worked much in the past with many consultants/specialists/engineers, but i have always liked doing incidental engineering myself. so right now i want to focus on electrical engineering. you will see that i am not quite an electrical engineer (more the generalist), and i am actually still getting used to the nec and have an awful lot to learn, but i feel i have a good foundation to be able to tackle this and eventually do it all on my own (until then, of course i will work with my consultants, but the more i take the lead, the better).
i'll be happy to share any knowledge i may have also.
i know there are many very knowledgeable people around here, so feel free to set me straight if anybody thinks i'm going astray... any comments are always welcome.
