bus duct versus cable/conduit

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msteiner

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Maryland
Can anyone point me to a white paper or previous thread related to the topic of utilizing bus duct versus cable/conduit for vertical distribution in a multi-story building? I'm looking for the break point in terms of building height when bus duct becomes the economically preferable option, as well as advantages/disadvantages of each approach.

My specific project is a 10-story commercial office building. Any first-hand experience would also be appreciated. One particular issue I'm looking at is how to handle the metering with the two different distribution approaches (one utility meter with multiple tenant submeters vs. multiple utility meters).
 
Bus Duct

Bus Duct

If your electrical rooms stack vertically, I would go with busduct.

I don't know the break even point, but from a labor prospective, I could install say 1200 amps of busduct quicker than 1200 amps of emt and thhn.

You can easily add more loads and most important with the ever shrinking electrical closets it takes up less room than multiple risers.

My opinion only

Joe
 
I've seen bus ducts be pretty useful in applications where the client does a lot of remodeling of spaces. I've seen this used by several big defense companies who do testing, etc. that requires the spaces to be changed or remodel the exiting space for a new application. Having a distribution bus duct in the ceiling space throughout the floor allows adding new panels or relocating existing panels much easier. I havent exactly done cost data for a big project though so you may want to look into the cost vs. conductor/conduit and discuss the options and their cost with the client.
 
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