how would you approach this shell space design?

[malachi constant]

I am the EE on this project. We are in design phase.

Project is a 140-unit apartment building with tenant retail space on the main floor. Tenant space is 13,771 square feet. Owner has no idea what the tenant will be - could be retail/shopping, restaurant, office, etc. It is possible the retail space will be broken into two or three smaller spaces. Service is 208v/3p/4w.

Here is where I get stuck:
- how to size the disconnect feeding this area
- what distribution equipment to provide in the area
- how to meter the area

I plan to place a "retail disconnect" grouped with the house and meter stack disconnects near the service entrance. I am estimating a reasonable worst-case load for this space is 400A (4 VA/sf for lighting and 4 VA/sf for power). Though I do not have much experience playing with VA/sf in shell spaces so I am considering a conservative 600A.

The retail disconnect would then feed...what? A 600A panel with main meter? A 600A meter stack with (3) 200A meters? The utility company is pretty good about creative solutions, provided opportunities for tampering ahead of the meter are minimized.

Any suggestions from the world of knowledge you folks represent would be much appreciated.

 

[jtester]

I get lots of shell buildings. We never know up front if there will be a shoe store or a Starbucks. When possible, I only put in conduit, and wait for meters, switches, and conductors, until I find out loads.

If that doesn't work, I often use 10va/sq.ft. here in the southwest.

Jim T

 

[steve66]

I would take my best guess at the service size, and then add some spare capacity. On top of that, I would add 1 or 2 spare conduits, and make sure you leave space for a larger main, or another service disconnect.

Steve