Service conductor sizing to a 320 meter/main?

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sw_ross

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If you were install a 320 meter main service with the plan of only using the 1 supplied 200 amp breaker to feed the portion of the building that will be currently wired up do you see anything wrong, code wise, with sizing the service conductors for the planned load that will be fed?

In other words, a customer has a building that they only want one area to be wired up, with the idea that, maybe, a few years down the road they would have the other portion of the building done. At that time an additional 200 amp breaker would be installed to feed a panel in that portion of the building. Then, the service conductors would have to be up sized to feed that additional load.

Under ideal condition, at the start of the project, the service conductors would be sized to feed the whole building, 2-200amp panels. But this person doesn't have the money to do more than just the bare minimum for the initial part of the building. The plan to size the conductors for one 200 amp panel is just to get the project off the ground.

I don't see any problem, code wise, with installing the service conductors for the one 200 amp panel...

Any feedback would be appreciated,
Thanks!
 
jumper said:
Yes, legal. Service conductors need only to be sized for the calculated load.

230.42
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Along with overcurrent protection requirements in part VII. Single 200 amp overcurrent device still will need 200 amp conductor, 2-6 service disconnecting means however only need conductor sized for calculated load.

Possible to have 2-200 amp breakers in there and still have calculated load of less then 200 - in which case 200 amp conductor would be in compliance.

What OP wants to do right now is code compliant, but would need re-evaluated when second main breaker is added.
 
kwired said:
Along with overcurrent protection requirements in part VII. Single 200 amp overcurrent device still will need 200 amp conductor, 2-6 service disconnecting means however only need conductor sized for calculated load.

Possible to have 2-200 amp breakers in there and still have calculated load of less then 200 - in which case 200 amp conductor would be in compliance.

What OP wants to do right now is code compliant, but would need re-evaluated when second main breaker is added.
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Pretty sure OP covered that in his post.
 
If I were doing it I'd install the service conductors sized for the whole thing from the beginning.

If the service conductors are of any length, and, the customer is responsible for the installation of them and has to be upsized 2 or 3 years from now, what your proposing to do to save them money right now is going to cost them 3 times in the future.

JMHO.

JAP>
 
jap said:
If I were doing it I'd install the service conductors sized for the whole thing from the beginning.

If the service conductors are of any length, and, the customer is responsible for the installation of them and has to be upsized 2 or 3 years from now, what your proposing to do to save them money right now is going to cost them 3 times in the future.

JMHO.

JAP>
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If the supply is underground you probably at least want to install a spare raceway now so all you have to do is pull additional conductor through it when the time comes.
 
kwired said:
If the supply is underground you probably at least want to install a spare raceway now so all you have to do is pull additional conductor through it when the time comes.
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Oh you make it sound so simple.

leaving out about 3 or 4 other service interrupting steps always does though.


JAP>
 
jap said:
Oh you make it sound so simple.

leaving out about 3 or 4 other service interrupting steps always does though.


JAP>
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What it might take to install conductors, and the additional breaker, later on might still make it more reasonable to just put them in right away. Not every install will have same conditions or demands.

Owners may forget what you told them down the road and will then ask why this wasn't already ready to go when they do want/need that upgrade.
 
Oh well.

In real life what's probably going to happen is the additional 200 amp disconnect will go ahead and get installed in the future and the service conductors will never get upgraded.

JAP>
 
ActionDave said:
The extra main breaker is already there.
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That's not what he said in his original post, but, either way, if the extra main was there to begin with, that would just be more reason for the service conductors being overlooked for upsizing in the future.

JAP>
 
Overhead

Overhead

This is an overhead drop from utility.

Im going to do a cost/benefit analysis today for the owner to make a decision about what they want to do. I will push for the larger conductors as an initial install. But as said, when/if the future panel gets installed a load Calc will have to be done at that time.

This meter/main is a Siemens and comes with one 200 amp breaker factory installed. Additional 200 amp breaker isn't included, but there is space for it. Also has 8 extra spaces, so further on, as a load Calc is done it might be determined that only a 100 amp panel is necessary.
 
If your building a riser for this, I don't see why one wouldn't go ahead and be done with the service side of it.

JAP>
 
Might check into stick building the service.

There may me some money to be saved by getting away from that house panel.

JAP>
 
sw_ross said:
This is an overhead drop from utility.

Im going to do a cost/benefit analysis today for the owner to make a decision about what they want to do. I will push for the larger conductors as an initial install. But as said, when/if the future panel gets installed a load Calc will have to be done at that time.

This meter/main is a Siemens and comes with one 200 amp breaker factory installed. Additional 200 amp breaker isn't included, but there is space for it. Also has 8 extra spaces, so further on, as a load Calc is done it might be determined that only a 100 amp panel is necessary.
Click to expand...

You are fine.
 
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