Which is better for large hospital?
- Thread starter m sleem
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renosteinke
Senior Member
- Location
- NE Arkansas
Cairo .... didn't know southern Illinois was big enough for a major hospital 
Quit thinking like a Soviet central planner. You're a fool to plan on 'one' panel for anything in a major building.
Instead, here's how you do it ....
Main power to a step-down transformer. Transformer feeds two banks of switchgear ("buckets.")
One of those switchgear has a transfer switch, and can be fed by a generator as well as the transformer.
Otherwise, each breaker in the switchgear feeds a separate panel that is placed close to the area it serves. Typically, every distinct part of the building (floor, wing, department) has its' own panel. That panel will serve everything in that area.
The 'normal' panels are matched by 'emergency' panels that supply those circuits that are generator-fed.
Quit thinking like a Soviet central planner. You're a fool to plan on 'one' panel for anything in a major building.
Instead, here's how you do it ....
Main power to a step-down transformer. Transformer feeds two banks of switchgear ("buckets.")
One of those switchgear has a transfer switch, and can be fed by a generator as well as the transformer.
Otherwise, each breaker in the switchgear feeds a separate panel that is placed close to the area it serves. Typically, every distinct part of the building (floor, wing, department) has its' own panel. That panel will serve everything in that area.
The 'normal' panels are matched by 'emergency' panels that supply those circuits that are generator-fed.
Microwatt
Senior Member
- Location
- North Dakota
I would go with seperate panels. First because the lighting would more than likely be 277 volts and second I wouldn't want someone plugging in equipment that was faulty causing a circuit to trip and possibly taking out the lights in the area too.
Last edited:
renosteinke
Senior Member
- Location
- NE Arkansas
I failed to see where this thread has a hidden question. That question is: What is the difference between a 'lighting' and a 'power' panel?
Code used to have a distinction, which boiled down to: does the panel have a neutral?
We often had separate 'power' panels for this very reason. Single phase needs a neutral, three phase does not - and simple motors do not need a neutral.
Well, the code no longer makes the distinction- and the presence of electronics and modern motor controls means that you really want to have a neutral present in the panel anyway.
Even if a building is designed with all the 'big stuff' in a mechanical room and served by a separate panel, chances are you'll need a neutral for something.
So, my advice is to take the expense now, in the initial construction, and run full-size neutrals to every panel. It's cheaper, and works better, than any 'fix' you attempt later. Do it now, and the expense is little more than the cost of the wire.
Code used to have a distinction, which boiled down to: does the panel have a neutral?
We often had separate 'power' panels for this very reason. Single phase needs a neutral, three phase does not - and simple motors do not need a neutral.
Well, the code no longer makes the distinction- and the presence of electronics and modern motor controls means that you really want to have a neutral present in the panel anyway.
Even if a building is designed with all the 'big stuff' in a mechanical room and served by a separate panel, chances are you'll need a neutral for something.
So, my advice is to take the expense now, in the initial construction, and run full-size neutrals to every panel. It's cheaper, and works better, than any 'fix' you attempt later. Do it now, and the expense is little more than the cost of the wire.
Ok, I will do.
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