Office
Workstation and Cubicle Electrical
This article will discuss standard
electrical systems for today's office cubicles and partitions
in laymans terms. Click the link for a dry yet informative
article written by the fine folks at Haworth, which covers
in depth terms and definitions Haworth
Article. Please consult a licensed electrician
in your city/state for local regulations and guidelines.
Sparky the electrician says- "Nice
article, I'm sure. But I have been to electrical school
and through my apprenticeship, I have twisted more wire,
drunk more coffee, eaten more donuts and taken more breaks
than you ever will, and I'm on the clock! How do I hook
these things up!!??....." Calm
down, Sparky and click here-->
8 Wire Diagrams
I seriously doubt he has eaten more donuts
than me.
Todays
electrical is usually an 8 wire system, older systems, pre
1990, are usually 5 wire. Our main discussion will be on
the 8 wire systems. If you have questions about 5 wire electrical
and single circuit electrical please call me 800-244-9499,
email
me, or blog
me.
There
are two types of 8 wire electrical; 3 circuit and 4 circuit-
3
Circuit, 8 Wire Power
This
type of electrical system has 3 hot wires (circuits), 3
neutral wires and 2 ground wires. Each circuit has its own
neutral wire. There is also a common ground and an isolated
ground. The Isolated ground is meant for sensitive equipment
such as a PC, monitor, TV or other devices that may transmit
disturbances from devices that have carraige returns or
heavy moveable objects- Dot Matrix Printers, Type Writers,
Popcorn Poppers, etc.
view
a diagram of a 3 Circuit 8 wire system
4
Circuit, 8 Wire Power
This
electrical system has 4 hot wires (circuits), 2 neutral
wires, and 2 grounds. 3 of the circuits share a neutral
and a ground wire. The 4th circuit is usually a dedicated
circuit and has its own neutral and ground wires.
view
a diagram of a 4 Circuit 8 wire system
How
To Bring In the Building Power to a Cubicle System
Step
one- Hire a licensed electrican familiar with your local
regulations and ordinances.
There
are two ways to bring power to your cubicle system, Basefeeds
and Topfeeds. Your electrician will be able to determine
which method is best for you.
Basefeeds-
These are usually 1/2" diameter, seal tite conduit,
which is 48"-72" in length. The basefeed plugs
into the cubicle system and is hardwired to the building
power. These can be hardwired to a floor monument or to
a wall junction box.
Topfeeds-
Topfeeds are "power poles" which attach to the
cubicle system. The pole goes through the ceiling tile into
the ceiling, where the electrician will run conduit from
a buidling junction box and hardwire it to the junction
box attached to the topfeed. Most topfeeds also have a shielded
channel to run tele/data lines down into the cubicle system.
How
To Determine How Many Circuits You Will Need For Your Office
Cubicles
Popular concensus
these days is for each cubicle to have 1/2 of a circuit
dedicated to its use. Such as two cubicles will share one
circuit, four cubicles will share two circuits and six cubicles
will share three circuits. This is a good rule of thumb
to go by but it is not always correct.
Let me bore you
with some quick numbers here:
One Circuit has
20 AMPS. By NEC Code(National Electric Code, USA) we can
only use 80% of the AMPs from each circuit, which is 16
AMPs.
NEC also states
a maximum of (24) receptacles can only be used per circuit.
To determine
the power usage (AMPs) for each cubicle a detailed survey
must be accomplished. It is not that hard. Each piece of
equipment that has a plug on it usually has a silver plate
on the back that will tell you the power rating of that
item. It should say something like- Power Rating: 100-240V-50/60Hz
1.5A .
The 1.5 A or
whatever -A is the amount of AMPs that device uses. 1.5
A stands for 1.5 AMPs. Determine how many total AMPs will
be needed for each piece of equipment and add them together.
This will tell you the total Amperage usage you need. If
it's less than 16 Amps you will need one circuit, 16-32
Amps you will need two circuits, over 32 Amps you will need
3 circuits, etc.
If you missed
the Haworth
Article, check it out. It has a lot
of good info written by smarter people than me. Nice graphics
also.
Please Email
me or call 800-244-9499 with any questions.
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-Damon
