ELECTRICAL NOTES

ELECTRICAL DESIGN OF RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS

set of building plans-These plans convey all the required information to the local inspection authority
and associated building trades so that the construction or remodeling can take place.
Includes: specific electric design and additional documentations
STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT:
1. The designer must understand the scope of the project.
2. The designer defines and designs each component (such as general office areas, specialized
machinery and power distribution equipment.
3. These individual components are compiled to form the final presentation for the design.
DESIGN CAN INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING COMPONENTS:
1. General electrical requirements (general purpose receptacles).
2. Specialized electrical requirements (specialized office equipment or machinery).
3. Lighting systems.
4. Electrical distribution system
General electrical requirements are items such as the 220-volt receptacle or convenience outlets located
through out the building.
SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT.
1. Computers and/or network servers
2. Motor loads (such as water pumps, air con, compressors)
3. Electric range or ovens
4. Heaters and dryers
Lighting systems- are the part of design process that generally requires the greatest amount of time to
develop. These systems include all the lighting fixtures and their controls. Lighting systems have very
detailed requirements as per the PEC and requires documention showing that the system incorporates
all required energy-saving technologies.
An electrical distribution system-- is the installed equipment that provides for the distribution of
electrical wiring through out the facility.
Includes: panel board which contains the main switch or breaker and the branch circuit breakers.
Panel board receives the power from the source which is the utility company, and distributes it to the
different electrical loads through electrical wires.
When printed the electrical plans and drawings shall be drawn on drawing sheets of the following
standard sizes:
 760 mm x 1000 mm
600 mm x 900 mm
500 mm x 760 mm
For a dwelling unit having a floor of not more than 50 square meters with a total load not exceeding
3680 VA, a drawing sheet of size 297 mm x 420 mm (A3 size) is permitted. PEC 1.3.1.1
ELECTRICAL SYMBOLS ---allow for universal recognition of each part by the many persons who will be
working on the project so they can estimate cost appropriately and construct the project to the
specifications.
AN ELECTRICAL PLAN SHALL INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
1. Location and Site Plan
2. Electrical Lighting and Power layouts
3. Legend or Symbols
4. General Notes and / or Specifications
5. Schedule of Loads
6. Single Line Diagram
7. Design Analysis and Computations

LIGHTING & POWER LAYOUTS AND LIGHTING DESIGN

8 Lighting Design Principles
1. Focus your effort on rooms used most. Improving the lighting in these rooms will make a lot of
difference.
2. Replace existing fixtures. ...
3. Layer lighting for maximum impact. ...
4. Consider the room's function and form. ...
5. Use concealed light sources. ...
6. Use fluorescents. ...
7. Limit the number of different light sources. ...
8. Consider controls.

DESIGN PRINCIPLES
1. Focus your effort on rooms used most. Improving the lighting in these rooms will make a lot of difference.
2. Replace existing fixtures. Most homes have incandescent fixtures. Replace them with dedicated, hard-wired fluorescents. If
you use screw-ins, they may be switched back to incandescents when the bulb burns out, losing the efficiency benefits. Hard-
wired fixtures may have better aesthetics and light quality, too.

3. Layer lighting for maximum impact. To produce dramatic effects, design ambient, task and accent lighting. Ambient lighting
provides general room illumination and may reduce the need for additional portable lighting. Task lighting helps homeowners
see better where they need it - under-cabinet lighting in the kitchen to help in preparing meals, for example. Accent lighting
adds sparkle by focusing on an architectural detail such as a fireplace or on photos or artwork.

4. Consider the room's function and form. No matter where you start, consider which activities are most important for the
room. Perhaps the easiest place to begin is the kitchen. As stated above, under-cabinet lighting provides task lighting. When
there is space above kitchen cabinets, between cabinet and ceiling, it's easy to mount inexpensive strip lights to provide
excellent, glare-free light for the entire room. A recessed downlight over a kitchen island will accent the island, help the
homeowner see better when performing kitchen tasks and provide ambient light.

5. Use concealed light sources. Homeowners will notice the illuminated floors, walls and ceiling of the room instead of the light
bulbs. Concealed light sources help eliminate direct glare from lamps.

6. Use fluorescents. According to DOE research, fluorescents use 25 percent to 35 percent of the energy used by incandescents
to give the same light output and last up to 10,000 hours, compared with 1,000 for the typical incandescent bulb. Using a mix of
fluorescents and incandescents is likely to be less efficient than using all fluorescents.

7. Limit the number of different light sources. For linear fluorescents, only use two different ones (3 foot and 4 foot), and for
CFLs, only use three: 15, 26 and 32 watts. This makes it easier for homeowners to replace the lamps.

8. Consider controls. Controls such as photo sensors, occupancy sensors, dimmers and remote controls may help to reduce
energy by ensuring that lights are only used when needed.

Lighting Design Principles

1. The lighting criteria

Our lighting environment should not be uniform: human attention is attracted to the light, and our gaze instinctively turns to
the best lit areas of our surroundings. A successful lighting should therefore highlight the parts which one wishes to emphasise,
such as for instance the places to which you want to attract attention, and the areas of interest to which people should gather:
a dining room table, the coffee table of a living room, a library etc.

Our mood is influenced by its colour and intensity:

1. A cold, direct lighting suggests work, energy, activity;
2. A warm, attenuated light inspires relaxation, intimacy, comfort.

2. Diffuse lighting

Diffuse lighting provides the entire room with an overall luminosity. This component has two main characteristics: its intensity
and its colour.

The intensity of the illumination of a surface is measured in lux. The higher the number, the better lit the surface appears (read
our technical page for more explanations).

3. Directed Lighting

The directed lighting highlights certain areas of interest in the room: in a living room, these points of interest can be
materialised by certain decorative objects placed or hung on the wall, by certain furniture (table, desk, coffee table). In a dining
room or kitchen, these areas are usually the table and work tops. Sometimes the points of interest are only architectural, for
example an apparent framing or a decorative interior staircase.

In summary, the following two design principles should be followed:

A relaxing atmosphere is better appreciated if it is bathed by a diffuse illumination of 50 to 150 lux with preferably a warm tone
which can be easily obtained by using luminaires with filters, or luminaires equipped with dimmers, or bulbs of the right colour.
Areas of interest should be illuminated 3 to 5 times more – typically 150 to 500 lux – using directional luminaires such as spot
bulbs with reflectors, wall or table lamps, and often with a whiter light. An active atmosphere should have a lighting between
150 and 500 lux, and a colder light tone – obtained for example with light-shaded luminaires and bulbs with a warm white tone
of 3500° K minimum (for more information, see our guide on the technical terms).

EXAMPLES

These are the input data for the following calculation:

1. An office area has length: 20 meter; width: 10 meter; height: 3 meter.

2. The ceiling to desk height is 2 meters.

3. The area is to be illuminated to a general level of 250 lux using twin lamp 32 watt CFL luminaires with a SHR of 1.25.

4. Each lamp has an initial output (Efficiency) of 85 lumen per watt.

5. The lamps Maintenance factor (MF) is 0.63 ,Utilization Factor is 0.69 and space height ratio (SHR) is 1.25.

Calculation in 8 steps

1. Total wattage of fixtures:

Total wattage of fixtures = Number of lamps x each lamp’s watt.

Total wattage of fixtures = 2 × 32 = 64 Watt.

2. Lumen per fixtures

Lumen per fixtures = Lumen efficiency (Lumen per Watt) x each fixture’s watt

Lumen per fixtures = 85 x 64 = 5440 Lumen

3. Number of fixtures

Required number of fixtures = Required Lux x Room area / MF x UF x Lumen per fixture

Required number of fixtures = (250 x 20 x 10) / (0.63 × 0.69 × 5440) = 21.143

We will need 21 fixtures

4. Minimum spacing between each fixture

The ceiling to desk height is 2 meters and space height ratio is 1.25, so:

Maximum spacing between fixtures = 2 × 1.25 = 2.25 meter.

5. Number of required rows of fixtures along with width of room

Number of rows required = Width of room / Max. spacing = 10 / 2.25 = 4.44

Number of rows required is therefore = 4.

6. Number of fixtures required in each row

Number of fixtures required in each row = Total Fixtures / Number of rows = 21 / 4

Therefore, we have 5 fixtures in each row.

7. Axial spacing between each fixture:

Axial spacing between fixtures = Length of room / Number of fixtures in each row

… and that would be: 20 / 5 = 4 Meter

8. Transverse spacing between each fixture:

Transverse spacing between fixtures = Width of room / Number of fixtures in row

… and that would be: 10 / 4 = 2.5 Meter.