Electrical

Below find detailed information concerning each of the following topics:

 

Wire-Pak™ modular wiring system

Wire-Pak™ electrical wiring system was introduced in 1984. Wire-Pak™ is a custom designed, modular wiring system that literally snaps together as the building is assembled. The male and female connectors used are directional; thus ensuring the system cannot be assembled incorrectly -- there's no guess work.

All Wire-Pak™ pieces are interchangeable allowing for last minute field alterations. The exception to this are our 3-way switches which must be assembled in accordance to the layout provided.

Note: 3-way switches use circuits C/2 and C/3, no other item can be on C/3 with a 3-way switch.

Wire-Pak™ Specifications:
  • 6 wire system utilizing three separate circuits for 110 volts 20 amps only
  • Circuit 1 (C/1) typically for outlets uses Red - Hot, White - Neutral, Green - Ground
  • Circuit 2 (C/2) typically for Lights uses Black - Hot, White - Neutral, Green - Ground
  • Circuit 3 (C/3) typically for 110v air conditioners or isolated lines uses Blue - Hot, Gray - Neutral, Green - ground
  • All wiring is 12 gage, THHN type, Stranded copper
  • All conduit to be 1/2" flexible type, .638 inside diameter, .91 outside diameter
  • The system conforms to the National Electric Code
  • All Components are UL Listed and Recognized (UL File no. E86583)
  • 220 volt outlets may be provided as separate runs to the breaker box
  • Conduit clips are provided for fastening the cabling and junction boxes to the roof. Flex conduit should be fastened every 4-1/2' and within 12" of every junction box or fitting
  • All cable runs shall not exceed 12' without having a junction box connector
  • An electrician will only be required to bring power to the building and complete the hook-up at the breaker panel.
  • No other field wiring will be necessary.
  • A complete bill of materials and electrical schematic are provided.
Wire-Pak™ Features:
  • Competitive with conventional wiring.
  • 100% reusable
  • Easy to install with a "fool proof" design
  • Future outlets can be added as needs require
  • UL listed Components
  • Meets NEC requirements
  • Accepted by most building codes across the USA.
  Wire-Pak™ Specifications
  Component Description
 
A-n
Power entry, pig tail to the breaker panel
(always female one side)
 
B-n
Flex jumper between outlets, lights, etc.
(always female)
 
C888
Universal connector junction box
(always male)
 
G-n
 Outlet assembly
(always female)
 
F-n
 Switch assembly
(always female)
 
H-n
 220 volt direct wire outlet assembly
(always pig tail)
  n = represents the length of the component

 

Warnings:
Risk of fire or electrical shock. Do not electrically connect any panel or assembly to more than one supply source. Always determine that each panel or assembly is connected to one and only one electrical power source. Note: The only known areas where this product is not acceptable by code is Cook County, Illinois. Los Angeles County, California requires county approval for all electrical systems, the expense does not justify having this. It is the responsibility of the purchaser to check for any local code restrictions.

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Definitions

Luminaire -
Complete lighting unit including lamps and all of its components.

Luminous Flux -
The time rate flow of light.

LLF -
Light Loss Factor, A factor used in calculating illuminance after a given period of time and under certain circumstances. It considers temperature and voltage variations, dirt accumulation, lamp depreciation, maintenance procedures etc. Use LLF = .8 as a general figure.

CU -
Coefficient of utilization, The ratio of luminous flux (lumens) from a luminaire calculated as received on a work plane to the luminous flux emitted by the luminaires lamps alone. Considered in this calculation is the light reflection (LR) from the ceiling, walls and floor as well as the cavity ratio (W x L x D)

Room Cavity Ratio -
Assumes 8' ceilings, 30" desk height

    8' 12' 16' 20' 24' 30' 40'
 
8'
6.2
5.3
4.7
4.4
 4.2 4 3.7
 
12'
5.3
4.2
3.6
3.4
3.1
3
2.7
 
16'
4.7
3.6
2.9
2.7
2.5
2.3
2.1
 
20'
4.4
3.4
2.7
2.5
2.1
1.8
1.7

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Breaker Panels

General Information:
  • 10 lights per switch or 20 amp circuit breaker
  • Average 6 duplex outlets per circuit breaker. A more accurate calculation would be to add up the total amperage of the electrical items being used and use 80% of the breakers capacity (20 amp breaker design usage 16 amps).
  • Isolate Air Conditioners on a separate circuit. 220 volt requires 2 breakers.
  • Do not exceed the total amperage rating on a breaker panel. The standard small models are rated for 70 amps the larger ones are rated for 100 amps.
  • National Electric Code 230-2 requires that only one breaker panel be used for a building. Should a requirement for a panel larger than our standard 12 circuit breaker panel be necessary that panel should be provided locally.
Grounding:
  • In some circumstances the grounding of the building may be necessary, especially when using all metal components in the construction. This can be accomplished by sinking a standard grounding rod and connecting it to the building. An electrician would be familiar with the procedure.
Miscellaneous Information:
  • #12 AWG 20 amps
  • #10 AWG 30 amps
  • #8 AWG 40 amps
  • #6 AWG 50 amps

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Outlets

  • The best formula for outlets in an office is to place them where they are needed. By desks, equipment or where convenient for maintenance.
  • A less desired formula is 1 outlet per wall on small offices or 1 per 12' on large offices.
  • Computers or large equipment should be on isolated circuits.
  • Air conditioner outlets are always on separate circuits. Required information on 220 volt wall mount air conditioners includes the amperage and the plug type since many different types are available.
  • Standard outlet height is 24" above the floor, switch height is 48" and air conditioner outlets are typically 24" from the ceiling.

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Lighting

  • Standard lighting used is a 2' x 4' recessed troffer with 4 - 40 watt bulbs = 160 watts
  • Lumens per bulb (T12 type) = 3100
  • The calculation of lights fixtures can be a very involved process when all aspects of lighting are considered. The easiest way to determine the number of lights for the average office is use a simple
  • 70 foot candle formula which is 2.5 watts per square foot (using an 8' ceiling and average light reflection).
 
FOOT CANDLE LEVELS based on IES recommendations : 5 - 50 FC
  5fc 10fc 20fc 30fc 50fc
 
Parking
Storage
Lobbies
Lavatory
Classroom
 
TV Viewing
Rough Stock
Auditorium
Conference
Store
 
Construction
Receiving
Corridor
Causal Desk Work
Reading Room
 
Stairway
Cafeteria
Testing
 
Inspection
 
Rough Assembly
 

 

 
FOOT CANDLE LEVELS based on IES recommendations : 70 - 500 FC
  70fc 100fc 150fc 200fc 500fc
  Proof Reading Drafting Fine Drafting Fine Drafting Color Identification
 
Office Area
General Assembly
Fine Assembly
Extra-Fine Assembly Minor Surgery
 
General Assembly
Testing
Testing Special Assembly
 
Testing
Inspection
Inspection
 Severe Office Tasks Testing
 
Inspection
Counter Displays
Display Lighting
   Very Severe and Prolonged Visual Tasks
 
Severe Prolonged Seeing  
 
Medium Office Tasks
   

 

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