Question about the huge difference I saw in panel placement after switching zones

I moved from residential to commercial jobs about 6 months ago and the way we place panels is totally different. On a warehouse in Denver last month, the engineer wanted the alarm panel right next to the main electrical room instead of by the front door like I always did before. Has anyone else run into this shift in thinking?

2 comments

2 Comments

richard_ramirez2d agoMost Upvoted

Totally get where you're coming from, seen this exact thing on my last few commercial gigs. The big shift is all about code compliance and future service access. In residential, you always put the panel by the front door so the homeowner can see it every day. But in a warehouse or big building, the engineer is thinking about the main electrical room because that's where all the big power comes in and the fire alarm tie-in happens. Plus, if you put it by the front door, the maintenance guys have to walk across the whole floor every time they need to silence a trouble beep or check the trouble history, which is a pain. That Denver setup you saw is pretty standard now, they want it right where the electricians and low voltage guys will be working on the rest of the building's guts, not out in the open where some forklift driver might bump into it. Once you start thinking about who actually has to work on that panel for the next twenty years, the engineer's placement makes a lot more sense than the old way.

ryanh772d ago

My buddy in Denver spent forty minutes walking across a warehouse just to silence a beep on his first day.