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3.1

PRELIMINARY LOAD CALCULATIONS

Introduction
The electrical design professional should determine a buildings electrical load characteristics early in the preliminary design stage of the
building to select the proper power distribution system and equipment
having adequate power capacity with proper voltage levels, and sufficient space and ventilation to maintain proper ambients. Once the
power system is determined, it is often difficult to make major changes
because of the coordination required with other disciplines. Architects
and mechanical and structural engineers will be developing their designs
simultaneously and making space and ventilation allocations. It is imperative, therefore, from the start that the electric systems be correctly
based on realistic load data or best possible typical load estimates, or
both because all final, finite load data are not available during the preliminary design stage of the project. When using estimated data, it
should be remembered that the typical data applies only to the condition from which the data was taken, and most likely an adjustment to
the particular application will be required.
Although many of the requirements of building equipment, such as
ventilating, heating/cooling, lighting, and so forth, are furnished by other
disciplines, the electrical design professional should also furnish to the
other disciplines such data as space, accessibility, weight, and heat dissipation requirements for the electrical power distribution apparatus. This
involves a continuing exchange of information that starts as preliminary
data and is upgraded to be increasingly accurate as the design progresses. Documentation and coordination throughout the design process
is imperative.
At the beginning of a project, the electrical design professional should
review the utilitys rate structure and the classes (system types) of service available. Information pertaining to demand, energy, and power factor should be developed to aid in evaluating, selecting, and specifying the
most advantageous utility connection. As energy resources become
more costly and scarce, items such as energy efficiency, power demand
minimization, and energy conservation should be closely considered to
reduce both energy consumption and utility cost.
System power (i.e., energy) losses should be considered as part of the
total load in sizing service mains and service equipment. ANSI/NFPA
70-2002, NEC recommends that the total voltage drop from the electrical service to the load terminals of the farthest piece of equipment
served should not exceed 5 percent of the system voltage and, thus, the
energy loss, I 2 R, will correspondingly be limited.
Listed hereafter are typical load groups and examples of classes of
electrical equipment that should be considered when estimating initial
and future loads.

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Lighting: Interior (general, task, exits, and stairwells), exterior (decorative, parking lot, security), normal, and emergency
Appliances: Business and copying machines, receptacles for vending
machines, and general use
Space conditioning: Heating, cooling, cleaning, pumping, and airhandling units
Plumbing and sanitation: Water pumps, hot water heaters, sump and
sewage pumps, incinerators, and waste handling
Fire protection: Fire detection, alarms, and pumps
Transportation: Elevators, dumbwaiters, conveyors, escalators, and
moving walkways
Data processing: Desktop computers, central processing and peripheral equipment, and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems,
including related cooling
Food preparation: Cooling, cooking, special exhausts, dishwashing,
disposing, and so forth
Special loads: For equipment and facilities in mercantile buildings,
restaurants, theaters, recreation and sports complexes, religious buildings, terminals and airports, health care facilities, laboratories, broadcasting stations, and so forth
Miscellaneous loads: Security; central control systems; communications; audio-visual, snow-melting, recreational, or fitness equipment;
incinerators, shredding devices, waste compactors, shop and maintenance equipment, and so forth

Load Estimates
There are several load estimates that should be made during the course
of the project including:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Preliminary load estimate

Early design load estimate
NEC compliance load estimates that may be required
Energy compliance load estimates that may be appropriate
Final load estimates based on final design load information

The following tables are provided to assist the user in estimating

preliminary loads for various building types. Considerable judgment
should be used in the application of this data. Power densities are typically given in watts per square foot (W/ft2) or volt-amps per square foot
(VA/ft2) and are used interchangeably because unity power factor is
assumed for preliminary load calculations.
In the first of the tables that follow, criteria for controlling the energy

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consumption of lighting systems in, and connected with, building facilities have been prepared by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) in concert with the
Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA). They are
identified in Section 6 of ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1-1989, Energy Efficient
Design of New Buildings Except New Low-Rise Residential Buildings,
which establishes an upper limit of power to be allowed for lighting systems plus guidelines for designing and managing those systems. A simplified method based on the above standard for determining the unit
lighting power allowance for each building type is shown in Table 3.1.
The remaining tables provide power densities for various types of
loads and building types. See Tables 3.2 through 3.10.
The foregoing tables give estimated connected loads for various types
of buildings and spaces in buildings. To these the user must apply a
demand factor to estimate the actual demand load. This requires experience and judgment. Applying a demand factor will help to design an
economical power distribution system by designing to demand loads
rather than connected loads. This will result in equipment that is approTABLE 3.1 Prescriptive Unit Lighting Power Allowance (ULPA) (w/ft2)
Gross Lighted Area of Total Building

TABLE 3.2 Typical Appliance/General-Purpose Receptacle Loads (Excluding

Plug-In-Type A/C and Heating Equipment)

TABLE 3.3 Typical Apartment Loads

TABLE 3.4 Typical Connected Electrical Load for Air Conditioning Only

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TABLE 3.5 Central Air Conditioning Watts per SF, BTUs per Hour per SF of Floor Area and SF per Ton of Air
Conditioning

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TABLE 3.6 All-Weather Comfort Standard Recommended Heat Loss Values

TABLE 3.7 Typical Power Requirement (kW) for High-Rise Building Water
PressureBoosting Systems

TABLE 3.8 Typical Power Requirement (kW) for Electric Hot WaterHeating
System

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TABLE 3.9 Typical Power Requirement (kW) for Fire Pumps in Commercial
Buildings (Light Hazard)

priately sized rather than oversized to accommodate connected loads.

Tables 3.11 and 3.12 give examples of demand loads.
Experience has shown that demand factors for buildings typically
range between 50 and 80 percent of the connected load. For most building types, the demand factor at the service where the maximum diversity is experienced is usually 60 to 75 percent of the connected load.
Specific portions of the system may have much higher demand factors,
even approaching 100 percent.
The factors shown in Table 3.13 may be used in sizing the distribution
system components shown for lighting demand and should result in a
TABLE 3.10 Typical Loads in Commercial Kitchens

TABLE 3.11 Comparison of Maximum Demand

TABLE 3.12 Connected Load and Maximum Demand by Tenant Classification

TABLE 3.13 Factors Used in Sizing Distribution System Components

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conservative design. The factors should be applied to connected lighting

load in the first step, and then to the product resulting from previous
steps as the designer proceeds through the system.
The types of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems chosen
for a specific building will have the greatest single effect on electrical
load. First, the choice of fuel will be critical. If natural gas, fuel oil, or
coal is chosen, electrical loads will be lower than would be the case if
electricity were chosen. Second, the choice of refrigeration cycle will
have a considerable impact. If absorption chillers are chosen, electrical
loads will be lower than those imposed by electric centrifugal or reciprocating chillers.
For initial estimates, before actual loads are known, the factors shown
in Table 3.14 may be used to establish the major elements of the electrical system serving HVAC primary cooling systems.
In the writers experience, a factor of 1.7 kVA/ton provides a good
estimate for a primary cooling system made up of electric centrifugal
chillers, chilled water pumps, condenser water pumps, and cooling tower
fans.

TABLE 3.14 Factors Used to Establish Major Elements of the Electrical

System Serving HVAC Systems

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To estimate loads for commercial kitchens, the choice of fuel in the

kitchen is a major determinant. If natural gas is the primary fuel, electrical loads will be lower on a watts-per-square-foot basis than where
electricity is the primary fuel. For estimating purposes, the following
factors may be used as an alternative to those shown in Table 3.10. In
calculating kitchen floor area include cooking and preparation, dishwashing, storage, walk-in refrigerators and freezers, food serving lines,
tray assembly, and offices.
Primary Fuel
Natural gas
Electricity

Watts/Square Foot
25
125

A tabulation of actual service entrance demand per gross square foot

is presented in Tables 3.15 and 3.16 for a group of health care facilities.
Data used in preparation of these tables was obtained from the Veterans Administration and Hospital Corporation of America. Refer to
footnotes accompanying the tables for the criteria on which these tables
are based.
The tables show the type of facility, the gross floor area and number
of beds for each, the geographic location, and the major fuel type
employed for HVAC systems in that facility. The derived factors may be
used to estimate the anticipated demand for other facilities similar in
size, location, and type of fuel. They also may be used to make initial
estimates of service entrance capacity, switchgear size, and space required for service entrance equipment. It is important to recognize,
however, that they will be useful principally in the schematic design

TABLE 3.15 Service Entrance Peak Demand (Veterans Administration)

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TABLE 3.16 Service Entrance Peak Demand (Hospital Corporation of

America)