What is a Commercial Electrician?

Posted April 26th, 2021 by Gary & filed under Electrical Installations.

Commercial projects differ from residential projects. Thus, electrical specialists in this area are required. Therefore, always choose a specific commercial electrician for any commercial electrical installation. So what is a commercial electrician?

Commercial projects can be categorised as follows

Data Centres
Commercial Offices
Shops and retail spaces
Warehouses and Industrial
Hospitals, clinics and healthcare
Sports and Leisure

Electrical Installations for Data Centres

Data centres can be very densely populated with electrical installation requirements. They consist of two main areas with the same building.

The Data Centre Halls
The Administration and Client Areas

The data centre halls will require large-scale electrical installation work when constructed. However, besides, as the data halls grow and different clients require bespoke requirements, additional electrical installation work is required. This can be additional electrical sockets to a cabinet or on a wall for certain control equipment

The majority of our work in data centres is however in the space outside of the data halls. These consist of administration offices, meeting rooms, reception areas, and client space that they use when visiting. These areas constantly change. Therefore, electrical installation and data cabling installation are frequently required. Change include new televisions, videos walls, WiFi upgrades, signage and desk relocations, and additions

Commercial Office Electrical Installations

Commercial offices are the most widespread of the commercial electrical industry. Every office requires a certain amount of electrical work, and although every office is different, they all have common similarities.

The electrical installation will usually cover the following services and area

Desks
Meeting Rooms
Audio Visual
Communication Rooms
Reception
Lighting
Building Services such as AC

Each commercial space will have different size teams, different technology, and different growth expectations. Therefore, extensive experience in commercial installations is a must. Therefore, the electrical systems designed for the initial stage will keep in mind the potential for growth in company size and hardware technology

Electrical Installations for Shops and Retail Spaces

The majority of retail installations are shops. However, these can merge into large shopping centres and department stores. The shops can vary immensely in size and requirements.

Regardless of size, the biggest challenge in electrical retail installations is how they are constructed. As aesthetics and design are an important part of a store brand, the access, and routes for electrical cabling in a shop are usually quite complicated. In an office, there would be a false ceiling, false floor, trunking, or maybe even all three. In a shop, there are generally solid ceilings, lots of shelving, covered floor space, and constant customer traffic.

This is where previous commercial experience is important. Thus knowing the best times to undertake the installation, advising on disruption, and knowledge of getting around the difficult cabling routes

In an office environment, people can be moved to different desks to void the electrical installation work. However, in a store, they are open at set times. Therefore., the majority of retail installations are out of hours and in the evenings

Warehouse and Industrial Electrical Installations

Warehouse and industrial buildings are categorised by their larger scope, size, and height. They also incorporate similar installations to offices, as most also have office space within them.

However, what sets them apart is the greater size. Greater size usually results in larger requirements. The containment is bigger, the cables are larger, and the distance travelled is greater. Furthermore, additional access equipment is generally required. Installation may be undertaken on powered scissor lifts or boom lifts

Each location is generally unique, and a commercial experience is important in these settings than probably in any other

Hospitals, Clinics, and Healthcare Electrical Installations

An example of health care buildings can range from a small clinic to a large hospital. It can also include care homes, which although similar to residential they are a different installation consideration and thus a commercial installation.

Clinics and hospitals are generally constructed with false ceilings and at times existing containment. Therefore, the routes and access can be efficient. However, the challenge is working around patients, staff, and delicate equipment.

Care homes differ in that the majority have solid ceilings and routes. Older homes will be constructed of older brick construction throughout, and routes will be difficult. In many cases, the cabling involves a lot of disruption.

Electrical installations for Sports, Hospitality and Leisure

The buildings in this sector include venues for entertainment, public houses, restaurants, cafes, cinemas, and sports stadiums. Likewise, as with healthcare buildings, these can vary in almost unlimited layouts and construction. They probably have the least common and effective construction for installing new electrical cabling. Aesthetics, ambiance, and branding are very important in this space, so easy access is not usually possible. Thus, bespoke installations, planning, and design are generally required. In addition, working out of hours and to a set schedule is a common attribute of this sector

When hiring a commercial electrician, what should I know?

As explained above, every sector and every building within those sectors vary greatly. However, they all have a common thread in that a lot more planning and experience in those sectors are needed. In residential homes, houses generally have similar requirements. Furthermore, you only have one family or person to work around.

In these commercial settings it is important to know just know the commercial electrical regulations, but furthermore how to design and work around operational buildings. In addition, planning for the future and not just installing for the present

Commercial electrical installation companies should have experience in the following

A larger scale of work.

Commercial electricians have experience in a range of more complex projects. Complexity results in greater specifics and a greater range of requirements for electrical work.

Electrical Scope of works

Residential and commercial installations have a different scope and scale of electrical wiring requirements. In a home, the electrical wiring runs to similar-looking rooms through the walls or ceiling.

However, in commercial settings, the electrical cabling can be installed in the ceiling, walls, floors, externally, on a tray, basket, or in a metal or plastic conduit. The electrical cabling can be for a greater number of requirements and different power ratings, such as 13amp, 16amp, 32 amp, etc. In a residential setting, it will all be general 13amp sockets with a few additional exceptions

Electrical requirements

The overall power requirements in commercial spaces will be higher than in a residential setting. More equipment means more electrical circuits. More electrical circuits result in greater power requirements. A home will generally have one main fuse board. A commercial space may have several. All have to be designed to work together