Computation of Electrical requirements

Understanding Electrical Loads

Calculating how much power both you and your electrical appliances use is necessary to calculate
this number.

As technology continues to advance, it seems we add more and more electrical loads to our
home. To figure out your electrical loads you need to know what to look for and how to add up
the loads.

The first thing to know is that circuits should only be loaded up to 80% of the total circuit
capabilities. Having said that, it doesn't mean that you should keep adding additional loads until
you get to *% capacity. Instead, aim for a more reasonable amount, say %0- 60% load if at all
possible, allowing for future additional loads. It's better to have too many circuits in a home than
too few.

Calculating Capacity

To help you understand the concept, if you have a 15-amp circuit, the safe operating amperage
would be no greater than 12 amps. The total wattage would be 1,800 watts, meaning the safe
wattage usage would be 1,440 watts. If you had a 1,100-watt hairdryer plugged into this circuit,
you can see that just one device uses almost the entire desired load capabilities.

If you have a 20-amp circuit, the safe operating amperage would be no greater than 16 amps. The
total wattage would be 2,400 watts, meaning the safe wattage usage would be 1,920 watts. In
this instance, you could actually have a hairdryer, radio, and electric razor running on the same
circuit, but not much else.

That's why there should be additional bathroom circuits to cover lighting, exhaust fans, and heat
lamps for drying.
On a 30-amp circuit, the safe operating amperage would be no greater than 24 amps. The total
wattage would be 3,600 watts, meaning the safe wattage usage would be 2,880 watts. This
information comes in handy with central air conditioners, electric dryers, electric ranges, and
electric ovens.

To determine the wattage, you take the voltage times the amperage. Check the tags on all of your
appliances for the required amperage rating. Add the entire lighting load by adding the total
wattage of the light bulbs in your home. Look at the light bulbs and read the wattage that is
printed on them.

Main Circuit Breaker Panel and Sub-Panels

Once you've determined the total load for your home, you'll know what size electrical service you
need. Most homes have either a 100-amp or a 200-amp circuit breaker.

There may also be additional sub-panels feeding off of the main circuit breaker panel. People
often put sub-panels on the second floor for easy access to breakers in the event of trouble.

With a large enough main circuit breaker panel, you can add sub-panels to your garage or
outbuildings as well. A good rule of thumb is to always have more outlets and service space
available for adding circuits and electrical loads. Who knows what might be the next electrical
load that you will add in the future? If there is anything in your home that needs to be over-sized,
it's your electrical service. Over the years you will grow into it.
 APPLICATION OF PERTINENT LAWS

 PD1096 (NATIONAL BUILDOING CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES)

▪ R2: One side only ▪ Maximum 80% of the length of side property line

▪ R3: Two configurations are allowed: ▪ Option A: Two sides ▪ Maximum 85% of each side ▪ Total
should not exceed 65% of lot perimeter ▪ Two storeys high only ▪ Option B: One side + Rear ▪
90% of side or rear (up to 100% for rear if only 4m) ▪ Total should not exceed 50% of lot
perimeter ▪ Two storeys high for side, 3.20m high for rear
▪ R4: Two sides ▪ Maximum 85% of each side ▪ Total should not exceed 50% of lot perimeter ▪
Maximum height: three storeys

▪ R5: Two configurations allowed: ▪ Option A: Two sides ▪ Maximum 75% of each side ▪ Total
should not exceed 50% of lot perimeter ▪ Maximum height: 8 storeys ▪ Option B: One side +
Rear ▪ Maximum 65% of side and 50% of rear ▪ Total should not exceed 60% of lot perimeter ▪
Maximum height: 8 storeys for side, 14m for rear

▪ Commercial, institutional, and industrial: ▪ Firewalls allowed on the ff. conditions: ▪ Provide
sprinkler system ▪ Install fire-retardant or fire-suppression devices ▪ Maximum 70% of lot
perimeter ▪ RROW setbacks are complied with
RA9514 FIRE CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES REQUIREMENTS
. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
A. Every building or structure, new or old, designed for human occupancy shall be provided with
exits sufficient to permit the fast and safe escape of occupants in case of fire or other emergency.
The design of exits and other fire safety construction shall be such that reliance for safety to life
in case of fire or other emergency will not depend solely on any single fire safety construction.
Additional safeguards shall be provided for life safety in case any single safeguard is ineffective
due to some human or mechanical failure.

B. Every building or structure shall be designed, constructed, equipped, maintained and operated
to avoid danger to the lives and ensure safety of its occupants from fire, smoke, vapor and fumes,
during the period of escape from the building or structure.
C. Every building or structure shall be provided with exits of kind, number, location and capacity
appropriate to the individual building or structure, with due regard to the character of the
occupancy, the number of persons exposed, the fire protection available and the height and type
of construction of the building or structure, to afford all occupants convenient facilities for
escape.
D. Every exit of buildings or structures shall be arranged and maintained to provide free and
unobstructed egress from all parts thereof at all times. No lock or fastening device that would
prevent escape from the inside of any building shall be installed except in mental, penal, or
correctional institutions where personnel are continually on duty and effective provisions are
made to evacuate occupants in case of fire or other emergencies.
E. Every exit shall be clearly visible. The route to the exit shall be conspicuously marked in such a
manner that every occupant of a building or structure will readily know the direction of escape.
Each route of escape, in its entirety, shall be so arranged or marked that the way to a place of
safety outside is unmistakable. Any doorway not constituting an exit shall be marked to minimize
its possible confusion as an exit. Likewise, passage constituting a way to reach an exit shall be
marked to minimize confusion.
F. All means of egress shall be provided with adequate and reliable illumination.
G. Fire alarm systems or devices shall be provided in every building or structure of such size,
arrangement, or occupancy, to provide adequate warning to occupants.

H. Every building or structure, section, or area thereof of such size, occupancy and arrangement
such that the reasonable safety of a number of occupants may be endangered by the blocking of
any single means of egress due to fire or smoke, shall have at least two means of egress remote
from each other, so arranged as to minimize any possibility that both may be blocked by any one
fire or other emergency conditions.
I. Every vertical way of exit and other vertical openings between floors of a building shall be
suitably enclosed or protected to afford reasonable safety of occupants while using exits and to
prevent spread of fire, smoke, or fumes through vertical openings from floor to floor before
occupants have entered exits.
  BATAS PAMBANDA BLG.344 (ACCESIBILITY LAW)
AN ACT TO ENHANCE THE MOBILITY OF DISABLED PERSONS BY REQUIRING CERATIN
BUILDINGS; INSTITUTIONS, ESTABLISHMENTS AND PUBLIC UTILITIES TO INSTALL FACILITIES
AND OTHER DEVICES.

Dropped Curbs - Dropped curbs should be provided at walkways with changes in elevations •
Should be provided at pedestrian crossings and at end of footpaths • Should be as wide as the
crossing or should be 900mm wide at minimum
Curb Cut-outs - Curb cut-outs should only be allowed when it will not obstruct or lessen the
width of a walkway • Minimum width should be 900mm • Should have a gradient not more
than 1:12
Walkways - Walkways should be kept as level as possible and provided with slip-resistant
material • Minimum width is at 1200mm • should have a gradient no more than 1:20 or 5%
(1:100 max cross gradient)
Should not have abrupt pitches in angle or interruptions by cracks that create edges above
6.5mm • Grating openings at walkways should have max dimension of 13x13mm and shall not
project more than 6.5mm
In lengthy walkways, wheelchair rest stops or turning spaces with minimum dimension of
1500mm should be provided (maximum distance of 12 meters between stops) • Straight
forward routes with right angle turns should be observed for the blind
Handrails should be installed at both sides of ramps and stairs and at the outer edges of
dropped curbs at crossings • Shall be installed at 900mm and 700mm above steps or ramps (
Height at 1 or 1.06 meters if for protection at great heights)
Open Spaces - Where open spaces are provided, give walkways defined edges either by the use
of planters with dwarf walls, grass verge or similar which provides a texture different from the
path. This helps the blind to determine the pathway.
 COST CONSIDERATION

 COST AS FACTOR OF DESIGN

Client priorities

All construction work is ultimately undertaken for the benefit of a client. Clients fund the construction
process, whether they are individuals extending their homes, or a multi-national corporation developing
a cutting-edge production facility, or a government department providing much needed social
infrastructure. The importance of clients cannot be over-emphasized. Very often clients do not get the
building they want, because they do not know how to ask for it and the architect or other consultants
think the building should look a different way. Clients expect that the project will be a success and that
the providers will deliver a competent service. They will be dissatisfied, if these expectations are not
met. 3 David Keane (2001) quotes Hudson’s Building Contracts (1995 p.284), in describing the remit of
the architect, provides a useful synopsis of what clients‟ expectations may be:

a design which is skilful, effective to achieve his purpose within any financial limitations he may impose
or make known and comprehensive in the sense that no necessary work or foreseeable work is omitted;

the obtaining of a competitive price for the work from a competent Contractor, and the placing of the
contract accordingly in terms which afford reasonable protection to the Employers interest both in
regard to price and quality of the work;

efficient supervision to ensure that the works as carried out conform in detail to the design;

and efficient administration of the contract so as to achieve speedy and economical completion of the
contract. (Keane 2001 pp.27-28)

Priorities vary amongst clients and a critically important factor for one client may be insignificant for
another. It is also clear that the broad priorities of time, cost and quality are complex and interrelated.

 INITIAL COST VS ENERGY EFFICIENCY FOR BUILDING MATERIALS, UTILITIES AND TECHNOLOGY
Sustainable development is the most vibrant and enigmatic global topic in the construction industry in
more than a decade. Green buildings are the darling of the media and trendy, politically-correct owners
and tenants. Building green is also a means to an end, used by public agencies to bolster community
support and public image. But what does it cost? Is popular perception correct, that green buildings cost
more? Do lower lifecycle costs offset any increase in the initial construction cost? Do the benefits
related to human performance and health balance the cost of sustainable design? Is building green
justifiable as a business case? This paper provides a brief overview of green building and available rating
systems, followed by a discussion about the tangible and intangible benefits of sustainable design. The
relative cost of green construction is debated, and the discourse concludes with some cost-savings
guidance.

Savings by Design The second largest source of cost savings is in the design of the facility. Numerous
potential cost savings blur the line between green design and value engineering, such as the following:
• Design flexibility and carefully considered site planning that reduce the footprint (and thus the square
footage and associated systems) of the building, right-sizing the facility while satisfying the needs of the
owner.

• Efficiency in infrastructure, e.g., minimized length of sewer and utility lines, savings on surface area for
paving, and more.

• Downsized mechanical and electrical equipment, through the use of daylighting, natural ventilation,
low- or noflow plumbing fixtures, etc. Similarly, high efficiency systems and appropriate building siting.

• Power generation through the use of photovoltaics or other generation, and reduced peak energy use.
• Use of locally-sourced or reclaimed materials, which not only boosts the local economy but reduces
transportation costs. And,

• Choosing to reduce or not use any materials, especially for interior finishes
TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF THE PHILIPPINES
363 P Casal, Quiapo, Manila, 1001 Metro Manila

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

RESEARCH STUDY
DESIGN 5

SUMBITTED BY:
PLACIDO, ALDRIDGE JOHN B.

SUBMITTED TO:
ARCH. ROMEO CAMACHO