Don't get shocked by the high cost of electrical installation

Nation's Restaurant News, Sept 23, 1996 by Foster Frable, Jr.

Installing electrical service for equipment often is the single-largest construction cost item in new or renovated foodservice facilities. That is due in part to the quantity of electrical work involved in a modern kitchen, with electricians receiving the highest hourly rates on many construction projects. In addition, local and national electrical codes require specific components, wiring, safety procedures and installation techniques that are not only necessary but also very expensive to provide.

On large projects it is common for some electrical contractors to bid at or below cost, making up lost profits by exhaustive billings for minor revisions that occur during construction. In primarily union-labor areas like the Northeast and some parts of the Midwest and California, requesting a single additional 120-volt receptacle or connection could result in an extra charge of $500 or more, when the actual cost of labor and materials may be less than $100.

Installing electrical services represents a large percentage of the foodservice construction budget, but you can reduce them through careful planning by:

(1) Reducing the use of high-amperage equipment when other power sources are available. Large service switches and circuit breakers, conduits and wiring for high-amperage equipment are very expensive. Consider gas or steam heat for high-wattage items like booster heaters, coffee urns, dishwasher tank heaters and gas-fired combiovens and braising pans, which, until recently, commonly were electrically powered.

(2) Reducing floor-mounted stub-ups by using overhead drop cords or wire chases. Extensive coordination is required to locate stub-ups before slabs are poured in new construction or to core drill or chase floors in renovations. Substantial costs are incurred whenever a stub-up connection must be relocated. Reducing floor-mounted conduits makes cleaning under counters and tables much easier and eliminates the damage that occurs regularly to floor-mounted receptacles hit by carts and floor-scrubbing equipment.

With overhead electrical drops wiring can be coiled up in the ceiling ready to install into an equipment-mounted utility chase or mast. If the equipment moves, the chase moves with it and only the ceiling tile needs to be changed.

(3) Verifying your existing services before placing equipment orders. Many items are available with a variety of voltages and phase options. Sometimes unnecessary costs are incurred for new electric services when a similar voltage or phase is available at the same or nearby location that could be reused.

(4) Avoiding dual-voltage equipment, 120/208. That often means running four wires -- five with ground wires -- to the equipment and a special plug and receptacle, which adds to the cost and installation time. To eliminate a $30-$40 internal transformer inside the equipment, manufacturers transfer a possible $300-$500 additional cost to the owner, for an isolated circuit breaker and wiring to supply two voltages.

(5) Eliminating unnecessary control-wire circuits. When manual controls, timers and thermostats on gas or steam equipment are available, order them. In many cases mechanical controls are more reliable and less expensive to replace than electronic controls.

(6) Bypassing 480-volt equipment. While 480-volt wiring and service feeds are less expensive to install, the foodservice equipment cost often is higher because 208- or 230-volt service is much more common. Replacement parts are less likely to be in stock for 480-volt equipment.

(7) Insisting on factory-prewired cords and plugs. Installation of cords and plugs on equipment shipped without them can be a significant cause of extra charges and delays during a kitchen installation. Factory-installed cords sets usually are provided with better watertight connections and strain relievers than are field-wired cord sets.

(8) Building flexibility for change and growth into the design. Consider a Utility Distribution System -- UDS -- with factory-prewired panel boards connected to bus bars or drop cords, which allow the addition of new equipment without rewiring a wall or area. McDonald's uses ceiling-mounted drop cord sets extensively in the main cooking areas of many stores.

You also can provide flexibility for changes in light-duty preparation areas, in cashier stands and under bar tops by installing inexpensive wall-mounted plug strips with built-in circuit protection.

(9) Considering modular systems that are factory prewired. When it is possible, consider equipment that is prewired in the factory to a central panel for a single point of connection. Prewired refrigeration racks, chefs' tables, assembly conveyors and so on are examples of prewired systems.

(10) Using voltage isolators vs. dedicated wiring for computer and register systems. The cost of individual combination battery backups and power filter/isolation systems has fallen dramatically with the personal-computer boom. Today there is little need on most facilities to install a dedicated or isolated wiring system.