EE3044D Electrical System Design for Buildings

High Rise Building and Standby Generators

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 Electrical installations of high-rise buildings: Distribution systems - rising main, cable
system, Installation of lifts, standby generators, fire pumps, electric schematic drawing.

Selection of standby Diesel Generator set (DG set): power rating - Continuous, Prime and
Standby power ratings, installation and essential protections.

Introduction to Automatic Mains failure (AMF) systems.

Introduction to Solar PV Systems, off-grid and on-grid systems, Solar panel efficiencies,
design of a PV system for domestic application, Selection of battery for off-grid domestic
systems.
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 Electrical installations of high-rise buildings
- High rise residential apartments are those buildings having a height above ground level of
more than 15 m.
- For a large multistoried building where there are several floors and having many circuits, the
main switch board controls the circuit to each floor or section.
- Sub-distribution boards are placed in convenient positions on different floors and all sub-
circuits are taken from them.
- Such a system of wiring which resembles a tree is known as the 'tree system of wiring’.
- In a tree system, conductors are taken from the point of supply to the various load points.
- At each load point, branches with conductors of smaller sizes are taken off or a pair of fuse is
inserted.
- This is necessary at every place where the sectional area of the conductor is reduced.
- The conductors constituting the main branch are known as rising mains or risers.
- They are of the same size throughout, virtually forming a vertical busbar chamber.
- Such a unit which is continued throughout the height of a five storey building is fitted into
recesses built in the building is shown in next slide.
- The conductors must be inaccessible to unauthorized persons and totally enclosed or fixed in a
chann11e-03l-2o02r5 trunking, specially provided for the purpose 3
 Arrangement of rising main
channel for a five storey building

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- Normally, out door type transformer sub stations are not permitted at the premises of high rise
apartments.
- However, out door transformers with cable end boxes on both HT and MV sides can be
permitted with special emphasis on safety measures.
- Only dry type transformers will be permitted to be installed in the basement floor or above the
ground floors.
- If the total connected load of the apartment is 50kVA and above, separate transformer shall be
installed by the promoter / owner at his cost
- If there is only one transformer, an HT load break switch fuse unit or a vacuum circuit breaker
may be used as the primary controlling unit.
- HT load break switch is adequate for capacities below 1000 kVA. For higher ratings, vacuum
circuit breakers are to be used.
- If there are more than one transformer in the same premise, the HT switch board shall have an
HT load break isolator of adequate capacity on the incomer side as a group controller and HT
SFU or VCB as out going for controlling individual transformers
- The HT metering arrangement shall be arranged on the primary control unit.
- Only tamper proof digital TOD (Time of Day) meters shall be provided for metering the energy
consumption.
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- A circuit breaker of adequate capacity shall be provided on the secondary side of the
transformer.
- Oil filled circuit breakers or oil filled switch fuse units shall not to be used in high rise buildings.
- Low set earth fault protection using neutral CT need not be insisted for transformers feeding
high rise buildings where, Low tension metering is provided for individual consumers.
- How ever ELCB (Earth leakage circuit breakers) shall be provided on all consumer distribution
boards and other motor loads excepting the fire pump motors.
Metering in high rise building
- For high rise apartment buildings, the metering panel shall be located at the ground floor level
- The energy meters for the individual consumers are to be provided by the promoter of the
building and these meters have to be certified by the competent authority before being
installed in the metering panel.
Cabling in high rise building
- Cables from the metering panel to various floors shall be routed through cable ducts only.
- There shall be access to these cable ducts from all floors.
- Fire barriers shall be provided in the cable ducts at all floor levels inside the ducts.
- This is to prevent the spread of fire to upper floors in the event of a fire breaking out in a lower
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- Other service cables like telephone, net work, CCTV cable etc. shall not be provided in the
cable ducts for power.
- Aluminium armored cables are preferred up to the distribution boards of the individual
consumers.
- Beyond the distribution board copper wires are preferred for reasons of convenience and
reliability
Distribution board in high rise building
- Factory assembled distribution boards with IP42 protection (Double door) is the best choice for
apartments.
- The incomer device for these distribution boards shall be an RCBO or ELCB+MCB (30 mA
sensitivity) of appropriate rating depending on the connected load.
- The out going MCBs shall be of B-characteristics for light and resistive loads and of C
characteristics for highly inductive loads.
Standby Generator in high rise building
- A stand by generator of adequate capacity is to be provided for every apartment building to
meet the emergency needs and essential loads in case of a power failure.
- The capacity of the generator shall be a minimum of 20 % of the connected load of the
apartment.
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- When generator supply is extended to individual consumers, it shall be carried out through a
separate emergency distribution board.
- The generators shall conform to the requirements of the Pollution Control Board and shall be
housed in an acoustic enclosure to limit the sound level below 70 dB.
- The exhaust pipe of the diesel generator set shall also be extended to the top of the building.
- A separate room shall be provided with proper oil drainage facility. An emergency engine
stopping arrangement also is to be provided out side the generator room.
Common Service Panel in high rise building
- The details of the common service panel are shown in next slide.
- This panel caters to the lighting requirements of common areas like entrance lobby, stair ways,
car parks, equipment rooms, external lights etc.
- Supply to the lifts, domestic pumps, fire pumps and other building services are also provided
from this panel.
- The total energy consumption from this panel is separately metered and the total cost is
shared by the owners of the residential flats as part of the monthly maintenance charges.

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 Installation of vertical transportation
- Integral part of high rise building
- Lifts and escalators form the major means of vertical transportation
- These are designed & installed by lift/escalator manufacturer
- The electrical system engineer shall collect the relevant information regarding the
requirements of electricity for the lift/escalator from manufacturer
- The following aspects are taken into consideration while deciding electrical requirements for
lifts/escalators
• Number of lifts, passengers carrying capacity, location
• Number of floors served
• Location of machine room
• Provision of lighting and ventilation
• Quality of electric supply
• Control system used
• Operation and maintenance
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 Emergency and standby generation
- Intended to provide an alternate source of power if the normal source of power fails
- Classified as follows
1. Emergency power systems
2. Standby power systems
3. Emergency power system
- It is an independent reserve source of electric energy that, upon failure or outage of the
normal source, automatically provides reliable electric power within specified time to critical
devices and equipment whose failure may jeopardize the health and safety of personnel or
result in damage to property
- Eg. UPS system
2. Standby power system
- It is an independent reserve source of energy that, upon failure or outage of the normal source
provides electrical power of acceptable quality so that the user’s facilities may continue in
satisfactory operation
- Eg. St1a1-0n3-d20b25y generator 11
Factors to be considered while selecting a standby generator
- The power rating of the standby generator : It should be chosen after considering the total load
in the building/home
- The type of fuel : It should be chosen by considering the price & availability of fuel
- The selection of manufacturer : It should be chosen by considering the type of control,
efficiency, price, service etc.
- Placement : indoor/outdoor depending on the size, space availability & noise level
- Switching of supply : Manual switching/ by using Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS)
General considerations
- Engine driven AC generator sets are used for industrial and commercial buildings as a source of
power
- Main prime movers used in engine driven type generators are diesel engines, gas turbines and
steam turbines
- Gas turbine generators are lighter in weight than diesel engine sets, run more quietly and
require less cooling and combustion air leading to lower installation costs
- Gas turbine generator sets are more expensive than diesel engine generator sets, require more
starting time
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 Power ratings of generators
- While selecting a generator, selection of its power rating is important
- There are three basic power rating types – continuous, prime and standby
a) Continuous Power rating of a Generator
- It is the power, the generator is able to generate continuously for an unlimited number of
hours each year.
- A generator with continuous power rating is called continuous power rated generator
- They are widely used in applications like mining, agriculture or military operations where the
power grid is unreachable.
- They supply power constantly to a constant load, but can’t handle overload conditions &
variable loads.
- Since these generators need to operate continuously for long periods, a proper cooling system
is provided. Also they run at lower revolution speed to increase their life span further.
b) Prime power rating of a generator
- A prime power rated generator can supply a base power (normally 70% of rated power) for an
unlim11i-t0e3-2d025time and 100% of rated power for a limited time (500 hours/year) 13
- These types of generators supplies power for a temporary purpose, as well as applications that
are typically remote from utility facilities, such as remote mining, petroleum exploration
operations.
c) Standby Power rating of a generator
- It is the Maximum power that the generator can deliver and is limited in time, less than 500
hours per year
- Applied to generator sets which are used exclusively for emergency power
- It generally has the ability to run for a short amount of time before the main power supply is
restored
- Standby generators can be usable in many situations, including residential, commercial, and
industrial areas
When generator sets are used as a primary source of electrical energy, the following points
should be considered
 Provide for parallel operation with other sets/utility
 Allow for long maintenance periods
 Ensure starting capability of generator sets without presence of a utility supply
 Long life
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When used as a standby source
- Quick and reliable start up and loading
- Reliable load shedding to avoid overloading
- Allow for periodic testing under load
- Provide for parallel operation with utility
Arrangement of standby/emergency supply system
- The arrangement of standby/emergency power supply system is shown in next slide
- Under Normal operating conditions, the load supplied from the utility (EB) supply
- Upon loss of this supply, circuit breaker (CB) Q1 is tripped, the generator set is started and
essential loads are supplied by the standby generator set by closing the CB Q2.
- Now the automatic transfer switch (ATS) also changes its state.
- Emergency loads are supplied from UPS
- UPS is equipped with static switch which will bypass the rectifier/inverter module in case of an
internal fault in the UPS and ensure continuous supply of electric power to the
critical/emergency loads
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 Arrangement of
standby/emergency supply
system

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 Installation requirements of standby generators
- Minimum 1m clearance shall be provided on three sides of the generator set, minimum 2m
clearance shall be provided between them
- Fuel tank of DG sets shall be installed outside the generator room
- Exhaust pipe of DG sets shall maintain a minimum height of 1.8m clearance from the floor level
- Voltmeters and frequency meters shall be connected before the circuit breaker in the
generator control panel
- Watt hour meter and ammeters in each phase shall be provided
- For generators of 500kVA and above, kVA/kW meter and pf meter shall also be provided
- Changeover switches of approved makes is permitted for capacities up to and including 800A
- Undervoltage coil may be provided at grid side, ACB/MCCB on respective switchboards at
installations where generators are installed for preventing chances of back feeding from
generators to grid side
- Provide thermal O/L relay in the generator circuit
- Generator room shall be made of non inflammable materials
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- Standard size of earthing cables and conductors for
generators shall be provided
- Proper protection schemes should also be provided
for generators
- The panel instruments required for a standby
generator are listed in Table 27 in data handbook.
- The table is shown in figure.

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 Automatic Main Failure (AMF)
- Automatic main failure (AMF) system is an automated switching device that switches the load
to main or stand by generator.
- During the event of main power failure, AMF automatically makes the power switch to
emergency standby generators.
- Without AMF panels, stand by generators need to be operated manually and that can cause
data loss, potential damage to electrical equipment, and huge amounts of disruption.
- When the mains power supply returns, the AMF panel switch back to the mains supply and
shuts down the running generator after a suitable cooling run.
- Automatic mains failure panels are sometimes also called an Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS).
- The AMF panel includes a battery charger, electronic circuit boards, power relays, and terminal
blocks.
Working of AMF system
- Automatic Mains failure Panel includes a number of different sensors for sensing a loss and
variation in the mains supply.
- The detection of these faults or variations is often achieved by voltage sensing relays, which
will o1p1-0e3-2ra02t5e during the abnormal variations in the main supply. 19
- Simpler form the Mains Transfer panel consists of two contactors with control sensors.
- The arrangement is shown in figure
- One of the contactor supply the mains to the loads and the other contactor will supply the
standby generator to the loads
- During abnormal variations in main supply voltage, sensors will detect it and the main
contactor will de-energize. Thus, prevent the load from severe damage.
- If the fault persists for over the programmed time, the standby generator will get a command
to start.
- When the control sensors of standby generator
have determined that the generator supply is at
the correct frequency and voltage, the standby
generator contactor will energize and generator
fed the site distribution board.
- When the mains power supply returns, a timer
will start to ensure that the supply is stable and
after a preset time the mains contactor will
energize and the standby generator contactor
de-en11e-0r3-g20i2z5e 20
Single line diagram
representation of installation
of a standby generator in an
existing electrical power
supply system
- Consider an HT consumer
connection.
- A standby generator may
be installed in the system
by incorporating an AMF
panel as shown in figure.

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 Energy Conservation techniques in electrical power distribution
- Energy conservation aims at eliminating wastage of energy and minimizing losses.
- The major factors to be looked into in this regard include system design, selection of
equipment, operation and maintenance practices, capacity utilization factors etc.
- The Indian Industrial Sector accounts for half of the total commercial energy used in the
country.
- In this context proper selection of electrical equipment assumes greater importance.
EQUIPMENT SELECTION
- The main criterion for equipment selection, from energy conservation point of view, is that the
power loss has to be minimum.
- In other words the operating efficiency should be high.
- Proper sizing of equipment is essential to ensure optimum utilization of energy.
- It is also necessary to avoid over rating or under rating the equipment.
- It should be ensured that operating power factor of equipment is high.
- Most commonly encountered equipment in electrical systems are mentioned below:
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Motors
- Motors should preferably be energy efficient motors
- Motors with higher operating power factor shall be considered during selection as this results
in lower current and consequently lower losses
- Use of variable speed drives will bring substantial energy saving wherever different flow
conditions/speeds are encountered in the process industry.
Transformers
- While choosing transformer, normal loading shall be considered in order to procure maximum
efficiency
- Also specify minimum acceptable value of maximum efficiency
Cables Equipment
- Optimizing cable route/length can best reduce cable losses.
- Though the losses can also be reduced by over sizing the conductors, this is not recommended
due to the practical problems encountered with termination of over sized cables.
Lighting
- An eff1i1c-0i3e-20n25t lighting system can substantially reduce the energy consumption. 23
Different energy saving opportunities in lighting are
1. Installation of LED lamps in place of incandescent lamps & compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).
2. Installation of energy-efficient fluorescent lamps in place of “conventional” fluorescent
lamps.
3. Installation of occupancy/motion sensors to turn lights on and off where appropriate.
4. Use an automated device, such as a key tag system, to regulate the electric power in a room.
5. Offer nightlights to prevent the bathroom lights from being left on all night.
6. Replace all exit signs with light emitting diode (led) exit signs.
7. Use high efficiency (hid) exterior lighting
8. Add lighting controls such as photo sensors or time clocks
9. Optimization of plant lighting
10. Maximum use of natural sunlight

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