We have a service upgrade quote.
A new service is one of the most expensive lines on an electrification project, and it is often quoted from a calculation. Before you sign, find out what the service you have actually carries, and whether capacity can be recovered from it.
Why a Service Looks Full
A service is judged by the current it carries at its busiest moment. Part of that current does the work the facility exists for, and part of it does nothing useful.
- Calculated, it can look full
- A quote built on the standard calculation assumes a large share of the equipment runs at once. A measured calculation starts from what the facility really drew.
- Measured, it can still be tight
- Where measured demand leaves little room, some of the current in the rating is power spent on nothing or current that does no work. Both can be returned.
- Sometimes the upgrade is right
- Where the useful load alone fills the service, no recovery is enough. The upgrade is then sized against a measured basis.
Two Steps, in This Order
- 01
First, the Capacity Determination Report reads 12 months of utility demand data, or 30 days measured on the panel, and states whether the quoted load fits on the service you already have.
- 02
If it fits, you have your answer, signed by a licensed engineer and ready for the plans.
- 03
If it is tight, Capacity Recovery designs the changes that return capacity, simulates them on your own demand, and has the panel measured again and signed afterwards.
What Answers It
Capacity Determination Report, first
Whether the quoted load fits on the existing service, from utility records or 30 days on the panel, reviewed and signed by a licensed engineer. It decides whether anything else is worth doing.
Capacity Recovery
The changes that return capacity, designed and simulated on your own demand, then run as a managed service. A licensed electrician does any physical work, and the panel is measured again.
What the Quote Does Not Tell You
A quote prices the work of installing a larger service. Ask how the existing load behind it was established: calculated from the connected equipment, or measured from what the facility drew. The answer changes what the quote is worth.
We do not sell the upgrade, the equipment or the installation. The report states what the meter recorded, whichever way that points.
An upgrade may still be the right answer. The decision to make one should follow a measurement.
Where This Comes Up
A school kitchen going electric
The district has a quote for a larger service before the new kitchen equipment is ordered. A year of utility records shows what the service carries at lunch service in the busiest month.
A hotel after a heat pump design
The mechanical design adds heat pumps and the electrical design adds a service upgrade to carry them. The report tests that against measured demand before either is priced further.
A distribution center adding forklift charging
The quote covers a larger service and new switchgear. Where the report comes back tight, Recovery looks for capacity in ventilation, lighting schedules and power factor.
Questions About the Quote
- Is the report really required before Recovery?
- Yes. Recovery is only worth scoping where measured demand is tight, and the report is how we know.
- Can you guarantee we avoid the upgrade?
- No. The report states what was measured, and the panel measured again after recovery states what changed on that date. Where the useful load fills the service, we say so.