Webcast: Circuit protection in health care facilities

Designing electrical systems for health care facilities—especially hospitals—is more demanding than for conventional buildings because the stakes are so high. Therefore, circuit protection requirements are necessarily more stringent. Health care and hospital electrical system design is regulated by various codes and recommendations that are often confusing. The requirements are full of information on both the normal and emergency power system branches.

Unfortunately, these guidelines simply list requirements on feeder and critical branch circuit protection schemes specific to health care systems; they do not provide detailed information on how electrical engineers should achieve them. Therefore, engineers must understand and apply circuit protection best practices—especially when designing electrical systems in hospitals and health care facilities.

Learning objectives:

• Explain the applicable codes and standards: NFPA 70: National Electrical Code, Article 517; NFPA 99: Health Care Facilities Code; and NFPA 110: Standard for Emergency and Standby Power Systems.
• Analyze and compare the differences between the equipment, critical branch, and life safety branches of the emergency power supply system (EPSS) from both code and standard of design standpoints.
• Assess the types of equipment associated with each branch of the emergency system.
• Outline the coordination, overcurrent, short-circuit, and ground-fault protection issues for health care facilities.

Presenters:

Danna Jensen, PE, LEED AP BD+C, Vice President, WSP + ccrd, Dallas

Dwayne G. Miller, PE, RCDD, CEO, JBA Consulting Engineers, Las Vegas

Moderator:

Jack Smith, Consulting-Specifying Engineer, Pure Power, and CFE Media, LLC 

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