Electrical Subpanels for Apartments, Hotels & Motels – Part 1

When your apartment building, hotel, or motel’s power demands increase, you must consider your electrical system’s power capacity and distribution. This is certainly true if your facility’s space is expanding or your electrical needs are rapidly growing.

In these situations, installing an electrical subpanel should be considered to more efficiently and conveniently provide power. It is essentially a smaller service panel connected to your main service panel that will provide the new electrical service to a specific area inside your premises.

A subpanel allows a facility’s electrical system to efficiently provide power to a specific area while managing the service conveniently, which can be important to a business. However, an electrical subpanel will not provide more electricity to your facility.

You should work with a licensed electrician to confirm if a subpanel is needed and how it should be properly and safely installed in your building.

When Subpanel Installation is Required

The power requirements of your facility in the present and future will determine if an electrical subpanel should be installed. There may come a time when a specific area of your facility requires additional electrical power. A hall or room addition, an existing or new structure, or additional high-powered equipment may all need electricity. Still, if the main service panel is too far away, problems will result.

Three other reasons may require the installation of an electrical subpanel.

1) Your facility may be planning to install new powerful equipment that requires much more electricity.

2) If the main service panel has no more room for additional circuit breakers, a licensed electrician may install a subpanel next to it, saving money, time, and effort.

3) A new sub panel may be necessary when an existing subpanel is insufficient or functioning improperly.

Part 2 will cover Electrical Subpanel Sizing, Wiring, and Costs.

Electrical Services You Can Trust

Founded in 1991 and serving Maryland, Virginia, and D.C., where we are licensed and insured, Meyer Electrical Services provides home and commercial electrical services you can trust, including:

• Standby Generator Installation
• Panel Upgrades (Heavy-Ups)
• Electrical Vehicle Charging Stations
• Structured Cabling
• Circuit Breaker Replacement

Based in Bethesda, our team proudly serves all of Montgomery County. Receive a free consultation for custom electrical work today by calling (301) 941-1400.