Electrical Engineering Preliminary Considerations

Bijan Ghayour, P.E.

Course Outline

This 6-hour course provides basic design guidance in the proper selection of electric power sources and distribution systems. The contents cover electric power preliminary design considerations such as preliminary data, estimation of loads, selection of electric power source, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system design, installation of distribution systems, levels of distribution voltage, grounding of distribution systems, and selection of distribution systems.

This course has been developed from the evaluation of the existing facilities, from surveys of the availability of new materials and construction methods, and from selection of the best design practices of the government, and the privet sector.

The course materials are based entirely on the Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) of Department of Defense: UFC 3-501-03N: ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATION.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

The purpose of this course is to provide guidance for the facilities engineers in selecting, designing, installing, and maintaining the different components of an electrical distribution system.

At the conclusion of the course the student will be familiar with the:

• Definition of Load Data, Load Analysis, Demand Factor, Coincidence Factor, Diversity Factor, and Maximum Demand.
• Estimation of Loads such as: Lighting, Small Appliance Loads, Emergency Loads, and Load Growth.
• System Losses, and Electric Power Consumption.
• Selection of power source such as: Primary, Standby, Emergency, and Uninterruptible (No-Break) electric Power
• Adequacy and the Reliability of Different Power Sources.
• Purchased Electric Power Requirements and Rates.
• Primary Service Right-of-Way.
• Primary Substations.
• Power Load Categories for Uninterruptible Power Systems.
• "Cold" Standby Redundant UPS System.
• Parallel Redundant UPS Systems.
• Maintenance Bypass Provision.
• UPS Distribution System.
• UPS Battery.
• Emergency Lighting Requirements.
• Levels of Distribution Voltage.
• Grounding of Distribution Systems including: Solid Grounding, Resistance Grounding, and Reactance Grounding.
• Selection of Distribution Systems Such as: Simple-Radial Distribution System, Loop Primary-Radial Distribution System, Primary and Secondary-Radial Distribution System, and Spot-Network Distribution System.
  
  

Intended Audience

This course is intended for electrical engineers designing electrical distribution systems for industrial, government, and commercial facilities.

Benefit to Attendees

The student will become familiar with the general guidelines and techniques of design and the proper selection of electric power sources and distribution systems for government and private sector facilities. Items discussed include the rules and methods of estimating different categories of loads and providing economical and reliable power distribution systems to supply the facility loads.

Course Introduction

In designing electrical distribution systems for new facilities or upgrading the distribution systems in existing facilities, electrical engineers are faced with the problem of balancing different and sometimes competing objectives such as reliability, expandability, initial cost, and life cycle operating cost, while adhering to the national and local codes and standards. This course provides preliminary information in assisting the electrical engineer to meet the above challenges.

Course Content

This course contains specific examples, with practical emphasis on the selection, design, and installation, of the electrical power systems.

You are required to study chapter 1 trough 8 of Unified Facilities Criteria UFC 3-501-03N of Department of Defense:

UFC 3-501-03N ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS

(For an electronic copy of UFC 3-501-03N go to http://65.204.17.188/report/doc_ufc.html)

You need to open or download above documents to study this course.

The following contains the outline of the Unified Facilities Criteria UFC 3-501-03N of Department of Defense:

ELECTRICAL ENGINEEIRNG PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS

Table of Contents

Section 1- Preliminary Data
Section 2- Estimation of Loads
Section 3- Selection of Electric Power Source
Section 4- Uninterruptible Power Systems
Section 5- Installation of Distribution System
Section 6- Levels of Distribution Voltage
Section 7- Grounding of Distribution Systems
Section 8- Selection of Distribution systems
Bibliography
References

Course Summary

This course provides the criteria necessary for the proper selection of electric power source and distribution systems. It covers preliminary load estimating factors, electrical power sources, and distribution systems.

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

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DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDHonline.com or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered professional engineer. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

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