6/1/2017 Selecting,sizingtransformersforcommercialbuildings|ConsultingSpecifyingEngineer

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6/1/2017 Selecting,sizingtransformersforcommercialbuildings|ConsultingSpecifyingEngineer

Selecting,sizingtransformersforcommercialbuildings
Whilecommercialbuildingdesignschange,theirelectricalloadsremainfundamentallyunchanged.Properlysizingandselecting
transformersensuresthattheseloadsareaccommodated.
ByRalphBaeza,PE,LEEDAP,TLCEngineeringforArchitecture,Miami
06/09/2011

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Transformers,alongwithotherpowerdistributionapparatus,remainafundamentalcomponentinelectricalsystemsdistribution
forcommercialbuildings.Thisarticlepresentsseveralusefuldesignconceptsforselectingandsizingtransformersinthe
designofelectricalsystemsforcommercialbuildings.

Transformerschangevoltagelevelstosupplyelectricalloadswiththevoltagestheyrequire.Theysupplytherequiredincoming
electricalservicetothebuildings.Transformerprimaryandsecondaryvoltagescanbe2,4004,1607,20012,470and13,200
for15kVClass,and120,208,240,277,and480for600VClass.

Transformersarelocatedeitheroutdoorsorinsidebuildingsinanelectricalroomorotherareasaspermittedbycode.The
electricalphasecharacteristicsassociatedwiththetransformersprimarysideis3phase,3wireorDeltaconnected.The
secondaryis3phase,4wireorWyeconnected.

Constructiontypes

Therearedifferentconstructiontypesfortransformersusedincommercial
buildings.Ourunderstandingoftheirgeneralcharacteristicswillallowthe
designerandendusertomaketheproperselectionfortheelectricalsystem
application.Followingaresomeofthetransformertypesavailableintheindustry
alongwithafewoftheircharacteristics:

Ventilateddrytypetransformersare
ventilatedbyair,uselargerspacefor
clearance,andusedifferent
insulatingmaterialstoaugmentthe
dielectricstrengthoftheair.They
containanenclosuresurroundingthe
windingsfortheirmechanical
protectionandthesafetyof
personnel.Thistypeisthemost
commontobeusedinthebuildingindoorelectricalsystemdistribution.SeeTable
1fortypicaldrytypetransformerratings,dimensions,andweights.

Sealeddrytypetransformersaresimilartodrytypeinmostoftheircharacteristics.Thedifferenceistheycontainanenclosed
tankwithnitrogenorotherdielectricgastoprotectthewindings.Theycanbeinstalledoutdoorsorindoors.Theyareusefulin
areaswithacorrosiveordirtyatmosphere.

Castcoiltransformersareconstructedwiththeprimaryandsecondarywindingsencapsulatedinreinforcedresin.Theycanbe
installedwheremoistureorairbornecontaminantsexist.

Nonventilateddrytypetransformersaresimilartotheventilatedtypebutaretotallyenclosed.Thistypecanbeinstalledin
areaswithcorrosiveordirtyatmosphericconditionswhereitwouldbeimpossibletouseaventilatedtypetransformer.

Oilfilledtransformersareconstructedwiththewindingsencasedinanoiltighttankfilledwithinsulatingmineraloil.Itisgood
practicetoregularlytestthistypeoftransformerinordertodeterminedielectricbreakdown,whichaffectsitsusefullife.

Applicationtypes

Therearedifferentwaysinwhichtransformersareinstalledandusedaspartofacommercialbuildingelectricalsystem.These
applicationtypesinclude:

Indoordistributiontransformersareusedwithpanelboardsandareseparatelymountedtosupplythespecificelectricalload
requirementsinasystemspecificapplicationwithinthesystemdistribution.Severaltransformertypesratedhigherthan600V
foroilinsulatedtype,higherthan35,000Vfordrytype,andothertransformersratedhigherthan600Varerequiredtobe
locatedinvaultrooms,whichmustbebuiltwithfireratedenclosuresdependingonthetransformertypeandapplicablelocal
authorityrequirements,whenindoors.Transformersthatarenotover600Vandarepartoftheindoorbuildingelectrical
systemdistributionhavebothprimaryandsecondaryvoltagesbelow600Vwiththemostcommonvoltagelevelchangefrom
480Vto208Y/120V.

Padmountedtransformersareinstalledoutsideandareconsideredthefirstoptionforsupplyingserviceentrancevoltageto
thebuildingelectricalsystembasedontheprojectsizeandrequirements.Theytypicallyhaveprimaryvoltageshigherthan600
Vandsecondaryvoltageslowerthan600Vwithcompartmentsfortheassociatedprotectivedevicesassembledinanintegral
tamperresistantandweatherproofunit.

Inaddition,thesizeofthecommercialfacilitywilldeterminetheappropriateapproachfordesigningtheelectricaldistribution
systemforthespecificapplication.Inthiselectricalsystemdesign,thetransformercanbeusedaspartofasubstation,primary
unitsubstation,secondaryunitsubstation,ornetworkconfiguration.

Sizing

TheelectricalsizeofthetransformerloadisratedinkVA.Thisratingprovidestheassociatedpoweroutputdeliveredfora
specificperiodbytheloadsconnectedtothetransformeronthesecondarysideoftheequipment.Theloads,whichare
calculatedaspartofthebuildingelectricalsystemdesignphase,areshownintheconstructiondocumentsrespective
equipmentschedulesinVAorkVA.

Ageneralapproachtodeterminingtransformercapacityandselectingtheproperratingforthedesignapplicationistoobtain
thecalculateddesignloadfromtherespectiveelectricalscheduleandadd20%sparecapacityforfutureloadgrowthtobe
shownintheequipmentschedule,unlessotherwisedirectedbythefacilitybasedondesignparameters.Forexample,the
codebaseddemandloadofa208Y/120V,3phase,4wirepanelboardis42kVA,whichdoesdonotincludesparecapacity
forfuturegrowth.Therefore,thetransformersizerequiredforconvertingthesystemvoltagefrom480V,3phase,3wireto208
http://www.csemag.com/singlearticle/selectingsizingtransformersforcommercialbuildings/4efa064775c5e26f27bfce4f0a61378e.html 2/5
6/1/2017 Selecting,sizingtransformersforcommercialbuildings|ConsultingSpecifyingEngineer
forfuturegrowth.Therefore,thetransformersizerequiredforconvertingthesystemvoltagefrom480V,3phase,3wireto208
Y/120V,3phase,4wireis:

TransformersizeinkVA=42kVAx1.25=52.5kVA

Therefore,a75kVAtransformerwouldbeselectedforthisapplicationoutofthe
availablestandardratingsfora480Vprimaryto208Y/120Vsecondary.Themost
commonbuildingindustrystandardratingsare3,6,9,15,30,37.5,45,75,112.5,
150,225,300,500,750,and1,000kVA.

Theabovesimplecalculationmeetstheintenttoachievethenormallife
expectancyofatransformer,whichisbasedonthefollowingbasicconditions:

ThetransformerisequaltoorlessthanitsratedkVAandratedvoltage.
Theaveragetemperatureofthecoolingairduringa24hourperiodis86F.
Thetemperatureofthecoolingairatnotimeexceeds104F.

Selecting

TransformerselectionstartswiththekVAratingrequiredtosupplytheloads
connectedintheelectricalsystem.Anotherconsiderationforindoordistribution
transformersisthetypeofload:linearornonlinear.Linearloadsincluderesistive
heatingandinductionmotorsnonlinearloadsareproducedbyelectronic
equipmentthatcontributestothedistortionoftheelectricalpowersignalsby
generatingharmonics.Theharmonicsresultingfromnonsinusoidalcurrents
generateadditionallossesandheatingofthetransformercoils,whichreducethe
transformerlifeexpectancy.

IndoortransformersfornonlinearloadscanbeselectedwithaKrating,which
allowsthetransformertowithstandnonlinearconditionsintheelectricalsystem.K
ratedtransformersdonotmitigateoreliminateharmonics.However,theydo
protectthetransformeritselffromdamagecausedbyharmonics.Forharmonic
mitigation,Kratedtransformerscanbecombinedwithharmonicfiltersorchokes.
Forlinearloadapplications,transformersshouldbeselectedwithlowercore
losses.Otherfactorsthatshouldbeconsideredinselectingtransformersare
voltageratingsforbothprimaryandsecondary,voltagetaps,efficiency,impedance
value,typeofcoolingandtemperaturerise,voltageinsulationclass,basicimpulse
level,andsoundlevel.

Practicalapplications

Inthepasttwoyears,twolargeprojectsinMiamiDadeCountyhavebeenbuilt:the
FloridaInternationalUniversityfootballstadiumandMiamiInternationalAirportSouth
Terminal.Bothprojectsincludeddrytype480V,3phaseto208Y/120VVstepdown
transformers(inNEMA2enclosures),rangingfrom15kVAto112.5kVAinthe
electricalsystemdistributiondesign.

The18,688seatFIUfootballstadiumwasdesignedwithabout12transformersas
partoftheelectricalsystemdistributioninordertosupplygeneralusereceptacles,
smallmotors,andotherloadsinthestadiumbuildingstructureandtheattachedfield
housebuilding.TheMIASouthTerminalexpansionwasdesignedwithabout50
transformerswithsimilarintentasthestadiumsbutamorediversegroupofloadsfor
the208Y/120V3phase,4wiresystem,whichalsoincludedlightingloads,signage,telecommunication,securitysystems,and
otherloadspartofthisbuildingproject(Figure1).

Installation

TheinstallationofpowertransformersandtransformervaultsmustcomplywiththerequirementsofNationalElectricalCode
(NFPA70)article450andspecificlocalauthorityhavingjurisdictionrequirements.Someprinciplestoconsiderfortransformer
installationincludelocatingtheminisolatedroomswithproperventilation,clearances,andaccessibility.Otherwise,theycanbe
installedonopenwallsorsteelcolumnsorabovesuspendedceilings.

Inaddition,thereareotherspecificrequirementsbasedonthetransformertype,suchasweatherproofenclosuresfordrytype
transformersinstalledoutdoorsoratransformervaultroomforoilinsulatedtransformersinstalledindoors.Inaddition,agood
designandinstallationrequirethepropertransformerfeederandovercurrentprotectiondevicesizebasedonNECarticles
240,250,450,andapplicablesectionsofArticle310(Figure2).

Lookingahead

Transformersremainafundamentalcomponentofelectricaldistributionsystems.Equipmentoperationcharacteristicswill
continuetochange.However,theiroperatingprincipleswillremainwiththesame.Theindustrytrendistocontinuebuilding
transformerswithlesscorelosses,andthatcomplywithEnergyStarefficiencyrequirements.

BaezaisaprincipalandseniorelectricalengineeratTLCEngineeringforArchitectureinMiami.Heisaregisteredprofessional
engineerwithmorethan29yearsofexperienceinelectricalengineering,projectmanagement,buildingdesign,and
construction.

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JIM,OH,UnitedStates,09/02/1511:49AM:

Whensizingatransformerinaretailstoredoestheshowwindowlightingallowance(200w/lf)andtracklightingallowance(75w/lf)haveto
beincludedinthetransformerorarethosevaluesonlyincludedintheserviceentrancecalculation?

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