Electrical Narrative.pdf

VA PROJECT NUMBER

PROJECT NAME

549-21-700 (2302) EHRM Upgrades Dallas, TX

SUBMITTAL Final Bid Documents SUBJECT Electrical Narrative

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Project Overview and Background

The VA Medical Center of North Texas Healthcare System in Dallas requires the design and production of construction documents for their communication systems in compliance with the office of Electronic Health Records Modernization (OEHRM) Program. The OEHRM program aims to improve healthcare delivery, ensure patient safety, and enhance the quality of care for veterans through the adoption of more advanced and integrated health record technologies.

The project will affect one hundred twenty-six IT spaces in compliance with OEHRM program.

The buildings in project scope are: 1, 2, 2J, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 43, 44, 45, 60, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 87, TT46, TT47, TT48, TT49, TT50, TT51, TT52, TT53, TT54, TT55 and three buildings at the Herzog Campus.

Specific provisions for this project will include evaluating existing electrical service in each of the buildings in scope and providing the various branches for the TRs per the VA Electrical

Design Guide. The general electrical scope would cover the following:

1. Demolish existing electrical circuits, lighting, and power devices where required,

2. Provide new dedicated electrical panels where required to serve TRs,

3. Provide new rack mounted power distribution units (PDU) in TRs with new telecom racks,

4. Provide new rack mounted uninterruptible power supply (UPS) units in TRs with new telecom racks,

5. Modify electrical power and lighting needs of adjacent spaces affected by TR upgrades,

6. Provide additional receptacles for TRs,

7. Provide power to mechanical equipment installed for new TRs, and

8. Connect general receptacles, lighting, and power for new racks in TRs.

549-21-700 (2302) EHRM Upgrades Dallas, TX

SUBMITTAL Final Bid Documents SUBJECT Electrical Narrative

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Applicable Codes, Standards, and Guidelines

• Architectural Barrier Act (ABA) Standards

• VA PG-18-13 VA Barrier Free Design Standard (Supplement to the ABA)

• Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) Handbook, 10th Edition

• IEBC 2024 – International Existing Building Code

• IECC 2024 – International Energy Conservation Code

• JCAHO EC 7.40 – Emergency Electrical Power System Inspection, Maintenance, and Testing

• NFPA 70-2023 - National Electrical Code (NEC)

• NFPA 99-2024 – Health Care Facilities Code

• NFPA 101-2024 – Life Safety Code

• NFPA 110-2022 – Standard for Emergency and Standby Power Systems

• NFPA 111-2022 – Standard on Stored Electrical Energy Emergency and Standby Power

Systems

• NFPA 780-2023 – Standard for the Installation of Lightning Protection Systems

• VA PG-18-10 Electrical Design Manual, December 2019

• VA PG-18-10 Lighting Design Manual, January 2022

• VA PG-18-10 Telecommunications and Special Telecommunications Systems Design Manual –

February 2016

• Office of Information and Technology (OIT) Infrastructure Standard for Telecommunications

Spaces v4.0 (1 June 2023)

• OEHRM Site Infrastructure Requirements

• VA Physical Security & Resiliency Design Manual (PSRDM) (May 2024 Revision)

549-21-700 (2302) EHRM Upgrades Dallas, TX

SUBMITTAL Final Bid Documents SUBJECT Electrical Narrative

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Electrical Demolition

Demolition of electrical work will include:

• Removal of any existing individual UPS and distribution equipment serving each TR.

• Removal of existing wiring devices and power connections for any existing-to-be-demolished mechanical equipment in TRs.

Building Power Distribution Systems

The general design intent is to provide a dedicated branch panelboard in each TR to serve related power needs. The panelboard will be on a branch of the EES as follows:

1. In buildings with dedicated critical branches, power will be provided from the critical branch.

2. In buildings without a dedicated critical branch, power to the TR will be provided from a source with emergency power backup, where available.

3. Buildings without existing emergency power systems are considered non-mission critical, and

TRs in such buildings will be on normal power.

Based on requirements from the ISTS, each group of up to three telecommunication racks will be fed by two redundant, dedicated circuits, terminating in twist-lock receptacles or direct-wired connections based on rack quantity. In instances where emergency generation is available in the building (cases 1 and 2 in the previous paragraph) one circuit will be from the panelboard in the room and the other will be from a normal branch panelboard outside of the room. Where emergency power is unavailable, both circuits will be sourced from the panelboard in the room.

Existing electrical distribution systems throughout the campus have been reviewed during the on-site survey to verify the existence and condition of the critical branch of the Essential Electrical System

(EES). The capacity for TR upgrades will be confirmed on this branch (critical) and on the normal, utility distribution system. A thirty (30) -day electrical metering exercise has been initiated on selected busses, distribution panels, and panelboards to confirm available capacities to support the project.

A rack-mounted zone PDU will be provided in each group of more than one rack and a dedicated rack-mounted UPS for each rack. Each zone PDU has two (2) inputs. The size and location of the zone PDU is determined based off the latest VA deign guide specifications. Refer to Appendix A for.

549-21-700 (2302) EHRM Upgrades Dallas, TX

SUBMITTAL Final Bid Documents SUBJECT Electrical Narrative

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Each telecom rack will be provided Vertical PDUs will be provided on the side of racks to support communication equipment. One side will be routed through a rack-mounted UPS to support crucial telecommunications equipment, and the other side will not be routed through a UPS. See the

Uninterruptible Power Supplies section of this narrative (below) for more information.

All TRs are not properly grounded in accordance with current telecommunications standards. A new primary bonding busbar (PBB) will be installed in the server rooms of buildings 1 and 17 and tied back to the main electrical service ground upstream. Downstream, grounding cables will be extended from the PBB to new secondary bonding busbars (SBB) in each TR. All required components within each TR will be bonded to the new TR ground bars. All ground bars will be tied back to the building service grounding point.

Building Lighting Systems

The lighting in each TR will be analyzed to ensure it is up to the latest VA standards and provides adequate, uniform illumination. If the standards are not being met, then new lighting will be provided in the TR. Existing fluorescent tube lamps will be replaced with equivalent LED retrofit lamps. All lighting that is not currently fed from the EES will be re-fed from the critical branch of the EES wherever possible.

Electrical Calculations

Voltage drop calculations will be performed for all new feeders and branch circuits. Feeders and branch circuits will be sized to limit voltage drop to the levels recommended by the energy code (2% for feeders, 3% for branch circuits, with the combined drop no more than 5%).

Preliminary fault currents will be calculated to determine the available interrupting current (AIC) rating for all new electrical equipment. These calculations will be performed via SKM PowerTools for Windows software. Final fault current and arc-flash calculations will be performed by the electrical equipment supplier and based upon installed equipment on the project. A protective device coordination study will also be performed by the electrical equipment supplier and all recommended settings will be implemented at the time of installation.

General Electrical Equipment

Building Lightning Protection

549-21-700 (2302) EHRM Upgrades Dallas, TX

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Any new rooftop mounted equipment will be bonded into existing lightning protection systems in accordance with NFPA 780.

Switchboards and Distribution Panelboards

New switchboards, if required, will be sized for the loads they serve and include 25% spare capacity and spare space. Bussing will be copper. The switchboard ampere interrupting current

(AIC) rating will be fully rated and sized based on the available fault current. Switchboards will be floor mounted on a 4” tall concrete house-keeping pad.

New circuit breakers in existing switchboard and distribution panelboards will have available ampere interrupting current (AIC) ratings to match the panelboard.

Surge Protection

A Type 2 Surge Protective Device (SPD) will be provided on the main electrical service and at panelboards that serve sensitive electronic equipment.

Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS)

Each new telecom rack will be provided with a 5kW UPS to serve rack-mounted equipment.

Each UPS will be sized to provide a minimum of 10-minute run-time.

549-21-700 (2302) EHRM Upgrades Dallas, TX

SUBMITTAL Final Bid Documents SUBJECT Electrical Narrative

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Transformers

Indoor dry-type, step-down transformers will be provided to convert 480V power to 208Y/120V and will be located in electrical rooms. Windings will be copper. Transformers 30kVA and larger will have a 150-degree C temperature rise and transformers less than 30kVA will have a 115-degree C temperature rise. All transformers rated 30 kVA and larger will have two 2.5% full capacity taps above, and four 2.5% full capacity taps below normal rated primary voltage.

Transformers will be floor mounted on a 4” tall concrete house-keeping pad.

Panelboards

New panelboards will be provided as required for the project. Panelboards will include main circuit breakers where required by the NEC and bolt-on style circuit breakers. 30% spare capacity will be provided per the VA Electrical Design Manual. Bussing will be copper. Fault currents will be calculated to determine the AIC rating for the panelboard and circuit breakers.

All panelboards and circuit breakers will be fully rated.

Panelboards will be provided with clear, concise schedules.

Disconnect Switches

New disconnect switches will be provided for HVAC equipment. Switches will be heavy duty style, rated for the environment installed in and fused if required to protect equipment from high available fault currents. Disconnecting means will be provided within sight of all motors and other equipment.

Motor-rated disconnect switches will be provided for any interior portions of split system equipment.

Building Feeders, Branch Circuits, and Raceways

All conductors will be copper and routed within raceways.

A copper ground conductor will be routed with all circuits.

Grounding and Bonding

Equipment grounding conductors will be installed with all feeders, and power and lighting branch circuits.

549-21-700 (2302) EHRM Upgrades Dallas, TX

SUBMITTAL Final Bid Documents SUBJECT Electrical Narrative

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All metallic raceways will be grounded and the equipment grounding conductor will be bonded to all junction boxes, pull boxes, enclosures, and panelboards.

Grounding and boding for telecommunications will comply with TIA 607-D.

Labeling/Nameplates

All new and/or modified low-voltage building electrical distribution equipment will be provided with new phenolic resin labels screwed to the equipment. Normal power distribution equipment will have white lettering on a black background. Essential electrical distribution equipment will have white lettering on a red background. Lettering will be ½” tall and include the name of the equipment, name of the equipment it is fed from, and the sizes of the conductors that it is fed with.

All new wiring device cover plates will be labeled with a permanent adhesive label listing panel and circuit feeding the wiring device.

General Lighting Equipment

Building Lighting

TR lighting will consist of strip light style fixtures with LED light sources with integral lamps and drivers. Drivers will be a minimum of 85% efficient at full load, have a power factor greater than

95%, total harmonic distortion less than 20%, and operate with a universal 120/277V input. All lights will be serviceable from below the ceiling. All light fixtures in the TR’s will be connected to the critical branch of the EES per .

Lighting Controls

Standard manual light switches will be quiet toggle type, specification grade and ivory in color as required by the VA design guide. Manual light switches will be utilized in spaces where automatic control of lights is detrimental to the occupant, such as in electrical and mechanical rooms.

549-21-700 (2302) EHRM Upgrades Dallas, TX

SUBMITTAL Final Bid Documents SUBJECT Electrical Narrative

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Appendix A: Drawings

General Grounding and Bonding Diagram for each telecommunications room:

549-21-700 (2302) EHRM Upgrades Dallas, TX

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Rack-mounted Equipment

(per VA Infrastructure Standard for Telecommunications Spaces):

549-21-700 (2302) EHRM Upgrades Dallas, TX

SUBMITTAL Final Bid Documents SUBJECT Electrical Narrative

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