Expanding your commercial property in Columbus is always a huge undertaking!
Key Takeaways
- Expanding commercial buildings in the Columbus area usually requires all sorts of electrical system upgrades in order to help businesses safely support additional technologies, employees, and equipment.
- Experienced electrical contractors like the Garber Electric experts will thoroughly evaluate your existing infrastructure prior to the beginning of construction to pinpoint any code compliance or capacity issues.
- The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) strongly encourages code-compliant installations and routine electrical inspections in order to reduce the likelihood of electrical hazards at commercial properties.
- Properly planning electrical upgrades during the early stages of your expansion project will help reduce future costs, minimize construction delays, and support your company’s long-term growth.
Why Proper Electrical Planning Is Crucial During Commercial Building Expansions
If you’re thinking about expanding your commercial facility, then there’s no denying that this is a very exciting step for your business.
Whether you’re enlarging a warehouse, renovating an existing building, adding office space, or opening new production areas, it’s absolutely vital to ensure that your property’s electrical system is prepped and ready for your upcoming additional demands.
It’s normal for a lot of business leaders to focus on equipment purchases, architectural plans or interior designs—all while overlooking the electrical infrastructure that goes behind walls. However, your electrical system is connected to every facet of your company’s operations, including computers, HVAC equipment, lighting, security systems, machinery, data networks and telecommunications.
This is why it’s so important for Columbus businesses to partner with renowned electrical contractors like Garber during the initial stages of expansion projects, because the sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we can help ensure that your new space is efficient, safe, and fully ready to support your future needs!
Thoroughly Evaluating Your Company’s Existing Electrical Capacity
Before we can recommend any potential upgrades and initiate our new construction electrical services, our contractors will first begin by conducting a comprehensive assessment of your current electrical system.
During these evaluations, we’ll review the following:
- Main service panels
- Existing electrical service capacity
- Branch circuits
- Distribution equipment
- Lighting systems
- Backup power systems
- Transformers
- Existing code compliance
The overall goal of these assessments is to determine if your building’s current infrastructure is capable of safely handling the substantial electrical load increase that your expansion will inevitably create.
In many scenarios, older buildings in Columbus were never actually designed to support today’s modernized tech-driven workplaces—which might mean that electrical upgrades will be necessary before the end of construction.
Calculating Your Columbus Property’s Future Electrical Demand
Building expansions typically entail adding more square footage, which can also include:
- Manufacturing equipment
- Additional employees
- New workstations and computers
- Warehouse automation
- HVAC systems
- Commercial kitchen equipment
- Security and surveillance systems
- Electric vehicle charging stations
This is why our electrical contractors will conduct detailed load calculations in order to estimate just how much additional power might go into your new facility’s requirements. By properly planning, you’ll be able to prevent common expansion issues like nuisance breaker trips, overloaded circuits, voltage issues, and all sorts of expensive future retrofits.
Upgrading Your Distribution Systems & Electrical Panels
If your property’s existing electrical system lacks enough capacity, it’s likely that our contractors will recommend upgrading certain aspects of your distribution.
Some of the most common improvements we recommend during expansion projects include the following:
- Additional branch circuits
- New distribution panels
- Larger electrical service panels
- New conduit runs
- Transformer upgrades
- Expanded power distribution
By completing these types of electrical upgrades during the initial construction stages, you’ll help guarantee that your property is more efficient once you’ve finalized your expansion.
Planning Ahead For Tech & Low-Voltage Systems
It’s also important to keep in mind that today’s commercial buildings rely heavily on so much more than just electricity, which is why most businesses also require reliable low-voltage infrastructure for things like:
- Wireless networking
- Data cabling
- Access control
- Business phone systems
- Security cameras
- Audio-Visual equipment
- Fire alarm systems
Planning these low-voltage systems alongside your more traditional electrical work will help create a more organized installation process, and it’ll also allow for more tech upgrades in the future as your company continues to grow.
Ensuring Workplace Safety & Code Compliance
It’s also important to keep in mind that commercial electrical services must comply with state, local, and national electrical codes.
During your company’s expansion project, our contractors will carefully verify that every aspect of your new installations meets requirements for the following:
- Circuit protections
- Grounding and bonding
- Exit signage
- Emergency lighting
- Equipment clearances
- Fire alarm integration
- Accessibility requirements
Not only does maintaining compliance support a successful inspection, but it also protects your customers, employees, and valuable assets.
Preparing Your Property For Continued Long-Term Growth
Another huge advantage of working with the Garber Electric team is that we’ll also help you plan well beyond your current expansion project.
By designing electrical systems that’ll go beyond simply meeting your immediate needs, our contractors will set your business up for even further future expansion. This type of proactive, forward-thinking approach often includes features like:
- Additional conduit pathways
- Spare electrical panel capacity
- Larger electrical service than what’s currently required
- Extra network cabling
- Scalable backup power solutions
- Flexible lighting controls
Making these types of investments during your ongoing construction project is a lot more cost-effective in comparison to conducting future electrical upgrades a few years from now, so a little proactive planning can actually save you a ton of money and time as your team continuously evolves.
Team Up With Garber Electric’s Award-Winning Electrical Contractors In Columbus, Ohio
Expanding commercial buildings is incredibly complex, and these projects require electrical system designs that’ll support efficiency, safety, and long-term reliability. From evaluating your current infrastructure to planning ahead for your company’s ongoing growth, experienced electrical contractors are truly invaluable for the success of your project.
At Garber Electric, our team of experts takes pride in offering a wide range of commercial electrical services that can be fully tailored to your facility’s unique needs.
Reach out to us online or give us a call at 614-212-7900 to get in touch with our Columbus-based contractors today and take the first steps toward building an electrical system that’s ready for your expansion project!