New White Paper: Managing Plug Load is the Next Challenge for Energy Efficient Buildings

Take a quick look at a typical office and you see machines like computers and copiers that are essential to operating a business. Then look at individual work spaces and note the task lights, cell phone chargers, and portable electric heaters under the desk. What these and many other everyday items have in common is that they plug directly into the building's electrical system. They constitute a building's plug load. The actual plug load of a building depends on numerous factors and no two buildings are exactly alike. Estimates of the contribution of plug load to overall building energy usage vary widely. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that plug load represents 26% of energy use in commercial offices. As building managers become more adept at reducing the energy required for HVAC and lighting, the need to control plug load becomes greater. Access the white paper here.

Overfloor Raceway Powers Up New Construction

The Challenge The combination of exploding technology and lean construction budgets is forcing architects and electrical engineers to address and hold down the cost of specification changes during construction. The new YMCA in Reading, PA wanted to keep up with member demand for recording exercise performance, specifying exercise machines that store workout data to help tailor individual routines. This electronic technology requires electrical power. Not usually a big challenge, except:

• The concrete floor had already been poured, leaving no built-in way to connect power wiring to the machines. The cost to rip channels in the floor was prohibitive.


• The ceilings are more than 20 feet high, making poles for wiring impractical.

The Solution The Wiremold® OFR Series™ Overfloor Raceway System enabled the contractors to add power connections even after concrete had been poured. Running from a Wiremold raceway on the wall, the overfloor extension reaches out four feet to the first station. The Overfloor Raceway feeds ten pairs of back-to-back machines at 8-foot intervals. While this raceway has been located between the machines where traffic is minimal, it is the lowest ADA-compliant product, essential if members decide to “cut through” between machines from one row to the other. The system eliminates the need for power poles from the ceiling – in fact the electrical wiring from the wall runs shorter than the 20 feet from the ceiling. The system installed directly onto the rubber floor surface, providing unobtrusive design. The modular system allows flexibility and room for growth, should the YMCA want to modify the machine line-up or add AV or data cabling.