← Projects
⚡ Real ProjectPremium Content

Commercial Electrical Design — Start to Finish

One real building — a 5-story, 120,000 sq ft office on a 480Y/277V service — carried through all 8 stages of commercial electrical design, in the order a working engineer actually uses them. Every step links to a real calculator on the site.

8 steps, from load calculation to a finished, phase-balanced panel schedule. Steps 1-2 are free. Steps 3-8 unlock with a one-time $4.99 purchase.

8 StepsReal CalculatorsQuizzesOne Building, Start to Finish

The Workflow

🧮
Step 1
Load Calculation

Lighting, receptacle, HVAC, and elevator load, combined into a single building demand figure per NEC Article 220.

🔌
Step 2
Service Sizing

Turning the calculated demand into a main switchboard selection, with real spare-capacity margin.

🧵
Step 3🔒
Feeder & Conductor Sizing

Sizing floor feeders, the chiller feeder, and the elevator feeder per NEC 310.15 ampacity and conduit fill.

📉
Step 4🔒
Voltage Drop

Checking every feeder against voltage-drop design targets, not just ampacity.

Step 5🔒
Fault Current

Point-to-point fault current at the main switchboard and every floor panel — the number every downstream device rating depends on.

📈
Step 6🔒
Selective Coordination

Verifying a downstream fault trips only the nearest device, using time-current curves.

🦺
Step 7🔒
Arc-Flash Documentation

Incident energy, arc-flash boundary, and required PPE category at every study point, per IEEE 1584 and NFPA 70E.

📋
Step 8🔒
Panel Schedule

The finished, phase-balanced panel schedule — every prior step made visible in one document.

Educational project reference. This project walks through a realistic scenario using the site's real calculators and written guides — it is a learning and reference resource, not a permit-ready construction document. Final system design, code compliance, and installation require a licensed engineer or contractor. See our full disclaimer.