Lighting Feeder Calculations

March 8, 2013

If you know the total lighting load that a feeder will supply, you don't necessarily need to size the feeder for that much load. In many cases, you can apply the lighting demand factors shown in Table 220.42. These demand factors attempt to reduce the calculated load on a given feeder to match the actual usage of the lighting branch circuits it supplies. Because not all lights are on at the same time, you don't need to size the feeder to supply them at the same time.

Table 220.42 table lists four types of occupancy, and the demand factors differ for each one. If yours isn't listed, then assume that all of the lights are in use at all times. These demand factors are only for sizing a given feeder. They have no bearing on how many branch circuits you'll need [220.42]. After you determine which branch circuits you need, then you add up the loads and apply the demand factor to the total. This is the load you size the feeder to carry.

Now, there's a twist to using this table. You can't apply it to areas that are likely to be lit all the time. For example, if the feeder supplies lighting branch circuits to a hospital operating room then you don't apply this table.

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