Renovations are a necessary evil most businesses have to go through eventually. If your business is growing, your building and its capabilities have to grow with it. Ideally, you'll include enough innovation in your upgrade to keep from having to repeat the process for a number of years. The best upgrades include innovations aimed toward the future as well as needed improvements for today.
Before you finalize your plans, be sure to discuss these (and any other) changes that you want made in your commercial electric power and lighting.
Large Kitchen Appliances
When changing a building's use from commercial sales to food service, wiring for large kitchen appliances is almost certainly necessary. If you're adding a kitchen to any kind of commercial space, you'll probably need three phase power, as well as additional outlets kitchen appliances such as ovens, deep fryers, and even walk-in freezers will use much more power than a typical retail space includes. Wire your kitchen area with more power outlets than you think you'll need. If your business takes off, you don't want to have to spend all that new profit on another upgrade in a couple of years.
Dedicated Circuits
If your business includes any kind of computer usage or computerized cash registers, your data and power usage is only going to increase as the years go on. Dedicated data circuits ensure that generalized power surges are less likely to damage electronic equipment than if they were all on one circuit with the rest of your equipment. Separate the areas of your business, including areas of high data usage, into a line of dedicated circuits that will help to ensure stable power quality all the time. Your information is your businesses lifeblood, and you can't afford to lose it to something as simple as someone plugging in a coffee maker at the same time as the printer is working.
HVAC
Heating and air-conditioning are likely a big part of your power usage, and are likely to remain so in the future. The newer thermostats with timers and smart technology can pay for themselves in a surprisingly short amount of time. By changing the time and temperature the furnace and air conditioner work and coordinating it with your workday, you can save a substantial amount of money on your power bill. Have your electrical contractors update the wiring to the systems, as well as leaving space for future smart technology.
Code Compliance
Building regulations can change as quickly as local governments do, and it's difficult to make sure your business is up to code at all times. A new business renovation is the ideal time to make sure your entire business is up to electrical code. Repair or replace any older wiring you have, older circuit boxes, and any other fixtures that may not be compliant. It may seem like an extra expense to do this upfront, but it can end up being much less expensive than the fines the city can levy on you.
Capacity upgrades
If your business has been growing, or if you're changing the usage of your building, you may need a greater load capacity in the building. Wiring is set up into circuits, and each one is designed to carry a certain amount of power. Once you try to increase that power, you run the risk of overloading the system, creating power surges, are even starting electrical fires. Have your electrical contractor reconfigure your wiring into new circuits designed to hinder larger electrical loads. It's a good idea to have him look at the circuit breaker box at the same time, to determine whether it needs to be replaced, as well.
