For all you California electricians out there have you run into this? Dry type transformers 600 volts or less manufactured after (I don’t remember the exact date) February 2003 must meet a certain energy efficient standard. Apparently someone did a study and found that most transformers of this type are lightly loaded and waste lots of energy. These transformers are a pretty significant cost increase compared to there standard counterparts.
This has thrown the GC on the job I am presently doing into a tail spin. The job has dragged on for about a year without starting. Lots of design issues and money issues with the owner. The GC is on a GMP and when they found out there will be a significant cost increase due to this they went through the roof. The bids they have accepted and wrote letters of intent for (no contracts written yet) were turned in between September and November of last year. All were done under the assumption that contracts would soon follow and equipment orders finalized. Well, all this time has passed and no contracts yet! Now when they do finally write the contracts and we can write PO’s to the switchgear suppliers we will have to buy energy efficient models. This of course is a change order. Multiplied by the two other electrical contractors on site.
Anyway, I just wondered if anyone else has run into this.
