Application Story

Moeller Electric Saves Space and Money at New Hotel

[photograph of Moeller boards] Tasked with providing the complete electrical installation for a new budget hotel in Birmingham, electrical contractor, LJJ of Stockton on Tees, faced two key challenges; making best use of the very limited available space and the need for very competitive pricing. Distribution equipment from Moeller Electric provided a convenient and flexible solution.

"The specification originally called for equipment from another manufacturer," said Richard Helm, Contracts Manager for LJJ, "but when we looked at the Moeller products, we quickly realised that they were far better suited to meet the requirements of this project, so we arranged for the specification to be changed."

Moeller Electric equipment chosen for use at the hotel includes an MCCB panel board for main distribution, a mini panel board for sub-main distribution of supplies to the furniture store area, seven triple-pole-and-neutral MCB distribution boards to serve the hotel's three floors, and 35 XBoard consumer units to provide supplies to the individual guest rooms.

"This hotel, like many modern ones, makes extensive use of pre-fabricated room units," said Richard Helm, "which means that the space available to accommodate electrical equipment is very restricted. For example, the risers are already almost full of pipework and ducting. The exceptionally compact construction of the Moeller Electric products was, therefore, a major benefit."

One example of an area where space was particularly limited was in the furniture store where it would have been impossible to accommodate a distribution board based on moulded case circuit breakers (MCCBs), yet the current requirements for outgoing circuits were too large to be handled by a conventional MCB panel board.

The answer was provided by one of Moeller Electric's unique and innovative Mini Panel Boards. Unlike standard MCB distribution boards that typically have a maximum rating of 63A for outgoing circuits, Mini Panel Boards can be fitted with outgoing MCBs rated up to 125A. This not only solved the space problem in the furniture store, but also provided substantial cost savings compared with a conventional solution.

Compact XBoard consumer units also played a major role in the project. These are mounted in the risers, with one unit providing the supplies for either three or four rooms, depending on the floor layout. The basic units are complemented by supplementary enclosures fitted with Moeller Electric contactors. These are arranged to minimise energy wastage by turning off the lighting and selected power circuits in each room unless a guest key card is present in the room's card reader.

"One of the things that really impressed us about the Moeller Electric equipment was that, despite its small size, there's still plenty of space for wiring," said Richard Helm. "In fact, every aspect of fitting and using the equipment is straightforward. We were also impressed by the ready availability and the quality of technical information from Moeller Electric and, last but by no means least, the exceptionally competitive pricing of the products."

In addition to the products used by LJJ at the Birmingham hotel, Moeller Electric offers a full range of distribution equipment for commercial and industrial applications of all types. This is complemented by the company's renowned and extensive range of automation and control products.

This page last updated: 1 April 2008