>
Mastering genius? You're very kind
Just observing that you are good enough that you find it worthwhile and affordable to put money into avoiding downtime. Any fool can mix; it takes a sharp person to get paid often enough to make a business of it.
>
I got bumbled by the legal part of it, not the frigging technical...
And I'm sure, in
your racket, you spend less time at the speakers than at the paperwork desk. Finding clients who can pay, telling them they should pay, and making sure they DO pay. Splitting the take with your gear supplier, helpers, taxman, etc.
The journeyman electrician may spend his whole time with wires. The successful Electrician spends more time with calculations and estimates and permits (and payroll and taxes) than with wires.
I'll rough-out a demand calculation. This is NOT a complete list, and may be substantially in error. Get experienced advice, and pay him well.
We need 3 Watts per Square Foot for lighting. You can argue that modern bulbs are more efficient; it isn't worth arguing, this will not be your big load. It isn't worth going room to room, use the gross footprint. I don't know your shack; I'll pick 2,000 square feet out of thin air. 3*2000= 6,000 Watts.
Only the first 3,000 watt counts 100%, after that it counts 35%. (And 25% over 120,000 watts or 40,000 SqFt....) So general lighting is 4,050 Watts.
Wall outlets for general use (not dedicated or specific) must be mounted no more than 12(?) feet along walls and must be counted as 180 Watts (per duplex I
think). Taking some guesses of room sizes, say 60 outlets. 180*60= 10,800 Watts.
A home normally is required to have 2 dedicated 20A kitchen/pantry and one laundry circuit. The boiler is a dedicated circuit. That's four 20A 120V circuits. Although I know my boiler uses 3A, I think I am required to count it as 15A (15A circuits are no longer common). 9,600 Watts. There is some wiggle possible on the laundry line.
Large motors such as air conditioners, use the nameplate Amps. EXcept... take the largest one and multiply by 125% for start-up. I have a 20A and a 33A (you will have more): 4,800 plus (7,920*1.25)=10,000W is 15,000 Watts.
Ovens and ranges seem to count as full nameplate load. Can easily be 6,000 Watts, and more in a deluxe kitchen.
We should convert to Amps, and we can round-off to the nearest Amp. I'll stay Watts, but the inspector may need to see the Amps worked out.
4050
10800
9600
15000
6000
45,450 Watts, at 240V is 189 Amps!!!
However: you are not really running a "house". You are required to provide 3W/SqFt... when the utility power is on. But when the lines are down, you are allowed to live without any power at all. (Unless it becomes such a health mess that the area is evacuated.) So you let your house go dead. But you can't afford to let your fish-freezer thaw (or pressing jobs miss deadlines) so you want your
business to stay up. So segregate your circuits: house or essential business. You may have been using circuits for both purposes; you may have to re-think and maybe re-wire so that you can work in the light yet live in the dark.
Since you can probably budget your audio gear, studio light, and studio A/C, to fit in 100A or even 60A (no laundry or kitchen, small area), it should be possible to make it legal. But it may mean a lot of circuit shifting to segregate the essential business from the merely residential.