An Introduction to Electrical Systems for Medical Facilities

J. Paul Guyer, P.E., R.A., Fellow ASCE, Fellow AEI

Course Outline

1.  GENERAL
2.  EXTERIOR ELECTRICAL
3.  ALTERNATE POWER SOURCE
4.  INTERIOR ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS
5.  LIGHTING
6.  LIGHTNING PROTECTION

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

• Learn about power supply criteria factors;
• Learn about power supply reliability and durability requirements;
• Learn about electrical requirements for Critical Care spaces;
• Learn about special requirements for Wet Procedure locations;
• Learn about normal power sources for hospitals and ambulatory care clinics;
• Learn about transients control in medical facility power systems;
• Learn about alternate power source requirements for hospitals, clinics and laboratories;
• Learn about emergency power engine-generator sets for medical treatment facilities;
• Learn about automatic power transfer switches in medical facility applications;
• Learn about automatic transfer switch and bypass/isolation switch testing requirements;
• Learn about ground fault protection equipment requirements for medical treatment facilities; and
• Learn about fuel storage tank requirements for emergency power equipment.

Intended Audience

This course is intended for electrical engineers and electrical construction professionals who are looking for an introduction to design of electrical systems for medical treatment facilities such as hospitals and medical and dental clinics and laboratories.  It also intended to give the other engineers, architects and construction professionals who are part of the building design and construction team a better understanding of the issues electrical engineers need to address when designing interior and exterior electrical power and lighting systems for medical treatment facilities.

Benefit for Attendee

This course will give electrical engineers an introduction to design of electrical systems for medical treatment facilities, and will give the other design professionals on the medical treatment facility design team a better understanding of electrical systems in hospitals and medical and dental clinics and laboratories.

Course Introduction

This course is an introduction to the basics of design of exterior electrical systems, alternate power systems, interior electrical systems and lighting systems for medical treatment facilities such as hospitals and medical and dental clinics and laboratories.

About Course Author

Paul Guyer is a registered mechanical engineer, civil engineer, fire protection engineer and architect with over 35 years experience in the design of buildings and related infrastructure.  For an additional 9 years he was a senior-level advisor to the California Legislature on infrastructure and capital outlay issues.  He has designed and supervised the design of hundreds of construction projects requiring the preparation of detailed working drawings and specifications for federal, state and local public agencies and private companies.  He is a graduate of Stanford University and has held numerous national, state and local positions with the American Society of Civil Engineers and National Society of Professional Engineers.

Course Content

The course content is contained in the following PDF file:

An Introduction to Electrical Systems for Medical Facilities

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.

Course Summary

This course will give electrical engineers and other members of the design team an introduction to the systems, equipment and technical requirements for design of electrical power and lighting systems for medical treatment facilities.

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

---

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

---