If you're starting or expanding a business, you might wonder if your company really needs to hire a commercial electrician. There are good reasons for hiring a professional who specifically handles commercial electrical jobs. Be aware of these six.

Higher Power Needs

Commercial buildings usually require more power than residential ones, even multi-family structures. The use of heavy machinery in many businesses creates power demands. Likewise, many commercial systems require unusual electrical setups, such as three-phase power.

The electricity also frequently needs to go to more places in the building. For example, a commercial electrician may have to configure multiple panels to distribute power throughout an office building to accommodate multiple tenants. If one of the tenants operates a high-demand business, such as a printing operation, the power draw can be significant.

Compliance

Commercial electrical projects adhere to different codes and standards. A hotel might be required to install emergency lighting that kicks on whenever the fire alarm triggers, for example.

Also, commercial operations are subject to greater scrutiny. No one checks the electrical system at a house unless it goes up for sale or undergoes major renovations requiring a permit. Conversely, a restaurant inspector will show up at least a couple of times per year.

Maintaining Complex Systems

Fire alarms, security surveillance systems, and building automation setups all require significant maintenance. While other contractors will often do the initial troubleshooting, issues with these systems will frequently call for the help of a commercial electrician.

Mission-Critical Resources

Many commercial operations can't afford for the electrical systems to fail. For example, a hospital needs reliable electricity to support life-saving equipment. Food services businesses can lose millions of dollars worth of goods if the electricity fails even for a few hours.

Scaling

Businesses often need to scale their systems and resources as they grow. An e-commerce shipper, for example, may need to add servers rapidly if its brand takes off nationwide or globally. These systems depend on huge amounts of power to run computers, supply cooling, and support shipping operations. Commercial electrical needs can double overnight even in stable long-term settings due to seasonality, too.

Recovery

Bouncing back from disaster in a commercial setting is very different. Many types of machines draw the kind of power that can instantly destroy other systems if you don't bring them back online in the right order. A commercial electrician can follow a detailed checklist to ensure a company's recovery process goes as smoothly as possible.

Speak to a company such as Fowler and Sons Inc to learn more.