Telecommunications Cabling and Electronics Specifications Guidelines

Contact: Ron Olton

Entrance Wiring Closets

Most buildings will have two types of rooms to provide for the termination, protection, and management of various kinds of media and electronics that comprise the telecommunications network. The first type of room, the ENTRANCE WIRING CLOSET (EWC), will be located in the basement of the building it serves. In the absence of a basement, it will be on the ground floor.

All cables entering the building will be terminated in this room and the appropriate methods for high voltage protection will be applied. Electronic equipment associated with video and data inter-connectivity will also be situated in this room. The EWC will be the focal point of all communications facilities and resources in the building. It is imperative that the EWC be an enclosed area secure from flooding and accidental damage, as well as sabotage.

GENERAL:

The room designated to be an ENTRANCE WIRING CLOSET must be dedicated exclusively to that purpose. Access to the room should be direct without passing through other secure areas that would require additional keys for access. Conversely, access to the EWC should not be required in order to access another area. It cannot be shared with any other use such as storage, janitorial equipment or other electrical or mechanical installations. There should not be any plumbing fixtures in the room and pipes should not pass through the room that could cause flooding or require repair or replacement. There should not be any fire sprinklers in the room, if local fire codes will permit.

FLOOR:

The floor must be free of dust and static electricity. The floor should be tiled instead of carpeted. If the floor is left uncovered, it must be sealed and painted. The floor must be high enough to avoid any threat of flooding and have a minimum floor loading specification of at least 100 lb/ft2 .

CEILING:

The ceiling should be a minimum of 8-feet, 6-inches high and there should not be a false ceiling.

WALLS:

The walls should be lined with ¾-inch, 4-feet by 8- feet plywood attached to the wall framing members or mechanically attached to the masonry walls. All surfaces are to be painted with fire resistant paint.

DOORS:

Doorways should be a minimum of 36-inches wide by 6-feet 8-inches high. Doors should be hinged outward and solid to provide security and resistance to fire. The door locks will be cored so that they will allow access to network personnel only.

LIGHTING:

Lighting should be provided to a minimum level of 540 lx (50 foot candles) measured 3-feet above the floor. Light fixtures should be mounted a minimum of 8-feet, 6-inches above the floor.

ELECTRICAL:

A 20 Amp, 110 volt AC separately fused electrical circuit should be provided for electronic equipment. This circuit shall be extended to a power strip mounted on equipment racks in the center of the room. Additional outlets for tools, test instruments and work lights shall be placed at least at 6-foot intervals around the room.

GROUNDING:

A minimum of a 6 AWG ground conductor from the main building grounding electrode and the power neutral shall be provided and terminated on a copper ground bar properly installed in the room.

HVAC:

HVAC provisioning shall be sufficient to provide a minimum of six air changes per hour. The temperature should be maintained at 55 F to 80 F 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

Care must be taken to not include the room in a zone that could have heating, air conditioning, or air exchange reduced during night or idle times, as the equipment will generate the same amount of heat at all times.

LOCATION:

A building should have only one ENTRANCE WIRING CLOSET regardless of the building size. It should be located as close as possible to the point where telecommunications facilities enter the building while being centrally located to reduce the lengths of backbone cables.

SIZE:

The minimum size for an EWC is 6-feet by 9-feet, but that size room will satisfy the needs of a building of up to 200,000 square feet of gross floor space. Figure 2-1 illustrates how that space would be utilized. Table 2-1 specifies room sizes required for buildings of more square feet or gross floor space.

FIGURE 2-1

CONDUITS:

Conduit sizing and requirements are covered in Sections 1 and 5 of this specification

                              FIGURE 2-1

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