John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

Hi, gang--

We are buying some rural property in Mexico. It is one of four adjacent lots in close proximity to a small town with plenty of electricity. The sellers are running power to a terminal on public land just outside the perimeter. They are then contracting to have power run underground to each of the four individual lots.

The electrician who is bidding on the job knows that I will be building a project studio, and has asked if I wanted 'single or double-phase' power run to our property. I've never heard of those terms. I wonder if he means one or two lines--keeping a separate line for the studio? It's not someone I can easily get in touch with to clarify at this moment, but evevn if I could, English is his second language and I'd rather hear from you guys first.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Doug

IF it will be a LARGE facility, 3-phase is better; it allows more efficient use for HVAC.

If you're talking about a smaller facility, standard "US" type power is fine - this is really single phase, but has the option of using two opposite polarities of the same phase to get 240 volt power for large appliances/heating.

For your studio, you'd only need 2 or 3 120 VAC circuits for gear (all on the SAME LEG) and possibly 240 VAC (sometimes mistakenly called 2-phase) for HVAC.

For premise wiring, be sure your electrician knows what a STAR GROUND is

http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2206

HTH... Steve