Bespoke Brewing Solutions offer advice on what to think about when planning all your brewery electrical requirements.
The team Bespoke Brewing Solutions like to share things.
We share tips about the best place to buy a good cheeseburger. We share Netflix recommendations!
And most of all, we share our knowledge.
You may have read our previous blogs in this series – the first was on your brewery layout and the second on the design of your brewhouse.
(If not, head on over and have a skim!)
But now, it’s time to talk utilities!
Once you have made all the decisions around the equipment layout and design, we can start working on the different utilities which you’ll need in the brewery.
This includes:
- Electrical
- Steam
- Liquor
- Glycol
- Gas (Compressed Air, Oxygen, CO2)
In this article (part one of our utilities blog) we will be looking at what to think about when planning all your brewery electrical requirements.
Volts and Hertz
In the early stages of a project, one of our first steps is to send an email to confirm the following:
Single-Phase Electrical Voltage:
Three-Phase Electrical Voltage:
Hertz:
These numbers are absolutely key.
We order all of our equipment (motors, pumps, etc) and design our control panels, to work with the required voltage(s) and hertz. (Fun fact: these differ around the world!)
For instance, we have produced three-phased equipment to work on 208V and 480V at 60Hz for the US and 415V at 50Hz for the UK and Australia.
If this information is incorrect, it can lead to costly mistakes – such as equipment that is unusable!
Bespoke Pro Tip: When researching potential brewery sites, make sure to determine whether there is three-phase electrical power running into the building. Pumps and motors work better running on three-phased electrical – especially as they increase in power.
You should then be able to confirm the electrical current for each system. This is a critical gate check for location consideration.
Electrical Layout
In our electrical layout drawing (which Bespoke Brewing Solutions provides for all clients) we list all the equipment which will be drawing power – and the wattage required.
Using this, your electrician can help confirm if you have enough juice (current) coming into the building to meet demand.
If not, we need to map out a plan B. You may need to find a way to run more power to the location (this can be costly.) If you have equipment coming from other manufacturers, we are more than happy to incorporate them into our drawings.
We work closely with the electrician to include as much detail as possible in the drawing to indicate placement, connection type and any special requirements.
We want to ensure everyone is comfortable with the equipment coming as – another fun fact – electrical wire coloring also differs around the world.
Electrical Design Drawings for Your Brewery
Bespoke Brewing Solutions also works to design drawings for control and electrical cabinets for brewhouses, mobile pumps, CIP carts, etc.
This includes the button configuration – with labeling for control cabinets and more importantly electrical wiring diagrams for the cabinets.
We do this to prevent confusion on what will be controlled from and where – and the naming – as local nomenclatures differ from country to country for brewing equipment.
The electrical diagrams will also help the local team to plan out their route for the power cables around the brewery – and also the electrical wiring for the different components around the brewery (such as pumps, motors, solenoids, sensors, etc.)
As an example – the brewery’s electrical cabinet will need to be wired to all components of the brewhouse. If this includes the HLT and it is located on the other side of the brewery, then cables will need to be run for the pump, solenoid(s) and thermocouples.
A Bespoke Solution for Your Brewery
As you can see, there is a lot to take into account when it comes to planning the electrical requirements of your brewery.
Especially because you need to consider both power and controls – which all should be identified ahead of time.
And, as with everything, practice makes perfect.
At Bespoke Brewing Solutions, we are always learning – and we’d be lying if we said we have not had any issues over the years! But we are continuously improving after each project.
We know the do’s and don’ts! Let us bring this experience into your project, to help it go smoothly.
Get in touch with us to chat about your project.