Commercial Whole-Building Surge Protection in Echo Park
Protect your Echo Park business from damaging electrical spikes with professional whole-building surge protection. From Sunset Boulevard's busy retail blocks to creative studios near Echo Park Lake, your point-of-sale systems, refrigeration, A/V rigs, lighting controls, and network gear depend on clean, stable power. Shaffer Construction, Inc. designs and installs commercial-grade surge protective devices (SPDs) tailored to historic and mixed-use buildings throughout Echo Park. Our half\u2011day installs minimize downtime while safeguarding your equipment investment and reducing costly interruptions.
Our Work
Benefits
Engineered for the Future
We specify commercial Type 1 and Type 2 SPDs rated to UL 1449 (4th Edition), sized to your service and short-circuit current. For multi-tenant and mixed-use buildings, we deploy a tiered strategy: a high-kA device at the service, plus subpanel protection for critical loads. We integrate dry-contact alarms to your BMS, log events, and can add PoE/data surge modules, power quality meters, and scalable provisions for future EV chargers and rooftop solar inverters.
Permits and Regulatory Compliance
Shaffer Construction handles LADBS permitting end-to-end and installs to the Los Angeles City Electrical Code (based on the California Electrical Code). We follow NEC Article 285 for SPDs and NEC Article 250 for grounding/bonding. Devices are UL 1449 listed and coordinated with panel AIC ratings. We provide updated one-line diagrams, labeling, and as-built documentation to streamline inspection and ensure long-term maintainability.
Superior Workmanship and Experience
Our electricians keep SPD leads short and straight to minimize let-through voltage, use copper conductors with listed compression lugs, and torque terminations to manufacturer specs. We verify electrode systems—Ufer grounds common in LA, supplemental copper-clad rods, and bonding to metallic water and gas systems. Thermal imaging and ground resistance testing confirm performance. We select durable, serviceable SPDs from top manufacturers built for commercial duty.
Customized Planning and Assessment
Every Echo Park property is different. We inventory sensitive equipment, review existing panels and grounding, and evaluate service capacity and short-circuit ratings. Where helpful, we deploy temporary power quality logging to quantify events. The result is a right-sized SPD plan—service entrance protection and targeted subpanel units—balanced against risk, budget, and future upgrades like kitchen expansions or A/V additions.
What We Offer
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to shut down my business during installation?+
Most installs take about a half day. We typically schedule a brief planned power interruption to land the service-entrance SPD safely, then restore power. Work can be done early morning, late evening, or on off-days to minimize impact. We’ll outline the exact downtime window during the site visit.
Is a permit required in Echo Park for surge protection?+
Yes. LADBS requires an electrical permit for SPD installations. For existing panels, permits are usually straightforward and inspected within the 2–4 week overall timeline. We handle permitting, scheduling, and meeting the inspector, including any needed LADWP coordination for a short service shutoff.
My building has older wiring and limited grounding—can you still install SPDs?+
Yes. We frequently upgrade grounding and bonding as part of the project. That may include bonding water/gas lines, verifying Ufer grounds, or adding copper-clad ground rods where appropriate. Proper grounding is essential for SPDs to work effectively, especially in historic Echo Park structures.
Do I need SPDs at subpanels or just at the main service?+
We recommend a tiered approach: a high-capacity SPD at the service and targeted Type 2 SPDs at subpanels feeding sensitive loads like POS, refrigeration, A/V, or networking. This reduces let-through energy and protects downstream electronics from both external and internally generated transients.
Ready to Get Started?
Contact us today for a free consultation and quote on your electrical project!
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