Carter Huddleston

Here's a quick breakdown of the 3 most common types of electrical services: 🔌 120/240V Single Phase: Mostly residential, but can power light commercial spaces like small offices or retail shops. 🔌 120/208V 3 Phase: The go-to for most commercial spaces, suitable for a variety of tenant types. Office, restaurant, brewery, multi-family 🔌 277/480V 3 Phase: A good option for larger buildings (20,000+ sq ft), speciality use, industrial spaces, and locations with high electrical loads. As with anything, the answer on which service works for you is “it depends” but this is a summarized breakdown. Let me know if you have a specific use case and would like some input.

Most electrical issues don’t start in the panel. They start with what you don’t notice in the field. In this episode of Field Notes, we’re on site in D.C., walking a multi-unit building and documenting what’s actually there. 🔻 150A single-phase load centers in each unit 🔻 SER cable leaving the building 🔻 Limited wall space for a meter stack 🔻 Mostly three-wire… but one four-wire plus ground Small differences matter. Three-wire vs four-wire changes how you think about the service. Meter layout changes what’s feasible. Field verification changes everything. If you work in MEP, you already know that existing conditions tell the real story. Take a look at the latest Field Notes episode and see what we found. #ElectricalEngineering #MEPEngineering #CommercialConstruction #ArchitectureAndDesign #MEP #SiteVisit

Awesome time in Vegas with the mechanical homies

Most people walk past an outlet without ever thinking about what’s behind it. But inside that wall is a small decision tree of power, safety, and intent. In this episode of Site Unseen, we step onto an active jobsite and look at: 🔹 What “electrical rough-in” really means 🔹 Why two sets of cables land in one box 🔹 How a simple receptacle fits into a larger circuit 🔹 What’s happening before drywall hides everything If you’ve ever wondered how power actually moves through a building, this one’s for you. #ElectricalEngineering #ConstructionLife #MEPDesign #BuildingSystems #Construction #Engineering #MEP

Why is this labeled if the directory already exists? ⚡ That small detail often gets ignored. But in the field, it matters more than people think. In this #SiteUnseen episode, we look at a real panel on site and talk through why conductors are sometimes labeled right at the breaker. 🔻 What happens when the dead-front cover is off 🔻 How electricians quickly identify circuits 🔻 Why this helps during maintenance and additions Nothing theoretical. Just what’s actually happening in the field. If you work around electrical systems or design them, this one will feel familiar. Take a look. #Construction #MEP #ElectricalEngineering #MEPEngineering #ConstructionIndustry #ArchitectsAndEngineers

Yellow, white, orange: what they actually mean. Which gauges match which breaker sizes. And where the NEC draws hard limits on small conductors. Simple concepts. Common mistakes. Real-world context. If you work in residential or multifamily construction, this one is worth a few minutes. #ConstructionEducation #ElectricalContractors #MEPEngineering #BuildingDesign #RealEstateDevelopment #ResidentialConstruction 📘 The discussion in this video ties back to NEC Article 240, specifically 240.4(D) on small conductor overcurrent protection, along with 240.6 for standard breaker sizes.

Ever wonder what an engineer looks for inside an existing electrical room? ⚡ Out on-site, walking through the transformer, CT cabinet, MDP, and panels. This is the kind of fieldwork that keeps projects accurate and designs grounded in real conditions. A quick look at how we document existing electrical systems before any redesign. 👇 #Engineering #ElectricalEngineering #ConstructionTech #FieldNotes

Kicked off our first site survey using the Insta360. A quick 360 walk-through video like this makes it much easier for our engineers to understand existing conditions without multiple trips on-site. Fast to capture. Easy to review. Simple upgrade. Big impact on clarity and coordination. More to come as we refine how we capture field data. #MEPEngineering #SiteSurvey #360Video #Engineering #Construction

Even something as simple as a single spare conduit or an unverified power feed can shift major design decisions. Your electrical design only stands up if it reflects what’s truly in the field. The earlier you validate assumptions, the fewer surprises you face downstream. #ConstructionEngineering #MEPDesign #SiteVisit #BuildingSystems

Spotted an open-delta high-leg service at an old gas station getting a full upgrade. Two transformers on the pole. 208V to neutral on one phase. Panel marked “high-leg.” Catching this early keeps design clean and avoids costly surprises. ⚡ What field finds have you seen lately? #ElectricalEngineering #Construction #MEP #FieldNotes

No way I’m visiting SAT without checking in with @bethanyjbabcock and the homies. Shout out to #UTSA!

@bethanyjbabcock @PermitZIPhvac Hook your favorite sweet potato-loving MEP engineers up

@PermitZIPelec @PermitZIPhvac I got the recipe from her!! My new go- to

Look who crashed out company Thanksgiving lunch! @PermitZIPelec @PermitZIPhvac !

@kevinkrone @RamJeffreyp @JasonKeyz here's the fire protection engineer podcast episode we were talking about youtube.com/watch?v=8lrJ8q…

@kevinkrone x.com/PermitZIP/stat… @RamJeffreyp here is the NYC podcast that @PermitZIPhvac was talking about

@AdamB1438 @ryanchandrapaul Gotcha - tag me if you ever need help with anything

@PermitZIPelec @ryanchandrapaul We had an electrician to do some work, but needed an engineer to do a load analysis and line diagram. I think our contractor just found another electrician who does these also.

@ryanchandrapaul @AdamB1438 Dang.. post was deleted. I was looking forward to nerding out over something

@AdamB1438 don’t know about the location but I know @PermitZIPelec is on here

@PermitZIPelec and I finally got our business cards ordered. We haven’t had them since 2020, back when the whole office went fully remote. Now they’re here...gold chains and all.

@ChadGriffiths Congrats!! This is a cool idea

I'm officially a world renowned children's author. For legal disclaimers that is intended to be a bit of harmless puffery, but I do have a children's book hitting the bookshelves today. It started as an inside joke between Fly, Nick and myself, and then I thought: "dammit, why don't I write a kid's book?!" So I wrote a basic story line and hired a graphic designer (which was surprisingly very expensive). Naturally this means my marketing budget will be spent exclusively on George Choo (coming soon). It's for sale now, all proceeds will be going to children related charities. Also, to Nick Huber who hasn't written a children's book: checkmate.

@ClarenceWongCRE @MultifamilyMad Walmart water! Very clean install

@MultifamilyMad Above kinda reminds me of a “Walmart meter mod” type setup as @PermitZIPelec has coined, but internal vs external below.

A work of art. Went to a buddies 12,000sf family lake house last weekend. He showed me the utility room and my jaw dropped. There was a second utility room (didn’t get a photo) that was triple the size of this one with 7 on demand hot water heaters and triple the amount of copper, with all of the electrical beautifully spaced. The house was stunning (not uploading photos for their privacy) but I was mostly impressed with the true craftsmanship of the utility rooms and its install. Truly a work of art.