SUB-03-017 Appendix 2:

11kV Substation Building Design Checklist

SPEN Reference:
Project Title:
ICP / IDNO:
Submitted Drawings:

Civil and building infrastructure shall be designed to meet the functional requirements for a minimum of 40 years. Where SPEN will
subsequently adopt infrastructure then life to first maintenance shall not be less than 20 years and the design and construction detail shall be
such that ongoing maintenance is minimised.
Acceptance of third party designs by SPEN shall not relieve the Constructor of any design responsibility or any generic functional obligation, nor
shall it imply any liability on the part of SPEN.
All design works shall be undertaken in accordance with SUB-03-017.
1.0 Design Submission n/a Yes No
1.01 All Design work has been undertaken and approved by a suitably qualified Civil/Structural Engineer
Civil design submissions shall include drawings containing but not limited to the following:
1.02 Site location plan showing the whole of the site and access route
1.03 General arrangement drawing(s) for buildings/housings incl. details of floor layout(s)
1.04 General arrangement drawing(s) showing plant/switchgear layout(s) to confirm clearances / access
1.05 Sections, a minimum of two (one in each plane) for each building/housing
1.06 Elevations for the overall substation in total, including doors and any natural ventilation
1.07 Building services etc., e.g. small power, lighting, heating, ventilation
1.08 Earthing

2.0 Proposed Substation Equipment

Select all that apply (if IDNO then just SPEN adopted equipment) :
2.01 Transformer
2.02 Ring Main Unit
2.03 Outdoor rated enclosed switchgear
2.04 Indoor rated enclosed switchgear
2.05 Indoor rated protection panels
2.06 RTU and/or comms equipment
2.07 Substation battery system

3.0 Proposed Substation Building Type & Ownership

Select building enclosure type:
3.01 Brick built enclosure
3.02 GRP enclosure - Not Insulated
3.03 GRP enclosure - Insulated
3.04 Containerised / Modular Substation (Specify Material) ___________________________
3.05 Brick Integral / Attached to a third party building *
3.06 Specify why a free standing substation cannot be provided (Provide details in section 15)
3.07 If Integral / Attached, this been agreed with SPEN Engineering Design & Standards Civil

* Note: Integral substations shall only be acceptable where it has been demonstrated that a free standing has been considered but is not viable.
This is subject to prior agreement with SPEN Engineering Design & Standards Civil. Not applicable for IDNO subs.

Select ownership option:

3.08 SPEN to adopt substation building in its entirety
3.09 Substation to be adopted by IDNO (If yes, only further complete sections 7 & 13)
3.10 Substation to be owned and maintained by others

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4.0 Flooding n/a Flood Zone 1 Flood Zone 2 Flood Zone 3a Flood Zone 3b

4.01 Specify flood zone for each type of flooding:

∙ Tidal / Coastal
∙ Fluvial (Flooding from rivers)
∙ Pluvial (Flooding from surface water)
Yes No n/a
4.02 Has the substation site been identified as at risk of flooding
4.03 Flood maps for planning showing proposed sub location are included with design submission

Note: Only complete sections 4.04 - 4.09, below, if the substation is NOT located within flood zone 1.

4.04 Has a Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) been completed?

4.05 Flood Risk Assessment included with design submission
4.06 What is the finished floor level of the substation ___________________________
4.07 What is the flood level for the 1 in 100 year flood (specify flood type) ___________________________
4.08 What is the flood level for the 1 in 1000 year flood (specify flood type) ___________________________
4.09 Provide details of flood resilience / mitigation (on separate sheet)

5.0 Environmental n/a Yes No

5.01 Are there any open watercourses within 10m of the proposed substation
5.02 Are there any boreholes within 50m of the proposed substation
5.03 Does the site require any special consents / permits (if yes then provide details)
5.04 Has any ground investigation been undertaken
5.05 At what level was water encountered ___________________________
5.06 Are there any ground contamination issues (if yes then provide details separately)
5.07 Details of ground remediation submitted
5.08 Have any invasive species been noted within the GI

6.0 Fire Protection n/a Yes No

6.01 Is there an emergency escape door (required where room dimension exceeds 6m)
6.02 Escape routes are 900mm minimum
6.03 Safety travel distances are not exceed (See attached Supplementary Guidance, table 2)
6.04 Multiple room Subs: 1-hour fire compartmentation has been provided (incl. ducts)
6.05 Transformer insulating fluid is a synthetic ester or similar *
6.06 Cables are LS0H *
6.07 External doors are fire rated (Specify in section 13)
6.08 Internal doors are 60min fire rated
6.09 Substation vents are intumescent
6.10 Integral / Attached Subs : Substation has minimum 2-hour fire separation from host building
6.11 Integral / Attached Subs : Has a FRA specified Smoke & fire detection is required within substation
6.12 Integral / Attached Subs : Smoke & fire detection extended into substation
* Where the substation is integral or attached to a third party building then this is a mandatory requirement.

7.0 Substation Access & Egress n/a Yes No

7.01 Substation entrance is from the public highway (If no, provide more detail)
7.02 SPEN have free uninterrupted 24 hour HGV access to substation
7.03 1m clear level access around the sides and rear of the substation is provided
7.04 Access / Egress to the sub is from ground level with 2m clear level access in front of the doors
7.05 Access / Egress to the sub is elevated with 2m clear level access in front of the doors
7.06 Doors do not open over public highway (including footways)
7.07 Emergency egress into a place of safety is provided

8.0 Substation Layout & Floors n/a Yes No

8.01 Layout of substation is in accordance with that set out in SUB-02-006
8.02 There is 750mm clear space around the switchgear for O&M (HV Switching subs)
8.03 Substation size and layout is in accordance with relevant SPEN drawings
8.04 Floor loads of 5kN/m² UDL have been used, if no then specify loadings: ____________________

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8.05 Suitable anti cracking mesh / steel bars are proposed (if no provide justification)
8.06 Floors are full load bearing monolithic in situ concrete slabs
8.07 Proposed floor slab concrete is equivalent or greater than C32/40
8.08 Concrete floors painted with 2No. coats of a proprietary anti-slip floor paint

9.0 Foundations n/a Yes No

9.01 Foundations are set on strata that provide the designed safe ground bearing capacity
9.02 Specify ground bearing capacity ____________________
9.03 Specify any ground improvements or ground improvement required ____________________
9.04 Foundations are set on minimum 50mm thick blinding concrete
9.05 Proposed blinding concrete is equivalent or greater than C16/20
9.06 Foundations are cast in situ concrete construction
9.07 Proposed foundation concrete is equivalent or greater than C32/40
9.08 Proposed concrete is suitable for the ground conditions to provide a 40 year design life
9.09 Concrete has been suitably reinforced using steel reinforcing mesh and/or bars (if no then specify)
9.10 Foundations are pre cast concrete construction
9.11 Foundations are brick construction (provide details in section 11)
9.12 Damp proof membrane installed (where applicable)

10.0 GRP Enclosures (In accordance with SUB-03-018) n/a Yes No

10.01 Proposed enclosure / supplier is listed in table 6 *
10.02 Specify internal dimensions of enclosure Length = m , Width = m
10.03 Enclosure includes partition for metering room
10.04 Substation has inbuilt explosion relief
10.05 Total net ventilation is a minimum of 0.74m² between high and low vents (transformers only)
10.06 When housing indoor rated equipment U values do not exceed values in table 5*
* See attached Supplementary Guidance
Roof U Value = W/m²K Wall U Value = W/m²K

Note: Only complete sections 10.07 - 10.14, below, if the proposed enclosure / supplier is NOT listed in table 6.
10.07 Specify enclosure supplier ___________________________
10.08 Specify roof construction / thickness ___________________________
10.09 Specify wall construction / thickness ___________________________
10.10 Ingress Protection (IP) rating, including vents and when doors are in a closed position, is a minimum IP23
10.11 Enclosure has been tested to withstand impacts and loads as per IEC 62271-202 cl 5.101
10.12 Enclosure meets Class IAC-AB in accordance with IEC 62271-202 cl 6.102
10.13 Enclosure meets Class 2 for flame spread in accordance with BS 476-7
10.14 Enclosure has a warranted design life of 30 years

11.0 Masonry / Structural Wall Design (only applicable adopted for masonry buildings) n/a Yes No
11.01 Wall panels are to be constructed using bricks in accordance with SUB-03-017 (see note below) *
11.02 Walls / Inner leaves of cavity walls are minimum 215mm overall thickness
11.03 Alternative wall design proposed, provide details (See note below) *
11.04 Where walls are not 215mm thick brick, then design provides minimum required lateral strength*
11.05 External walls to enclosures housing Indoor Equipment are cavity construction
11.06 Specify bond type ___________________________
11.07 When housing indoor rated equipment U values do not exceed values in table 5* U= W/m²K
11.08 Wind posts to be installed to enhance lateral capacity of wall panels
11.09 Cavity Wall ties distributed at maximum 450mm x 450mm centres
11.10 Collar Jointed Wall ties distributed at 300mm vertically and 375mm horizontally
* See attached Supplementary Guidance

Note: Blockwork is not acceptable unless the Constructor has confirmed by structural design calculation that the proposed wall panel
construction has adequate lateral strength to withstand the design guide overpressure values given. If an alternative construction is proposed the
Constructor shall confirm by structural design calculation that the proposed wall panel construction has adequate lateral strength to withstand
the design guide overpressure values given.

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Constructor to provide details of proposed brickwork below:
Location Type Compressive Strength Max Moisture Durability Mortar Class Wall Ties
(N/mm²) Absorption (%) Class
Below DPC
DPC
External
Internal

12.0 Roof Design (only applicable for adopted masonry buildings) n/a Yes No
12.01 When housing indoor rated equipment U values do not exceed values in table 5* U= W/m²K
12.02 Proposed roof slab concrete is equivalent or greater than C32/40
12.03 Slip joints have been incorporated at wall bearings & sealed externally
12.04 Roof for Integral substation is tanked construction
* See attached Supplementary Guidance

Select proposed roof construction:

12.05 Roof construction is standard flat cast in situ reinforced concrete construction with soffit finish
12.06 Roof construction is precast beam and in situ concrete screed topping system with soffit finish
12.07 Roof construction is metal soffit shutters with in situ reinforced concrete topping system
Note: Pitched roofs shall be superimposed over the standard concrete roof, as per Drg SP41246777. Details shall be submitted to SPEN for
approval.

Waterproof Coverings to Roofs: (Select proposed solution)

12.08 Liquid applied two coat high performance (aliphatic) polyurethane system
12.09 Built-up felt waterproofing system
12.10 Mastic asphalt waterproofing system
12.11 GRP waterproofing system
12.12 Other (Specify and submit for approval) ___________________________

13.0 Doors n/a Yes No

Substation security is of critical importance. SPEN shall be consulted to determine if any enhanced security measures are required.
13.01 The site Security Risk Assessment (SRA) has specified the need for security doors
13.02 All door furniture is corrosion resistant hardened galvanised or stainless steel
13.03 External doors shall be secured using SPEN padlock
13.04 Where substations have shared entry then doors shall have dual locking arrangements
13.05 Doors secured by padlocks shall contain integral security shrouds
13.06 Door locking hasp and shroud is suitable to receive SPEN padlock
13.07 Door secured by 3 point locking arrangement
13.08 Doors secured with euro lock
13.09 Doors facilitate emergency egress, with padlock override function (where applicable)
13.10 External doors open outwards
13.11 External doors have door stays to restrain them in the open position
13.12 Left hand leaf opening first

Note: Only complete 13.13 - 13.21, below, if the proposed substation housing is NOT a GRP.
13.13 Metal doors to be installed and are on the SPEN approved list (See Supplementary Guidance)
13.14 Metal doors to be installed and not shown on the SPEN approved list (See Supplementary Guidance)
13.15 Metal door to be connected to the substation earthing system (show detail on drawings)
13.16 External doors to be timber doors built to SP4000543
13.17 Specify timber (See Supplementary Guidance) ___________________________
13.18 External doors to be composite doors built to SP4000543

n/a SR2 / B3 SR3 / C5 SR4 / D10

13.19 Specify door security rating (LPS 1175)
n/a 30-mins 60-mins 120-mins
13.20 Specify door fire rating - External doors
13.21 Specify door fire rating - Internal doors

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14.0 Building Services n/a Yes No
14.01 Subs housing transformers have sufficient ventilation (as specified in SUB-02-006)
14.02 Vents are located on at least two separate elevations to allow air flow across the Tx
14.03 If 14.02 is no, Plenum space / venting corridor is to be installed to allow cross ventilation
14.04 Vents are designed to prevent objects / jetted water entering the sub (IP35D)
14.05 Specify vent supplier ___________________________

Note: Only complete 14.06 - 14.09, below, if the proposed substation only houses Indoor Rated HV switchgear
14.06 Sufficient heating is installed to maintain a temperature range of +5°C & +30°C
14.07 Sufficient ventilation is provided to maintain humidity between 20% & 75%
14.08 Sufficient trickle ventilation has been included to allow 4 daily air changes
14.09 Dehumidifiers installed (specify make and model) ________________________

15.0 Additional Comments

16.0 Declaration
I confirm that all details submitted within this design checklist are correct. Should any details subsequently change and / or be found to be
incorrect then this may lead to delays in substation energisation.
The Constructor shall ensure that cognisance is taken of all such SPEN comments, however, acceptance of the Designer/Constructor’s design
submissions by SPEN shall not relieve the Designer/Constructor of any design responsibility or any generic functional obligation of SPENs civil
specification requirements, nor shall it imply any liability on the part of SPEN.

Name Role Signature Date

Substation Building Design Checklist: SUB-03-017 Appendix 2