[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":133},["ShallowReactive",2],{"guide-business-continuity-new-location-en-US":3},{"guide":4,"related":115},{"title":5,"seoTitle":6,"description":7,"summary":8,"sections":9,"faq":76,"cta":83,"date":85,"updated":85,"service":86,"order":87,"sources":88,"slug":113,"locale":114},"Planning a new business location to stay open through an outage","Outage Planning for a New NYC Business","Second internet path, generator or battery inlet with interlock, HVAC leak routing and peak shaving, planned during a NYC or Long Island build-out.","Before a new space is built, list the failures that would close the business, usually internet, power, cooling and water, and solve them while the walls and ceilings are open. The most useful details are small at that stage: a second internet connection on a physically different path, a power inlet with a listed interlock or transfer switch on a critical-load panel, and condensate and refrigerant lines routed away from the panel, the network closet and the inventory.",[10,15,21,31,42,47],{"heading":11,"paragraphs":12},"Start with what would close the doors",[13,14],"Every business has a short list of failures that stop sales outright: card terminals in a store, refrigeration in a restaurant, the network in an office, medication refrigerators in a clinic or pharmacy. We ask owners for that list at the first walkthrough, because it decides which circuits, conduits and drain routes go into the drawings.","The timing matters more than the equipment. An inlet box, an empty conduit to the roof or a drain pan costs little while the trades are on site; after the ceiling is finished, the same items mean demolition, patching and usually a day of closure.",{"heading":16,"paragraphs":17},"A second internet connection on a different path",[18,19,20],"Relying on one internet provider is the most common single point of failure we see in a new fit-out, and a second connection is inexpensive insurance. The mistake is choosing two services that fail together: a fiber service and a cable service on the same pole line arrive by the same route, and one fallen tree takes both down.","The second connection should travel a different physical path: fixed wireless, a microwave link or cellular broadband. Fixed wireless and microwave need a roof or facade mount with line of sight and the landlord's permission; cellular needs a signal test where the equipment will actually sit. Any link can fail in a regional outage, but two different kinds rarely fail for the same reason.","During construction we run a separate conduit for the second service, put the provider equipment on the backed-up circuit and terminate both links on a dual-WAN firewall. The [service entrance guide](\u002Fguides\u002Finternet-service-entrance-planning) covers the pathway for the wired provider.",{"heading":22,"paragraphs":23,"list":28},"A generator or battery inlet with an interlock",[24,25,26,27],"For businesses that cannot afford to close, we recommend and build a simple alternate power inlet: a weatherproof inlet box wired to the main panel or a critical-load subpanel, with a listed interlock kit or a transfer switch. The subpanel carries only the circuits on the owner's list, so a modest portable source can run them.","During widespread outages such as Hurricane Sandy, this detail has kept our clients open and powered for days without the grid, running on portable battery packs and in some cases a vehicle, while neighboring businesses waited for utility power. Our [EV backup power guide](\u002Fguides\u002Fev-home-backup-v2h-new-york) explains which vehicles can export power.","A backup source may connect to the building only through a listed inlet and interlock or a transfer switch. NEC Article 702, which covers optional standby systems, requires transfer equipment that keeps the normal and alternate sources from being connected to each other. Without it, a generator or battery can back-feed the utility lines through the transformer and energize wires that line workers are repairing on the assumption that they are dead.","In New York City, the NYC Health Department's [generator guidance for businesses](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nyc.gov\u002Fassets\u002Fdoh\u002Fdownloads\u002Fpdf\u002Fem\u002Fgenerator-information.pdf) notes that connections preparing a building for a portable generator require a permit, and [electrical work](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nyc.gov\u002Fsite\u002Fbuildings\u002Fproperty-or-business-owner\u002Felectrical-permit.page) must be performed by DOB-licensed electrical contractors. Our licensed partner electricians install the inlet, interlock and subpanel under an electrical permit and close it out with inspection. On Long Island, the town or village building department sets the permit path.",[29,30],"Fuel: the same NYC Health guidance states that storing more than 2.5 gallons of gasoline for small portable generators requires an FDNY flammable and combustible liquids permit. Fuel-burning generators belong outdoors, well away from doors, windows and air intakes.","Lithium-ion batteries: we recommend portable power stations listed by a nationally recognized testing laboratory to UL 2743, the safety standard for portable power packs. The FDNY advises that the safest place to [charge and store lithium-ion batteries](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nyc.gov\u002Fsite\u002Ffdny\u002Fnews\u002FF40125\u002Fin-new-psa-fdny-reminds-new-yorkers-store-charge-lithium-ion-batteries-outside-where) is outside, where possible, and permanently installed battery systems fall under separate DOB and FDNY energy storage rules. Confirm the requirements for the specific product and storage location before buying.",{"heading":32,"paragraphs":33,"list":36,"after":40},"Using the same inlet to lower summer demand charges",[34,35],"Commercial electricity in New York City is expensive in summer peak hours. Many business accounts pay a demand charge based on the highest demand recorded in the billing period. On the [time-of-use rates Con Edison publishes](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.coned.com\u002Fen\u002Faccounts-billing\u002Fyour-bill\u002Ftime-of-use), the small-business peak runs weekdays from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and is priced highest from June through September, and the large-business rate bills demand separately for several windows. Check your rate on your bill.","Some of our customers use the inlet for a second purpose. During the highest-cost hours they move a large load, such as a walk-in cooler, onto portable battery packs and recharge them off-peak, which lowers the peak they are billed for. Because the demand charge is set by the highest interval in the window, the battery must carry the load through the entire peak period; a pack that runs out at 4 p.m. leaves the full peak on the bill. The [demand charge guide](\u002Fguides\u002Fev-charger-demand-charges-con-edison-pseg-li) explains the calculation. When customers say the batteries paid for themselves, they count three returns together.",[37,38,39],"Lower demand and peak-hour charges on the electric bill.","Revenue that is not lost when the business stays open through an outage.","The tax treatment of the battery as business equipment, which may qualify for the section 179 deduction or the special depreciation allowance described in [IRS Publication 946](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.irs.gov\u002Fpublications\u002Fp946). We are contractors, not tax advisors; consult a CPA such as Copper River Tax (copperrivertax.com), which has worked with many of our clients on tax-saving strategies for their projects.",[41],"Combined, these have paid back the batteries quickly for many of the businesses we work with. That is our experience, not a promise; the result depends on the tariff, the load, how often outages occur and the business's tax situation.",{"heading":43,"paragraphs":44},"Cooling and water failures",[45,46],"Condensate and refrigerant lines leak eventually, and where they run decides whether a leak is a service call or a closure. We route them away from electrical panels, the network closet, stock rooms and the ceiling over the sales floor. Air handlers above a ceiling get a secondary drain pan with a float switch that shuts the unit off before the pan overflows, and leak sensors, with an automatic water shutoff where it fits, go where a failure would do the most damage.","Everything stays serviceable, with access panels at every fan coil, trap and valve and isolation valves so one unit can be shut off alone. Where losing cooling would close the business, as in a server room, a pharmacy or a restaurant kitchen, two smaller units in place of one keep part of the space conditioned during a repair, the approach our [clinic backup power guide](\u002Fguides\u002Fclinic-backup-power-vaccine-network) applies to medication refrigerators.",{"heading":48,"table":49},"Failure points we plan for during construction",{"caption":50,"head":51,"rows":55},"Common failure scenarios in a new business space",[52,53,54],"Failure","Common mistake","What we build while the walls are open",[56,60,64,68,72],[57,58,59],"Internet outage","Two wired providers on the same pole line or conduit","A second conduit and roof or window location for fixed wireless, microwave or cellular, with both links on a dual-WAN firewall",[61,62,63],"Utility power outage","A space described as generator-ready with no inlet, interlock or defined circuits","An inlet with a listed interlock or transfer switch feeding a critical-load subpanel, under an electrical permit",[65,66,67],"Condensate overflow","Drain lines over the electrical panel or sales floor, no secondary pan","Rerouted drains, secondary pans with float switches and access panels",[69,70,71],"Refrigerant leak or compressor failure","One large unit serving the whole space","Two smaller units, or a separate unit for the server room or medication room",[73,74,75],"Plumbing leak","Valves buried behind finished walls","Isolation valves at each fixture group, leak sensors and an automatic shutoff where it fits",[77,80],{"q":78,"a":79},"Can the landlord's building generator cover my space?","Only if the lease provides for it and a separate transfer device is installed for your loads. Building generators often serve life-safety systems only, such as egress lighting and fire alarm, so a tenant inlet on your own critical-load subpanel is usually the more dependable arrangement.",{"q":81,"a":82},"What does HIPAA require of a medical practice for outages?","The HIPAA Security Rule's contingency plan standard, [45 CFR 164.308(a)(7)](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.law.cornell.edu\u002Fcfr\u002Ftext\u002F45\u002F164.308), requires a data backup plan, a disaster recovery plan and an emergency mode operation plan for systems holding electronic protected health information, with testing and a criticality analysis as addressable specifications. The rule governs procedures rather than wiring, but backup power and a second internet path often make the emergency mode plan workable.",{"text":84},"Send the address, the floor plan, photos of the electrical panel and meter, the internet providers available at the address and a list of the equipment that must stay running. We return, at no charge, a list of the site's single points of failure, the inlet, interlock and second-connection options suited to it, and a written estimate.","2026-10-25","electrical",131,[89,93,97,101,105,109],{"title":90,"url":91,"publisher":92},"Generator Information for Businesses","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nyc.gov\u002Fassets\u002Fdoh\u002Fdownloads\u002Fpdf\u002Fem\u002Fgenerator-information.pdf","NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene",{"title":94,"url":95,"publisher":96},"Electrical Permit","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nyc.gov\u002Fsite\u002Fbuildings\u002Fproperty-or-business-owner\u002Felectrical-permit.page","NYC Department of Buildings",{"title":98,"url":99,"publisher":100},"Time-of-Use","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.coned.com\u002Fen\u002Faccounts-billing\u002Fyour-bill\u002Ftime-of-use","Con Edison",{"title":102,"url":103,"publisher":104},"In new PSA, the FDNY reminds New Yorkers to store and charge lithium-ion batteries outside where possible","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nyc.gov\u002Fsite\u002Ffdny\u002Fnews\u002FF40125\u002Fin-new-psa-fdny-reminds-new-yorkers-store-charge-lithium-ion-batteries-outside-where","FDNY",{"title":106,"url":107,"publisher":108},"45 CFR 164.308, Administrative safeguards","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.law.cornell.edu\u002Fcfr\u002Ftext\u002F45\u002F164.308","Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School",{"title":110,"url":111,"publisher":112},"Publication 946 (2025), How To Depreciate Property","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.irs.gov\u002Fpublications\u002Fp946","Internal Revenue Service","business-continuity-new-location","en-US",[116,121,125,129],{"slug":117,"title":118,"description":119,"service":86,"date":120,"updated":85},"nyc-renovation-permits","NYC permits for renovation, electrical and plumbing work","Which renovation, electrical and plumbing jobs need a NYC Department of Buildings permit, who files it, and what changes on Long Island.","2026-10-24",{"slug":122,"title":123,"description":124,"service":86,"date":120,"updated":85},"electrical-panel-upgrade","Electrical panel and service upgrades for NYC and Long Island homes","When an older NYC or Long Island home needs a new panel or a bigger electrical service, what the work involves, and how long it takes.",{"slug":126,"title":127,"description":128,"service":86,"date":85,"updated":85},"ny-electrical-service-size-100a-200a","When a New York home needs 200-amp service","Load calculations under NEC 220.83 and 220.87, when 100 amps still works, when 200 amps is needed, and the Con Edison and PSEG Long Island upgrade process.",{"slug":130,"title":131,"description":132,"service":86,"date":85,"updated":85},"bidirectional-charging-ready-renovation","Wiring a renovation for bidirectional EV charging","Every V2H system is brand-specific in 2026. The conduit, panel space, backup subpanel and certifications to plan in a NYC or Long Island renovation.",1792938766049]