Before you discount my assertion about the telecommunications closet (TC) as "too much eggnog around the Yule log," I offer the following explanation:
tia/eia-569a addresses pathways and spaces. Each space has a classification (i.e., service entrance, main terminal space, equipment room, TC, pull box, splice box, and work area), which then relates to a certain set of design requirements. Let`s see if our "small core (telecommunications) closet" can meet the TC requirements. tia/eia-569a sub-clause 7.2.2.3 states: "Based on one work area per 10 m2 (100 ft2), the telecommunications closet should be sized per table 7.2-1." This is guidance--there are no firm size requirements stated here.
In fact, the only size requirements for a TC in tia/eia-569a are a wall long enough to accommodate the 36-inch-wide and 80-inch-high door and a ceiling high enough to accommodate mounting the lighting a minimum of 8.5 feet above the finished floor.
There are some prohibitions: No non-telecommunications function and related support facilities are allowed in the TC, and no piping, ductwork, pneumatic tubing, or the like may enter, be installed in, or pass through it.
There are also some provisioning requirements: a minimum floor loading of 50 lbf/ft2; minimum lighting of 50 foot-candles measured 3 feet above the finished floor; a minimum of two dedicated 120-volt nominal, nonswitched, alternating-current duplex electrical outlet receptacles, each on a separate branch circuit, and convenient duplex outlets placed at 6-foot intervals around the perimeter walls at a height of 6 inches above the finished floor; access to the telecommunications grounding system; and light-colored floors, walls, and ceilings that are treated to eliminate dust, but plywood is an option.
Scary, isn`t it? This is why we need to convince building owners and architects that telecommunications is the fourth utility and that the typical mechanical electrical plumbing (mep) firm does not have the staff resource to design for Division 17. For more information about the Division 17 initiative, see www.divi sion17.net.
