Life Support Branch

[WoodrowJWeen]

In numerous military hospitals we do work in, we have encountered another branch of the essential electrical system. In addition to the usual life safety, critical & equipment branches, we find a "Life Support" branch complete with its own ATS. It often feeds isolation panelboards but not always. I have not encountered this branch in any civilian hospitals. I am guessing this was a Dept. of Defense requirement many years ago but nobody at these facilities seems to know. Does anybody know where and when this started and what it was supposed to feed?

 

[busbar]

A long shot may be: IEEE Std 602-1996 Recommended Practice for Electric Systems in Health Care Facilities {White Book}