Electrical

Power is most often provided to you in levels of watts (W) or amps (A). The typical options are 500W/5A, 1000W/10A, 1500W/15A, and 2000W/20A. These levels of power should be sufficient for most exhibits and their components.

• Note – The only times you may need more power than this is if you have an overhead lighting rig or an elaborate overhead banner requiring electrical.

As these elements vary greatly and are quite complicated, if you do require this, we recommend you reach out to your Producers directly to determine the proper budget for your electrical needs. To determine your specific power quantities, consider the following:

500W is usually sufficient to cover:

• One (1) large LCD/LED monitor with content driver
• Approximately ten (10) to fifteen (15) LED lights
• Five (5) non-LED lights (Which you should not be using!)
• One (1) to three (3) laptops
• Power strips for charging cell phones
• One (1) fridge
  • Note – You will need 24-hr power for fridges so they don’t get turned off at the end of the day. 24-hr power is usually double the cost.

1000W is usually sufficient to cover:

• Up to three (3) large LCD/LED monitors with content drivers
• Approximately fifteen (15) to thirty (30) LED lights
• Approximate ten (10) non-LED lights (Again, you should be using LED lights!)
• Three (3) to six (6) laptops
• Up to two (2) fridges
  • Note – You will need 24-hr power for fridges so they don’t get turned off at the end of the day. 24-hr power is usually double the cost.

1500W is usually sufficient to cover:

• Up to five (5) large LCD/LED monitors with content drivers
• Thirty (30) – forty-five (45) LED lights
• Approximate fifteen (15) non-LED lights (Again, you should be using LED lights!)
• Six (6) – nine (9) laptops
• Up to three (3) fridges
  • Note – You will need 24-hr power for fridges so they don’t get turned off at the end of the day. 24-hr power is usually double the cost.

2000W is usually sufficient to cover:

• Up to seven (7) large LCD/LED monitors with content drivers
• Forty-five (45)+ LED lights
• Approximate twenty (20) non-LED lights (Again, you should be using LED lights!)
• Nine (9) – twelve (12) laptops
• Up to four (4) fridges
  • Note – You will need 24-hr power for fridges so they don’t get turned off at the end of the day. 24-hr power is usually double the cost.
• One (1) steamer
• One (1) coffee or espresso maker

An important thing to consider is that these power points represent one point which will come from the show main power, ran under your carpet or flooring, and to another point in your exhibit. Cords branching from these power point locations cannot be run again under carpets due to fire codes. So, anything that will be connected to a power point must be connected with extension cords/power strips above the flooring.

How does this impact you? Let’s look at a few examples. Let’s say you have a total of forty LED lights in your exhibit, but they are spread out in four different places throughout the exhibit. You may think you can just get a 2000W power point and be covered, but that would be incorrect. You’ll need to get four 500W power points, each one being ran to each location under your flooring/carpet with the ten lights. Typically, this will cost more, as the price for a 2000W power point is most often not just 4x the cost of a 500W power point. This concept should be applied to all your needs to determine your exact power requirements.

Given the above considerations and the general outlines we’ve provided, your next step is to estimate your overall power needs based on your exhibit needs. Once you’ve got that, multiply the quantities of power by their show rates, and you’ll have your power budget. Don’t forget to multiply by your Producer’s service fee if needed as well. If you’d like to use some very rough figures, and again these vary GREATLY all over the country, we recommend you use the following, which we’d consider advance rates:

• $125/500W
• $175/1000W
• $225/1500W
• $275/2000W

Again, these vary greatly, with more expensive states most likely running higher, and less expensive states running lower. As well, standard rates will run higher than this. Lastly, these figures are show rates and do not factor in any Producer fees.

The next major expensive when it comes to your electrical budget will be the labor for electricians to run your power lines from the main power drop under your carpet to the points needed, which is typically called “distribution”, and then labor to come back to your booth to mount lights, hang monitors, and install any other elements that are required to be installed by electricians.

Again, you’ll need your trusty exhibitor service manual to find two important things.

1. First is the labor rate for ST and OT/DT.
2. Next is a description of exactly what electricians must install. Different convention centers, even in the same city, have different requirements.
   1. For example, in Las Vegas, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, electricians must be hired to hang monitors. But at the Sands Convention Center? Your install team must do that. These can lead to significant budgetary differences, so it’s important to know.

Once you have that figured out, use the guidelines below to determine you budget.

To determine ST/OT, take a look at your move-in schedule.

• Note – Distribution labor will usually occur the day before your target move-in date. If your target move-in is a Monday, you can assume your distribution labor will occur on Sunday or Saturday, on OT.

Typically, an electrician can run a line every five minutes or so. It’s safe to figure that if you have ten (10) or less points, that it should not take more than an hour or two to run these. For 10-20 points, figure two hours, and so on.