Electrical engineering

Around the globe, Arup’s electrical engineers bring specialist expertise to solutions for buildings, transport infrastructure and energy, water and waste utilities.

Our comprehensive services include energy audits, demand assessment, supply and system resilience, utilities consultancy and sustainable electrical engineering design.

Whether in commercial property, retail, sport, mission-critical facilities, the arts or any market, we meet the creative and commercial demands of designers and developers.

We are trusted to bring inventive solutions to complex technical challenges: from exemplar hospitals like the Alfred Hospital Intensive Care Unit to science and technology facilities such as Cornell’s energy recovery linear accelerator and the Citi Data Centre.

Optimal solutions

Our electrical specialists work seamlessly with mechanical and public health engineers to create complete building services solutions.

Beyond standard areas of overlap, Arup expects its electrical engineers to become creative partners in the design process. Our collaborative approach is supported by advanced 3D modelling methods, known as building information modelling (BIM), that allow design teams to share an intelligent virtual project prototype.

Arup shaped structural and building services systems for Princeton University Frick Chemistry Laboratory entirely with BIM. That allowed us to test and refine sustainable strategies with great precision, resulting in energy savings 30% above those of a comparable code-compliant facility.

Creative thinking

We work closely with lighting designers, façade engineers, theatre consultants and museum and gallery designers to realise expressive design ideas.

Often, we contribute innovative uses of technology to solutions that merge creativity with efficiency. We helped power the GreenPix zero-energy media wall with a self-sufficient photovoltaic system that captures twice as much energy as it uses, and helped the California Academy of Sciences set its energy use at one-third that of comparable structures.

At Arup, we are leaders rather than followers in technical advances and sustainability. Through in-house research and development, we ensure that clients get the benefit, rather than the risk, of innovation. As new energy ideas such as smart grids emerge, Arup helps clients understand where they are appropriate and viable in their businesses.

We combined commercial and creative thinking to help Wal-Mart change the way it builds and operates its big-box retail stores. Our case-by-case interventions included smart lighting controls, district heating and renewable sources to help Wal-Mart cut resource use in financially sustainable ways.