Systems

 

 

Integrated electrical and low-voltage systems of all types—inside and outside a building—encompass the range of work that electrical contractors do. The articles in this section highlight different types of work, from security, fire and life safety, to traditional electrical power and distribution, to lighting, cabling and more. 

Last month, I discussed one of the most important tools in the fiber tech’s toolbox: the fiber optic power meter. This month, let’s examine the other tool that is equally important: the test source used with the power meter to measure the loss of the cable plant.

I recently realized that our failure to properly train fire alarm system technicians has created a group of workers who simply do not understand the reasons they do what they do. When a technician asks for the rationale behind a procedure, we often respond, “Because the code requires it.”


Simple power quality problems often evolve into tangled webs that take a long time to unravel.

The fire alarm systems industry has changed considerably over the years. Many old-timers can remember a fire alarm system that only detected a fire and sounded an alarm. Nonfire alarm systems did not interface with these fire alarm systems.

More on Systems

 
Energy Crisis Presents Energy-efficient Retrofit and New Installation Opportunities
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The ongoing energy crisis in California has opened wide the doors of opportunity for electrical contractors—not only in that state, but all around the country—to sell energy-efficient retrofits and new installations.

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Movin’ On Up
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Your company has just installed a multi-million dollar voice/data/video (VDV) system for either a new or established customer. If the job had been traditional electrical construction, then that would be the end of the project, and the end of your presence at the customer’s facility.

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Woods Inc. Delivers One-stop Shopping in Constitution State
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Peter Lok had a choice when his law office joined the national trend of acquiring network services. His growing law firm of Day, Berry and Howard, LLT, had used Woods Electrical Co.

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Maintaining Fiber Optic Systems
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We all know about maintenance. We know things wear out or get dirty and need replacing or cleaning. This is especially true about cars. We regularly change the oil and filter, rotate the tires, and get the engine tuned up to keep our vehicles running well.

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Gigabit Ethernet Expands into a WAN Technology
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Recently, there has been a surge of interest and activity in using Ethernet as a wide area network (WAN) technology. This is surprising because Ethernet was developed as a local area network (LAN) technology, serving to deliver data between computers within the same building.

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Grab Your Share of Security
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Insiders in the security alarm industry—those installing companies that have been at it successfully for years—are reluctant to share their secrets to success.

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TIA/EIA-568-B Is Finished!
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With the approval of TIA/EIA -568-B.2—Part 2: Balanced Twisted-Pair Cabling Components at the March 2001 meeting of TIA, all three standards making up the TIA/EIA-568-B Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard are approved and published.

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