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

 
The Energy Industry Outlook 2012
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Energy projects currently underway across the United states reflect several trends—new construction in the alternative-energy sector and renovation at traditional power plants to update aging infrastructure.

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Protecting Those Who Serve
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The U.S. Veterans Administration (VA) provides healthcare, disability benefits, pensions, home loans, life insurance and educational assistance to the nation’s military veterans and runs the country’s largest cemetery system.

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Finding Meaning
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Each year, when pundits publish their national construction outlook forecasts, I wonder how many of us really depend on them. As the late Speaker of the House from Massachusetts, Thomas P.

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Transmission Expansion Projects Unanimously Approved
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MISO, a regional transmission organization, approved its Transmission Expansion Plan 2011 (MTEP11), a comprehensive, long-term regional plan for the electric grid that will bring more than $2 billion in annual benefits for decades to come for energy consumers throughout the Midwest.

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Virginia Tech’s ‘VT Alerts’ Praised for Notifying Campus of Shooting
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Tragedy is often an unforgiving teacher. In the university environment, it is the kind of lesson no one wants to learn.

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Getting Started in Telehealth
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To help you get a head start in reaping the income from the aging-in-place healthcare business, here is a sampling of companies who are marketing products and systems.

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Hotel Automation Goes Wireless
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Both wired and wireless energy management systems—such as those powered by ZigBee or Wi-Fi—are making inroads in the hospitality industry, controlling equipment that contributes to the high energy use in a hotel operation.

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