Electical Contractor

Getting Started in Design-Build

| August 2005

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Codes & Standards

A utility-interactive photovoltaic (PV) system is defined in Section 690.2 of the National Electrical Code (NEC) (NFPA 70-2005) as a “photovoltaic system that operates in parallel with and may deliver power to an electrical production and distribution network.” NEC Article 690 covers Solar Photovol

Smarty Pants

Deborah L. O'Mara

| August 2005

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Systems

Access control is a logical product to integrate. Technology continues to advance, especially in networked solutions, smart cards and biometrics, offering new capabilities and more application possibilities than ever before.

Susan M. Casey

| August 2005

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Your Business

“We’ve always done design-build. Everybody’s done it. A customer calls you up and says, ‘We want to do this.’ They are usually doing remodels. That’s how it starts. Now we do complete projects, out of the ground. It’s a lucrative, competitive priced method that is fair to all,” said Jeffrey L.

PV Economics

PV: Advances and Latest Opportunities

| July 2005

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Systems

Performing a preliminary design for a photovoltaic (PV) system is the first step in deciding how to effectively incorporate PV technology into a new or existing building.

| July 2005

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Your Business

Advances in Photovoltaic (PV) materials and manufacturing processes are resulting in increased interest in the application of PV technology in buildings.

Sunspots

PVs Impact Building Operations

| June 2005

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Green Building

The surface of the earth receives a tremendous amount of energy from the sun. It is estimated that the amount of solar energy that strikes the earth's surface daily is greater than the amount of energy used worldwide in 25 years.

Rewiring the Industry

Susan M. Casey

| June 2005

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Your Business

The electrical contracting industry's focus is shifting and expanding rapidly. Design-build jobs are making up a greater portion of industry projects and more electrical contractors are working in the installation of information transport systems (ITS).

PV Installation: Codes and Standards

| May 2005

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Your Business

Photovoltaic (PV) modules convert sunlight directly into electrical energy. Integrating PV into a building will impact its operation. Not only will the PV system produce electric energy to serve building loads but it can also reduce the building's electric demand and air-conditioning heat load.

Put Communications Technology to Plan

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Codes & Standards

The installation of photovoltaic (PV) equipment is governed by a number of industry codes and standards. Electrical contractors need to be aware of the codes and standards to ensure a safe and functional PV installation.

Deborah L. O'Mara

Integrated Building Systems (IBS) for the Residence

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Systems

The swift pace of integration is nowhere more profound than in the communications and information technology (IT) sectors. Access-control systems talk to closed-circuit television surveillance and door hardware for instant egress.

Marilyn Michelson

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Residential

The term “IBS” conceptually combines the installation and maintenance of all electrical and electronic systems, which includes telecommunications, life safety, security access control and local area networks (LANs).

Designed for Hospitality

Ed Lawrence

Factory and Warehouse Lighting: Thinking Inside the Box

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Lighting

You are going out for a meal on a special occasion in the dining room of a luxury hotel. In addition to exquisite food, you would like a romantic atmosphere, rather than the bright lights and noise of a bistro.

Pat Woods

Doleac Electric Keeps Things in Shipshape Along the Gulf Coast

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Your Business

To enhance lighting inside the big industral box, developers are hiring high-profile architects to design these warehouses and factories with a luxury look. Skylights, glass curtain walls, ornamental awnings and lush landscaping-for warehouses? Yes, it's happening from New York to California.

Ed Lawrence

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Your Business

Until recently, oceangoing ships were built from the keel up on a kind of dry dock called a “way.” This was either a temporary structure or permanent inclined surface (some ways are made of brick and concrete and resemble a long ramp) with a network of heavy wooden beams designed so the ship would b

PV System Components

Industrial Control Panels

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Systems

The most focused on and visible part of a photovoltaic (PV) installation is the technology used. PV technology usually takes the form of rigid PV panels mounted on a building's roof, which represents another independent building system that needs to be installed.

Charlie Trout

Straight Talk About 'Trusted Computing' (TC)

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Your Business

New article 409 has been added to the 2005 edition of the National Electrical Code (NEC).

Marilyn Michelson

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Systems

“Trusted computing” (TC) is another modern commercial computer tool. Just what does that mean? The dictionary presented definitions such as “have faith in,” “rely on,” “have confidence in” and “count on.” The concept and need for “trusted” computing started with our own federal government.

Industrial Automation

Kellie K. Speed