Electical Contractor

The meteorological events in the northeastern United States in October 2012 provided some interesting discussions on electric power.

More new lighting designs and retrofit projects are turning to alternative technologies for facility illumination.

A significant portion of the standard-making process goes beyond just rules and requirements.

On most distribution networks (except maybe in rural areas), the voltage levels typically reduce to a couple of percentage points from nominal when the sun rises, people wake up and they start using more electricity. Conversely, as the sun sets, the voltage creeps back up, and by 10 p.m.

There is a saying that, when you point your finger, three fingers point back. When a facility encounters a misoperation that the manager thinks was caused by the electric power, the first reaction is to point the finger at the utility.

It wasn’t long ago when flashing digital clocks were the most likely power-quality-related effect of an interruption. Today more than 70 percent of homes have computers, and nearly that many have Internet access.

The power quality phenomena categories in IEEE Standard 1159 2009, “Recommended Practice for Monitoring Electric Power Quality,” are often used to define what to look for, how to look for it, and how to protect a piece of equipment from it.

While conducting an investigation recently to determine why a piece of equipment in a telecom center was resetting occasionally from a perceived low-voltage condition, I actually was able to review the facility’s electrical drawings. Sometimes, the operations manager has no clue where they are.

At trade shows and distributors, you undoubtedly hear about the latest and greatest product offerings from a large contingent of vendors in electrical contractors’ domain, including those that sell power quality (PQ) monitoring equipment.