February 2021

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Featured Products

Market Prospects Brighten for Residential LED Lighting and Controls

Like so many other technology industries, lighting has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years. Perhaps no other form of lighting has had a more profound effect on the industry than LEDs. While cost continues to...

Codes & Standards

Feb 2021

Institute Convenes Roundtable on Construction Industry BIM Standard

William Atkinson

According to the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), Washington, D.C., construction companies comprise 13% of the global economy. And while the United States already plays a major leadership role in delivering...

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Integrated Systems

Feb 2021

How To Calculate Fiber Optic Power And Loss Budgets

Jim Hayes

My February column covers the reasons for power and loss budgets and how to interpret them. In this article, I’ll show you how to calculate loss budgets properly. Remember the differences: a power budget gives you the range...

Your Business

Feb 2021

Construction Workers Statistically Less Likely to Get Vaccinated

Katie Kuehner-Hebert

Essential workers in blue-collar industries—including construction—are less likely to opt for a COVID-19 vaccine than those who work in more white-collar sectors, according to research by Morning Consult, New York. While...

Green Building

Feb 2021

Greatest Demand for EV Charging Infrastructure Expected to be at Home

William Atkinson

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, Washington, D.C., which represents companies that manufacture almost 99% of autos and light trucks in the United States, announced that it is actively and voluntarily getting behind the...

An electric vehicle plugged in to a charging station

Your Business

Feb 2021

Texas’s Race to Restore Power

Rick Laezman

Weather can be an unforgiving antagonist. In the age of climate change, it can be extreme and unpredictable. Texas experienced a heavy dose of the weather's wrath when a precipitously cold front swept through the state...

Green Building

Feb 2021

Solar Plus Agriculture Protects Farmland, Improves Panel Efficiency

Marlena Chertock

Oregon State University’s Nexus of Energy Water and Agriculture Laboratory (NEWAg), Corvallis, Ore., is partnering with the Oregon Clean Power Cooperative to build an agrivoltaics research farm that will co-develop land for...

Rows of solar panels with crops growing in between | Oregon State University

Residential

Feb 2021

New Home Buyers Seeking Special Features

William Atkinson

After declining for four years, a number of key trends—including the average size of the home and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms—reversed course in 2020 as a result of shifting buyer preferences in the wake of COVID-19...

Single-family home surrounded by lawn and trees/shrubs | Photo by Todd Kent/Unsplash

QUIZ: What Is Intrinsically Safe?

Intrinsically safe circuits, per Article 100 of the NEC, are those incapable of producing an arc with enough energy to ignite a flammable or combustible material in the air under test conditions. Although Section 504.7 indicates that any wiring method could be installed, a variety of requirements apply to these circuits and systems.

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QUIZ: Fire Alarm Roundup

I thought we would start the year with some miscellaneous fire alarm questions that you may or may not be aware of, but will be useful to know in the future. Good luck!

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February 2021

Table of Contents

Attracting Next-Gen Electricians: Strategies to meet the demand for skilled labor

Leading by Example: Women in electrical construction

Show and Tell: Sharing lessons through mentorship

Service With a Smile: One characteristic the best service electricians share

Coming Together for the Better: Diversity, equity and inclusion in hiring

Featured Products

GE's Receptacle

Raco's Box

Lutron's Switch

Legrand's Switch

Snake Tray's Box

ABB's Switch

Broan's Switch

Bryant's Box

Orbit Industries' Box

More Stories From This Issue

Market Prospects Brighten for Residential LED Lighting and Controls

Institute Convenes Roundtable on Construction Industry BIM Standard

How To Calculate Fiber Optic Power And Loss Budgets

Construction Workers Statistically Less Likely to Get Vaccinated

Greatest Demand for EV Charging Infrastructure Expected to be at Home

Texas’s Race to Restore Power

Solar Plus Agriculture Protects Farmland, Improves Panel Efficiency

New Home Buyers Seeking Special Features

February 2021

Table of Contents

Featured Products

More Stories From This Issue

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