ElectricSmarts Network

The other night — somewhere between midnight and 1 AM — I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. Figured I might as well burn a little midnight oil and make productive use of my insomnia.

Our hallways are lit with tiny LEDs embedded in the power outlets to cut down on stubbed toes. In the kitchen, soft lighting over the stove and sink allow even sleep-encrusted eyes to find the ON switch to my coffee pot.

Hubbell Premise Wiring now offers new Category 6 and 6A field terminating plugs that allow for fast and secure direct-connect applications to wireless access points, IP security cameras and other security and AV systems throughout a location.

Hubbell’s new SP6 series plugs support 5 Gigabit networks while SP6A is designed to support 10 Gigabit links.

Over the past 3 decades as an electrician (and more as a warehouse worker), I've seen a lot of lighting schemes. And I've watched in interest as lighting has evolved from bare incandescent bulbs and HID lamp to modern LED luminaires.

Back in the day, incandescent lighting produced a lot of shadows... and heat. It was the nature of the beast, unfortunately. Not to mention that most of the money spent on lighting energy was more or less wasted on heat, not light.

Numerous electric utilities across the country have had to weather significant ice storms over the past several winters that have taken down overhead transmission and distribution lines.

Southwire has developed a new high-quality and high-strength overhead conductor designed to help power lines withstand extreme ice loads.

Atkore International’s AFC Cable uses color coding to save contractors and building owners time, money and maintenance costs when wiring new or retrofit locations.

The company’s Type MC cables including MC TUFF, MC Lite and other MC cables in a variety of specialty configurations do this using AFC’s ColorSpec ID System.

Working with energy-efficient lighting service provider, Northwest Edison, The Veteran’s Memorial Hospital in Seattle, Washington completed a renovation of its Facilities building, some office space and several laboratories to provide a more energy-efficient, updated space. The installation was complicated by the fact that the hospital building was constructed in the early 1950s, and budgets were tight.