Electrical Industry Articles and Stories

One of my favorite topics to talk or write about is LED lighting and lighting accessories. I’m a big fan of those little light-emitting diodes. Even in the early days, when prices were high and options pretty much non-existent, the technology intrigued me.

Residential energy use today accounts for about 20% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions – though this figure varies widely by region and income level. Certainly, getting more of our energy from renewable resources can help reduce those emissions, but we also need to limit overall energy demand in order to meet the emissions cuts necessary to blunt climate change’s worst effects.

I was talking to my brother, Mark, on the phone last night. We’d been trying to connect all week and finally got the chance. I’m in Arkansas and he’s in Arizona, so the time difference can be a pain.

We just missed each other the day before because he was over with the neighbors across the street.

Earlier this year at the Light + Building 2018 trade show in Frankfurt, Germany, Philips Lighting announced a string of new initiatives aimed at the transition to more LED lamps as well as the inclusion of LEDs into the “Internet of Things” (IoT) in homes and buildings worldwide.

First the company announced IoT platform called Interact, designed to handle data collected from connected light points, sensors, devices and systems.

Some facilities are changing their requirements for motor and appliance installations. This could be due to OSHA Lock-out and Tag-out requirements or NFPA 70E. The change is toward using pin and sleeve devices instead of having a hard-wired installation.

Safety requirements often have the maintenance person checking for the absence of voltage before touching. The rules are quite specific and are enforced by OSHA.

The dependence on quality, reliable data is now more business-critical than ever. Businesses rely on data centers for 24/7 connectivity; to uphold federal codes and regulations; and to ensure resiliency, performance, and more—all so the business can stick to meeting the demands of their own customers. Data centers should also be highly adaptable.