Electrical Industry Articles and Stories

Lighting automation has bells and whistles, but a lighting contactor is necessary to switch the actual lighting circuits. Properly selecting lighting contactors can save installation and maintenance costs. What are some of the important considerations in addition to the correct voltage and current?

In new construction, sustainable building practices are becoming the norm. But even in existing buildings, simple strategies can be implemented quickly and easily to address inefficiencies, reduce energy use, improve comfort, and enhance productivity in the space.

Opti-Core® IndustrialNet™ Polymer Coated Fiber (PCF) Cables are designed with technicians in mind, and are ideal for installation in harsh, industrial environments. Large diameter, high strength and highly durable graded-index, PCF Cables are suitable for applications that demand high mechanical integrity and reliability. They are easy to prepare and terminate using the LC Connector and PCF Termination Kit. Training takes minutes so it’s suitable for technicians lacking experience with fiber optic cables.

Panduit® StrongHold™ Electrical/Network Supports and Fasteners provide a reliable, high-quality solution for routing and securing power and communication cabling within commercial and industrial facilities to reduce the time and cost associated with cable management installation. These dependable supports and fasteners are designed to meet the regulatory requirements of NFPA 70 (National Electric Code), UL standards and other USA/Canadian building codes.

The Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) uses 24VDC input/output to provide 35W of power and 5 to 15 minutes Hold Time and is designed for critical networking and control applications such as industrial managed switches and human machine interfaces (HMI’s). The Industrial UPS uses Ultracapacitors instead of batteries, eliminating the #1 cause of conventional UPS failures, which lowers the risk of downtime - and there’s no need for costly and time consuming maintenance.

Bonding and grounding are simple concepts, but, unfortunately, they’re also easily confused with each other. Definitions of one term often get wrapped up in the definitions of the other, and, before long, one can begin thinking the words are interchangeable.

“Grounding” refers to the creation of a path from electrical equipment to the earth. It is intended to protect equipment and help prevent fires that might occur due to high voltages resulting from lightning strikes, line surges or unintended contact with higher-voltage lines.