Electrical Industry Articles and Stories

Got a call the other night about 1:00 o'clock in the morning. I had to go into the plant to troubleshoot an electrical problem. When I finally made it back home, I crashed on the couch, worn out, too tired to even take off my boots.

I lay there for a little bit, and finally fell asleep. Needing to get up at 6 the next day, I put my phone on the arm of the couch with the alarm clock set.

If you live in or near popular seasonal resort and vacation areas, you’ve likely noticed an uptick in the local residential real estate market – both for buyers and longer-term renters. Nationally, the second-home market is enjoying a boom, as higher-end homeowners are seeking escapes from more urban areas that have experienced higher rates of COVID-19 transmission.

About 15 years ago, a friend of mine and I remodeled a vending room area. It used to be full of snack machines and microwaves lined up around 3 walls. We turned that area into a nifty conference room. Ronnie did the carpentry work, building a very nice U shaped workspace around an open area where the speaker would stand.

U.S. companies have spent the last decade or so following the lead of tech firms in opening up office space and bringing workers closer together. Now, the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing that approach into question. When employees start coming back to offices in large numbers, those workplaces may need to be rethought, to both improve safety and boost worker confidence. These changes could underscore the importance of taking a flexible approach to electrical and data cable management.

I've designed and built control boxes on several occasions. The resulting component did the job, and I did my best to make it look professional. After all, that's kind of a trademark of mine. You don't just stuff things in a box and call it good. You need to take pride in your work!

Most of the time, it was just a box of electric and electronic controls. Cube relays, VFDs, and sometimes a PLC, placed in a stainless steel enclosure, often with the front window panel.

Despite hurdles posed by the ongoing pandemic, solar projects have continued to come online over the course of this year, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Utility-scale installations totaled 2.5 gigawatts (GW) in 2020’s second quarter, a Q2 record, and an additional 62.5 GW worth of projects is now under contract, with 13.5 GW of that currently under construction.