Electrical Industry Articles and Stories

Power management takes several forms. In both commercial and industrial facilities, management is more complex than in residential applications. For the most part, power management in the home consists of fuses (although increasingly falling into disuse) and circuit breakers.

Industrial settings can pose harsh conditions for light fixtures. Temperature extremes, corrosive environments and complicated spatial arrangements can combine to create a need for hardy equipment that can be adapted to meet a broad range of lighting requirements.

In another article, we talked about power management with regard to various types of fuses. In particular, we discussed their applications in electronic devices and semiconductor applications.

However, proper fusing isn't the only consideration when dealing with these types of circuits.

We've talked several times about electrical shock hazards—you and me.

It's an important topic and deserves repeating. I've been around industrial electricity for nigh unto 36 years. And I've seen what happens when you're unexpectedly touched by your work.

If you grew up like I did, in a home where thriftiness was highly valued, you likely heard the phrase “Turn off those lights!” on a regular basis. Leaving lights on in empty rooms was seen as a sign of laziness and wastefulness. Over the past decade, a number of energy codes have picked up on this message, with mandates for sensing and controls to help reduce electricity use and the greenhouse gas emissions that might be related to its production.

I’m currently in the process of planning a kitchen remodeling project and learning even more about LED lighting in the process. For example, one of the electricians looking over the room for an estimate noted that his company pretty much only works with dedicated LED downlights, now – in other words, fixtures that work with embedded LEDs, rather than more generic units that would work with LED bulbs – or any other kind of bulb, for that matter.