Electrical Industry Articles and Stories

Water and electricity don’t mix – that’s something we all learn at a pretty early age. But still, there are times when even the wettest locations require power. In applications from pool lighting to irrigation systems and outdoor outlets, contractors are often called on to make electrical connections that can remain watertight over years of use.

Work lights are among those contractor necessities that are easy to overlook, but also can make a big difference in productivity and comfort when you’ve gotten the right model.

The state of California made news in 2018 when it passed the nation’s first mandate that most new homes under three stories had to incorporate rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, beginning in 2020.

I don’t know about you, but I’m rarely without my ‘electronic leash.’ My phone goes with me everywhere except the tub or shower.

Well, okay … there was that one time. But never again.

(Needed a new phone anyway, right?)

Looking through a manufacturer’s online enclosure catalog recently, I came across a term I hadn’t heard before. Now, I’m not a contractor, so I likely haven’t seen as many of these listings as you might have. But I am a journalist who has covered the construction industry for several decades, and the term “mild steel” stuck out to me when it showed up as a material option for the maker’s broad range of enclosure offerings.

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.