Electrical Industry Articles and Stories

I’m a huge fan of LED lighting. One of the main reasons is their longevity, based on the L70 factors. They tend to last a lot longer before reaching that end-of-life lumen decrease called lumen maintenance.

That means I’ll probably be sipping margaritas on the beach before they need changed.

“Distributed energy resources” – abbreviated DERs – is a phrase that’s being used a lot more often these days, as onsite solar panels, wind turbines, fuel cells and battery-based storage have become common power-supply options for larger commercial and industrial facilities.

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.

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.

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.