Safety first. That’s been the byword for electrical codes and electrical inspectors forever — and properly so. But is that enough? For people and property, the answer is “Yes.” But for economic and enviornmental reasons, the answer is: “Maybe we should be doing more.” Chances are that when you pick up your newspaper, turn on [...]
In our top-to-bottom perspective of a PV system, we have arrived at the inverter. The utility-interactive inverter is a key element in the PV system that helps to ensure safe and automatic operation of the system. Peak Power Tracking A PV array is a current source of energy and the output power depends on the [...]
The primary purpose of transfer equipment is to allow power transfer from a normal (Utility) source to an alternate (Generator) source while preventing the inadvertent interconnection of the normal and alternate source of supply during operation of the transfer equipment. During Part I of this series, we covered the fundamentals of transfer equipment used in [...]
It is pretty well understood about the need for education in our industry, whether it is needed due to improvements in technology and installation methods or in codes and standards. The only constant we have is that our world is constantly evolving. Lately, the economy has become an important factor as well. Education not only [...]
While I was teaching Article 220 and particularly Parts III and IV and Sections 220.40 and 220.80, respectively, questions were raised about the differences in the two methods for service/feeder calculations. Why would the National Electrical Code seem to contradict itself by allowing two methods for these calculations? We will explore the Code and see [...]
Many questions are being raised about the requirements for bonding metal gas piping systems. More specifically, when corrugated stainless steel tubing (CSST) is installed for the gas piping in a building, bonding methods and bonding jumper sizes that are more restrictive than required by the National Electrical Code® are causing some of the confusion and [...]
The battle lines are drawn, you must choose a side! Somewhere along the way, it seems that we in the electrical industry have gotten off track a bit when it comes to Commercial vs. Residential applications. Why do some people and/or jurisdictions place more emphasis on their commercial electricians or inspectors than they do their [...]
Question: Wind turbines and related equipment I have heard that UL has developed requirements for wind turbines and is able to perform listing evaluations and field evaluations on this type of equipment. We have had a number of these turbines installed in our area and would like to require listing on the entire assembly. When [...]
It’s here! I just received my shiny new copy of the 2009 Canadian Electrical Code and eagerly scanned it to find out what has changed. We are advised that there are 199 revisions, but many of them are editorial and will not result in changes from the 2006 CEC. This article reviews some revisions that [...]
This article covers the application of two rules of the Canadian Electrical Code that establish a unique relationship between electrical designers/contractors and electrical safety regulators/inspectors in each jurisdiction where the CE Code is adopted for regulatory purposes. Let’s start with a “Special Permission” rule, or as it is described in the Code: “Deviation or postponement.” [...]
We are now in the seventeenth month of the recession, which began in December 2007, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. Not only is this a long recession, but it’s also a severe one, marked by painfully high levels of job losses, a sharply reduced credit flow and a drop in the value [...]
We have all been subject to or victims of the budget process; and there is very little we can do about it since in many municipalities, building inspections are often regarded as a nuisance to be tolerated because the inspections can generate funds in excess of their budget to provide a “profit” to the municipal [...]
Does everything around you seem to be moving too fast for you to keep up with? Every day we get news of global warming, conflict between nations and within nations, world economy, national economy, local economy, stock markets falling, automobile companies and banks failing, jobs being lost, governments—national, state, and local—wanting more money, and, yes, [...]
