Back to basics - the Watt (or kW)
When thinking about watts (W) or kilowatt (kW = 1000 W) it can be useful too keep in mind the fundamental ideas behind the unit. Watt is not a pure electrical...
Resistors
Resistors are electronic components that oppose the flow of current. Manufactured in various types and ranges they have a wide application to electronics...
Cable Sheath and Armour Loss
When sizing cables, the heat generated by losses within any sheath or armour need to be evaluated. When significant, it becomes a factor to be considered...
Voltage Levels – Confused?
I was having a conversation the other day about voltage levels. While everyone was in agreement that low voltage was 1000 V and less, there was more confusion...
RLC Circuit, Resistor Power Loss - some Modelica experiments
Modelica is an open source (free) software language for modelling complex systems. Having never used it before, I thought I would download a development...
Periodic Electrical Installation Inspection – What to Inspect?
This is the second post in a series of two on periodic electrical inspections. In the first post, I discussed how often inspections should be carried out...
Electric Motors
Collection of links to various places with useful motor information. I’ll try and return to the page every now and again to update it with any motor notes...
Equipment Verification (to IEC Standards)
One of the requirements to ensuring that everything works is to have equipment selected, manufactured and verified [tested] to IEC standards. Not all equipment...
How to Size Power Cable Duct
Some colleagues had an issue earlier in the week on sizing conduits to be cast in concrete for some power cables . It became clear that none of us had...
Smarter Electrical Distribution
The other day I came across an article in Technology Review on the development of a smart transformer. A professor at North Carolina State University is...