Voltage Drop in Installations - Concepts
Problems on achieving maximum voltage drop within an installation come up often. Depending where you live, local regulations will have different limits...
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...
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...
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla was born exactly at midnight on July 10, 1856 in the tiny village of Smiljan, Lika in Croatia. In his late teens, Tesla left the village to...
Cost Performance and Time
Often us engineers get so bogged down in equations, using software, producing drawings and writing specifications that this becomes the sole focus. ...
GE's Shingijutsu Factory
GE's latest thinking on product manufacturing is he Shingijutsu philosophy or Lean production system. They have started applying this at the Louisville...
IEC 61439 - The Switchgear Standard
The new standard IEC 61439 replaces the old 60439. Compared to the old standard, the new 61439 is a more clearly defined and takes into account the assembly...
Why use catalogues
I'm a fan of using manufacturers catalogues. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, if your involved in the purchase of equipment, you will likely...
Restricted Earth Fault Protection
The windings of many medium and small sized transformers are protected by restricted earth fault (REF) systems. The illustration shows the principal of...
Lightning Risk Assessment (IEC 62305)
IEC 62305 'Protection against lightning' requires a risk assessment be carried out to determine the characteristics of any lightning protection system...