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...
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...
Difference Between Live and Dead Tank Circuit Breakers
A quick post in connection with an email question:
Live Tank - the circuit breaker the switching unit is located in an insulator bushing which is live...
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...
Batteries
A battery consists of one or more cells, each of which use stored chemical energy to produce electrical energy, There are many types of cells and these...
Star-Delta Motor Starting - Performance
Many questions sent in to the site are in connection with motor starting and in particular star-delta. For all but the simplest application, there is...
Electrical Engineering
Electrical engineering is a field that covers a wide variety of sub-fields, including electricity and electronics. It is a field that goes back to the...
ANSI (IEEE) Protective Device Numbering
The widely used United Sates standard ANSI/IEEE C37.2 'Electrical Power System Device Function Numbers, Acronyms, and Contact Designations' deals with...
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...
How to Check a Circuit is Dead
If you want to check a circuit is dead (not live), you should always use the three point method. First check a known live circuit, then check the dead...