Electrical and related buildings technology
Within Europe the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) has standardised the both the designation and colour of cables. These are published in CENELEC document... read more..
Photovoltaic (PV) cells (sometimes called solar cells) convert solar energy into electrical energy. Every year more and more PV systems are installed. With this growing application, it's ... read more..
Fire resistant and fire retardant cable sheaths are design to resist combustion and limit the propagation of flames. Low smokes cables have a sheath designed to limit the amount of smoke and toxic ha... read more..
In the previous note we looked at the approach taken by the standard to the sizing of cables and illustrated this with an example. We then looked at one method of applying the standard and iden... read more..
IEC 60287 "Calculation of the continuous current rating of cables (100% load factor)" is the International Standard which defines the procedures and equations to be used in determining the ... read more..
IEC 60947 is the circuit breaker standard and covers the marking of breakers in detail. Any manufacturer following this standard should comply with the markings. read more..
Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) is the study of coordinating electromagnetic fields give off equipment, with the withstand (compatibility) of other equipment within the vicinity. In it's simplest... read more..
Anyone specifying or using electric motors should have a basic understanding how the insulation is related to temperature. Three classes of insulation are in common use (with 'F' being the most common).... read more..
Lead acid batteries are cost effect and reliable, making them suitable for many applications.This note examines topics of interest associated with the use of these batteriesLead acid batteries are co... read more..
If your are ever called out to troubleshoot something on your electrical system, one of the first things consider is the supply voltage. You want to ensure you have a good electrical supply before movin... read more..
I think this post is going to be helpful to several of our readers. While the IEC low voltage circuit breaker Standard [IEC 60947-2, Low voltage switchgear and controlgear - Part 2: Circuit-breakers] ha... read more..
One of the comments on my Motor Starting Series was asking for something on duty cycles. Here it is.
As a... read more..
It wasn't so long ago I was telling someone that I don't use rules of thumb as most things are easily calculated anyhow. As it turns out I last week...
Capacitors are widely used in electrical engineering for functions such as energy storage, power factor correction, voltage compensation and many others...
Lamps are the essential part of any luminaire. These are the light generating components. Since the advent of electrical lighting in the middle of the...
When selecting a generator, there are inherent limits on the active and reactive power which can be delivered. Generators are normally sized for a certain...
Recently I have seen a few interesting articles on viable cold fusion; the combining of atoms at room like temperatures to create boundless energy. Now...
The robot folding towels post below was interesting enough at the time to post a link. Recently I’ve come across a couple of other interesting videos...
Traditionally substations have used circuit breakers, current transformers (CT), voltage transformers (VT) and protection relays all wired together using...
Variable frequency drives are widely used to control the speed of ac motors. This note looks at the mechanisms which enable drive units to control the...
A fundamental concept behind the operation of alternating current systems is that voltage and current waveforms will be sinusoidal – a Sine Wave. This...
Circuit breakers are switching devices whose primary function is to isolate parts of an electrical distribution system in the even of abnormal conditions...
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