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...
Multimeter
Multimeters are undoubtedly the most common item of electrical test equipment in use. Often it is the first piece of equipment people will turn to when...
Capacitors - Energy Storage Application
Capacitors have numerous applications in electrical and electronic applications. This note examines the use of capacitors to store electrical energy....
IEC 61439 Verification Methods
The (relatively new) switchgear and control gear standard, IEC 61439 'Low-voltage switchgear and controlgear assemblies' has three methods which can be...
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...
Lead us, Warleader
Delum, who had watched all in silence, his face empty of expression, now spoke in turn. ' "Lead us, Warleader, into glory."'
Reading is something I do...
Random Numbers
Using laser optical pulses the random number generator utilizes the time between arrival of random photos to generate the numbers, ensuring true accuracy...
Cable Sizing Software
When sizing cables nearly, everyone uses some form of software. This ranges from homespun spreadsheets to complex network analyses software. Each has its...
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...
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...