Lightning Protection and Earth Electrode Resistance
Most installations involve some form of lightning protection system which is connected to an earth electrode. The function of the earth electrode is to...
Gas Insulated or Air Insulated Switchgear
Various arguments exist around SF6 Gas Insulated (GIS) and Air Insulated (AIS) medium voltage switchgear. Recently we had to change a GIS design to AI...
Alternating Current Circuits
Alternating current (a.c.) is the backbone of modern electrical power distribution. In this article I’ll be pulling some of the more important concepts...
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...
Paternoster Lifts
These lifts were first built in 1884 by J. E. Hall and called a paternoster ("Our Father", the first two words of the Lord's Prayer in Latin) due to its...
Harmonised Cable Codes and Colours
Within Europe the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) has standardised the both the designation and colour of cables. ...
Large Hadron Collider
The 27 km, Euro 6 billion Collider lies on the border between France and Switzerland, took nearly 30 years to complete. Some of the lofty goals for the...
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...
UPS - Uninterruptible Power Supply
A UPS is an uninterruptible power supply. It is a device which maintains a continuous supply of electrical power, even in the event of failure of the...
Calculating Cable Fault Ratings
When selecting a cable, the performance of the cable under fault conditions is an important consideration. It is important that calculations be carried...