Arc Flash & Electrical Safety News

Monday, November 17, 2008

Cutting Costs With Energy Auditing

This articles comes from Reliable Plant magazine. Paul Twite of 24-7 Power, an electrical consulting and engineering service company, describes how he helps companies become more energy efficient.

"Twite uses a three-step approach to help a company lower its energy bills. With the right tools and knowledge, your company can follow the same process using your own personnel. Here’s how it works:"

Step 1: Energy accounting

Step 2: Analysis and identifying problems

Step 3: Proposing and prioritizing solutions

This is how Twite describes step 1: "This step consists of three parts: 1) reviewing utility bills, 2) using thermal imagers to scan the electrical, mechanical, process and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) systems as well as the building envelope (everything that separates the interior of a building from the outdoor environment) and 3) monitoring for power consumption, power quality, power factor and other relevant aspects of energy use."

You can read the complete article online in Reliable Plant Magazine.

Labels: Electrical Information, General Electrical

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Revised NFPA 70E Clarifies electrical Safety

An article by Jim White in Plant Service magazine discusses the new NFPA 70E requirements. Mr. White is a member of two of the task groups (Words and Phrases Task Group and the Tables Task Group) that are working on the new NFPA 70E code.

Here is the introductory paragraph:

"During the June 2008 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) World Safety Conference and Exposition, the final content of the 70E standard began to take shape. Until then, nothing was firm because the NFPA Standards Council has the final say on 70E, as it does on any NFPA-derived documents. This structure is in place to administer the rules and regulations and to act as an appeals body for any disagreements to the codes and standards."

The article provides a brief history of NFPA 70E and then discusses thirteen changes to the code.

- Made more consistent and accessible
- No More Jargon
- Article 110.6(A) added new training requirements:
- Article 110.7(A) changed
- Chapter 4 is eliminated completely:
- Major wording changes in the tables
- Switchgear:
- Predictive maintenance
- Some hazard/risk categories have been changed:
- New category
- Ease of use:
- Hazard risk table changes
- Fine Print Note

Labels: Electrical Safety, NFPA 70E