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Issue No 44                                                                                                 March 2011
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In this issue...
- The state of the renewables industry in SA
- The shocking state of sockets and portable socket-outlets
- The electricity price trajectory for years to come
- Become a citizen journalist
- Poor work performance is not misconduct
- Eskom punts coal price controls and regulation of the coal mining industry
- Occupational health and safety legislation: Financial implications
- Cooling solutions for LED arrays
- Overload and short circuit protection of photovoltaic panels
- The growing importance of MV drives
- Advances in moulded-case circuit breakers
- Advanced harmonic filters more effective than 12-pulse converters
- Data transfer for a process plant
- Integrating stadium control systems
- Friction welded bi-metallic terminals
- Genetic engineering, silicon to boost electric vehicle batteries
- Gautrain electrical works
- How not to use tools
- Views, comment and opinion
- Industry news
- ECA news
- Company, product, project & service news
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EE Publishers

 

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© Copyright 2011

EE Publishers (Pty) Ltd
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Dr John LedgerThe state of the renewables industry in SA
by Dr. John Ledger, SESSA

Natural resources and human resourcefulness have become the most valued commodities in our endeavour to generate power sustainably... (more

Chris YellandThe shocking state of adapters and portable socket-outlets
by Chris Yelland and Peter Adams, EE Publishers

Products that allow electric plugs to be inserted incorrectly, thereby exposing users to live parts and the risk of a lethal electric shock, can be found for sale at major retail outlets in South Africa... (more)
Mike rycroft 2010The electricity price trajectory for years to come...
by Mike Rycroft and Mark Botha, EE Publishers
  
It is well known that the price of electricity in South Africa has been too low for years. The generation capacity crisis in 2008 prompted a review of Eskom's build programme and associated funding plan... (more
Become a citizen journalist!
  

EE Publishers has established a facility at its website for citizens to upload articles, files and supporting documents under the category of Citizen Journalism. In addition, a Facebook page entitled EE Publishers for Citizen Journalism has been set up to post commentaries, pictures, captions, links & audio/video clips... (more)

Poor work performance is not misconduct
by Shantonette Naidoo, ECA

When you dismiss an employee you have to prove you had a good reason, and you followed fair procedure. In law we refer to the former as "substantive fairness" and the latter as "procedural fairness"... (more)

Eskom punts coal price controls and regulation of the coal mining industry
by Chris Yelland, EE Publishers
  
In recent months Eskom has been lobbying and punting the view that a new dispensation and enabling environment is required for the utility to secure the cheap and abundant supplies of coal needed for its current and future fleet of coal-fired power stations... (more)
 
Occupational health and safety legislation: Financial implications
by Johan du Toit, ST Consulting
  
Many companies know that complying with occupational health and safety (OHS) legislation comes at a cost, but few know the actual financial implications. The question is: "Exactly what must I budget for?"... (more)
Cooling solutions for LED arrays
Information from Siemens
  
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) have a reputation for running cool. Touch one and all you'll feel is a serene glow. But just try and pack dozens of them together in a tight space and they'll get so hot that they can burn out within seconds... (more

Overload and short circuit protection of photovoltaic panels

by Dr. Michael Grant, CBI-electric: low voltage
 

This article serves to address a technical nuance of solar panels: that of their high source impedance. The technical description of source impedance is introduced and then expanded to describe this impedance component in electricity distribution... (more)

The growing importance of MV drives

by Johan van Niekerk, Zest Electric Motors

 

Variable speed drives are gaining new formats, roles and capacities. There is a greater demand for medium voltage variable speed drives (3,3 kV to 6,6 kV) with many of these units being used in applications that were traditionally the domain of slip ring motors... (more)

Advances in moulded-case circuit breakers
Information from ABB

A circuit breaker is one of the most important and essential safety mechanisms in electrical systems. Many different classifications of breakers can be made, based on voltage class, construction and interrupting type, and structural features... (more)
Advanced harmonic filters more effective than 12-pulse converters
Information from Danfoss

Passive harmonic filters offer a practical solution to harmonic mitigation on power systems with a large concentration of non-linear loads connected to the distribution transformer or supply generator...  (more)
Data transfer for a process plant
Information from Lapp Kabel
  
Industrial Ethernet is utilised to establish a reliable network communication between the control room and the factory floor. With the development of industrial Ethernet from Fast Ethernet to Gigabit Ethernet, factory automation improves to the GigaBit era... (more)
Integrating stadium control systems
Information from Schneider Electric

The Moses Mabhida Stadium is equipped with the latest technology solutions to integrate and centralise access control, CCTV, fire detection and smoke control, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC), lighting and sound systems... (more)

Introduction to friction welded bi-metallic terminals

Information from Stone-Stamcor

 

Friction welding is a solid-state welding process that generates heat through mechanical friction between a moving work piece and a stationary component, with the addition of a lateral force called the "upset" to displace and fuse the materials together... (more)

Genetic engineering, silicon to boost electric vehicle batteries
by Mark Botha, EE Publishers

The positively and negatively-charged ends of lithium-ion batteries can now be created by means of genetically engineered viruses that coat themselves with iron phosphate and attach to carbon nanotubes to create a network of highly conductive material... (more)
Gautrain electrical works
Information from Wade Walker

The size and uniqueness of the Gautrain rapid rail link are unparalleled in Africa and the successful commissioning of the first phase of the project against a much-accelerated programme was a significant achievement... (more)
How not to use tools
Some common tools and how not to use them
  
Phillips screwdriver: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.
Views, comment and opinion
   
Industry news
   

 

ECA news
  

Company, product, project & service news 

   

Lighting management systems and SSL

New photometric laboratory in Cape Town

LED lighting for retail environments

IESSA annual golf day

LED solar lighting range of products

First highway to be lit entirely by LED

Off-grid lighting in Mali and Senegal

Searchlights

Lighting the new Richmond Library

LED driver IC for lighting applications

Energy efficient lighting solution for bank

Energy saving security range

Solar lighting market trends

Replacing paraffin lamps

Efficient long burner fluorescent lamps

LED patent license agreement

Motor driver evaluation platform

Compact class drive system

Intrinsically safe current transducer

A woman in the driving seat

Name change to unify companies

Emergency safety feature for variable speed drive

Counterfeit bearings identified

Acquisition of local mine hoist business approved

Hollow shaft encoder solution

Analogue brushless DC motor controls

National footprint extended to the Eastern Cape

Comprehensive protection for lv motors

Coping with aggressive agents

Helping secure city's water needs

Protecting your basic LV three-phase motor

Compact pneumatic calibration test pump

Calorimetric sensors use heat energy

Touch panel computers with extended operating temperature range

Network-based control system enhanced

78 GHz radar level transmitter

Adjustable field sensors with background or foreground suppression

Sensors for industrial environment

Fieldbus training course

Active Profibus termination

Distribution appointment for automation systems

Integrated automation and control solution

Optical fork and angle sensors

Expanded sensors portfolio

High resolution linear position sensors

Wireless sensors

New cabling system

Important notice: Change of date for Process Expo

Smart protective relay testing

New plastic push-pull connector

Universal lightning current/ surge arresters

Fire detection and suppression systems

High altitude, high voltage connector

Certification for meeting quality requirements

Green building training

Stainless steel complete marking system

New status for partner

Halting power cable theft from municipal networks

Strategic new partnership

Glands with special connecting system

New professional jigsaws

Weatherproof switches and sockets

Testing non-invasive equipment

New wiring duct system

Quick installation of safety light curtains

Surge arrester with short circuit protection

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