A glance through Vector this month tells us that skills shortages in this country are fast becoming a serious threat to industry and economy alike. South Africa is, however, not the only country faced with this problem... (more)

by Naren Bhojaram, CESA president

Our ever-increasing aspiration towards first world lifestyles has resulted in the human race's abuse and destruction of resources... (more)

Information from Eskom

A total of 27 students graduated from the Eskom Contractors Training Academy, having completed an eight-month Energy Sector and Training Authority (ESETA) registered programme. The course is funded by the Eskom Development Foundation in partnership with Edupark, a Section 21 company run by the University of Limpopo... (more)

by Shantonette Naidoo, ECA regional director, KZN

You have dismissed an employee at work unfairly, and then made a genuine offer to rectify the mistake. Your employee, on the other hand, refuses the offer. At the Labour Court, the issues could be whether the employee should have been awarded compensation at all, and whether the amount awarded by the Labour Court was excessive... (more)

 

Electrical contracting often presents problems which, when solved by experts and shared in a forum, can be turned into learning opportunities. Working in co-operation with the ECA(SA) and other experts, Vector now provides such a forum... (more)

The eighth IESSA Annual Congress and AGM will be held at the Cathedral Peak Hotel in the Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal, between 13 and 16 May 2012. The theme of the congress will be "Light is life"... (more)

Information from Osram

The higher regional court at Karlsruhe has confirmed the illegal use by Malaysian LED manufacturer Dominant of Osram technology with seven patents. The regional court at Mannheim had reached the same verdict regarding three of these patents on 25 July 2007... (more)

by Robert Henderson, Eskom

Some of the factors that should be considered when selecting energy efficient lamps to replace existing quartz halogen downlighter lamps. Users should be prepared to accept lower light levels and a colour shift resulting in a change in the room appearance... (more)

by Nick Kelso, Philips Lighting Solutions

We have reached a tipping point in the development of high quality LEDs where this new technology can be used for general lighting in almost all applications. LED technology, when combined with the latest solar and battery developments, can also provide practical light for the one third of humanity currently living without electricity... (more)

by Mika Paakkonen, ABB Automation Technologies

Advances in AC drive technology have led to a product which may very well substitute the contactor, soft starter, multispeed motor, tri-ac and regulating transformer. A customer survey determined the most desirable features when it comes to variable speed drives (VSDs)... (more)

The injudicious and automatic replacement of standard motors with IE2 and IE3 motors may well result in an actual increase in the overall system energy consumption. When considering optimising energy conservation and efficiency one should never look at the specific efficiency of a single item in a system only... (more)

by Johan du Plessis and Dr. Ruaan Pelzer, North West University

Most mining operations in South Africa rely on compressed-air systems to facilitate production. Many opportunities exist to reduce the electrical energy consumption of these compressed-air systems... (more)

by Regan Brown and David Brown, Fluke

Moisture damage in buildings can be very expensive. The key is identifying and locating moisture problems before secondary damages escalate. Within the last few years, infrared cameras (thermal imagers) have become powerful tools for locating moisture problems in buildings ... (more)

by Paul van As, Surge Technology

Energy co-ordination of surge arresters is frequently overlooked and probably the most common cause for failure of surge arresters. Many people believe that the more surge arresters installed, the better the level of protection. This can, however, lead to premature failure of surge arresters... (more)

Information from Concilium Technologies

Stray voltage appears in electrical conductors such as cables even though the conductors are disconnected from the electrical circuit. Measuring the circuit using a high impedance handheld digital multimeter can make it difficult to differentiate stray voltage from legitimate readings... (more)