Intelligent Power Today Magazine

News and Trends

Introducing Intelligent Power Today

Welcome to Intelligent Power Today Magazine, our publication that explores and explains the who, what, where, when, why and how of intelligent electrical devices, a collection of complex mechanical devices and sophisticated control systems used in industrial, commercial, and institutional facilities—also known as intelligent buildings.

According to the Institute for Building Efficiency, intelligent buildings use smart technologies to improve system functionality, control operating costs, and to keep building occupants safe, secure, comfortable, and, of...

Buyer's Guide

News & Trends

State of Industry

Illuminating Decisions: EPRI Lights the Way for Modern Lighting Adoption

Facility managers and operators understand the critical role lighting plays in their daily operations. Accounting for roughly 30% of a commercial building's energy load, lighting significantly impacts energy consumption and associated maintenance costs. However, focusing solely on the...

2024 CE Code Training - Better Understanding of the Rules

CE Code training is intended to do a lot more than instruct about what changes have taken place since the last time Canada issued a national electrical code. We are producing a series of courses across Canada by one of Canada’s leading experts on the 2024 Edition of Canada’s Electrical...

Counterfeiting Kills

Each year, the counterfeiting of well-known brands and products continues to rise, creating an even more threatening problem. Such well-known counterfeited brands, including consumer safety and critical electrical products, are estimated to be five to seven percent of world trade. The International...

Power Quality Training

Power Quality & Grounding

INSULATION RESISTANCE TEST

Insulation Resistance (IR) test, often called Megger test, is more than 100 years old and assumed to be a very straightforward test. During my inspection and testing work in the past 15 years in Canada, US, and internationally, I have seen different practices of performing and interpretation of IR...

The Art of Ground Testing

Correcting the misconceptions of ground testing BY JEFF JOWETT, Megger Ground resistance testing is sometimes described as an “art”, and indeed something can be said for that description. Familiarity with the basic issues and common problems, however, can take much of the “art” out of it...

Electrical Grounding and the Weather

How resistance testing is affected by the elements BY JEFF JOWETT, Megger Ground resistance testing is affected by the weather as much as any common electrical test—and sometimes even more so. Both the instrument and the test item are affected. With ground resistance testing, the test item is not...

Go with the Power Flow

The importance of load studies BY KATHLEEN WOLF-DAVIS with CASY HENRY, Megger If you’re running an industrial power system—whether for an airport, a mill, a factory or a smelter—you’re focused on more than the traditional utility concept of keeping the lights on. You definitely need that...

Power Usage Effectiveness in Data Centers

Guidance for calculation of efficiency in data centers

BY VICTOR AVELAR, Schneider Electric

The benefits of determining data center infrastructure efficiency as part of an effective energy management plan are widely recognized. The standard metrics of power usage effectiveness (PUE) and its reciprocal data center infrastructure efficiency (DCIE) have emerged as recognized standards. In this feature, PUE will be used as the efficiency metric. All discussions equally apply to DCIE.

In the course of providing energy audits for data centers, Schneider Electric has identified a number of practical problems with establishing the PUE of specific data centers.

One or more...