Now Trending: Electronic Face Masks

With face masks being all the rage, these days, manufacturers and hobbyists are discovering ways to innovate them; from air filtration to language translation, the possibilities are endless. Face mask requirements brought forth by the COVID-19 pandemic have caused N95 and other nano-particle filter masks to be in high demand. As individuals, businesses, and governments worldwide have pledged support toward the mask mandates, “mask up” has become the new norm. Novel consumer goods created by electrical engineers have been in-line with social trends; market deadlines bring them to life.

First on the list is LG’s revolutionary wearable air purifier mask. A UV case is included, which sanitizes the mask between use. The patented respiratory sensor and dual fans allow for clean, filtered air to enter the lungs with normal breathing patterns.

Vita Innovations created VitalMask, a biometric monitoring mask. The 3D-printed mask places sensors around the earlobes, nose, and mouth to monitor body temperature, heartbeat, blood oxygen levels, and respiration rate.

A homemade electronic face mask features LED lighting to mimic mouth motions while speaking. Inventor Tyler Glaiel was interviewed by BBC in June about his mask, which addresses a common issue that is missing in the more advanced medical devices: the ability to see when a user is talking.

The C-FACE, made by Donut Robotics, is a face mask that translates Japanese into eight other languages. Taisuke Ono, chief executive of Donut Robotics, explained, “We worked hard for years to develop a robot and we have used that technology to create a product that responds to how well the coronavirus has reshaped society.”

In response to the ever-present face mask societal mandates, many businesses and individuals are banking on this new electronic trend to catch on.

Want to learn more about the electronic face masks infiltrating the consumer market? Check out the original article from All About Circuits for an in-depth look. J&P Electrical supplies contractors and individuals with top-quality electrical components. While these innovative face masks are not yet mainstream, we can help with most other electrical component questions, issues, or sales.

 

 

J&P Electrical is a full-service electrical equipment company. At J&P, we supply contractors, end-users, and supply houses with new surplus, quality reconditioned, and obsolete electrical equipment. We also purchase a wide range of electrical equipment such as bus plugs, ducts, panel switches, substations, and transformers. Call us at 877-844-5514 or visit us at https://www.jpelectricalcompany.com.

 

Written by the digital marketing staff at Creative Programs & Systems: www.cpsmi.com.

Report Suggests Need for Improved Electrical Shock Safety Training

According to a safety report by Littelfuse, electrical workers who were trained on safety practices weren’t necessarily aware of how to avoid injury or death from electrical shock. The Chicago-based circuit protection manufacturer surveyed 575 electrical workers across an assortment of industries. Technicians, design and project engineers, maintenance electricians, electrical contractors, and safety, plant, and purchasing managers participated in the survey.

Over 90 percent of surveyed employees were provided with safety equipment training if they work with or near equipment voltage up to 500 volts (V.) Most of the workers (62 percent) who said they believe it is safe to work with 500V experienced electrical shock by more than 220V while working. 

“If a worker cannot distinguish a safe working voltage from a hazardous condition, then their safety training failed. It is also probable that any pertinent safety practices the worker has retained are ineffective when they are unable to read a hazardous situation,” Littelfuse wrote.

Many electrical workers who went through electrical safety training use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), such as gloves, to work on live equipment. The Littelfuse report stated, “If a worker believes they do not need to de-energize equipment if they wear PPE, then their safety training has failed.” Moreover, many facilities are required to send their electrical gloves to be tested by a laboratory; many do not, according to surveyed employees.

Facilities should be providing more than PPE to employees in order to prevent electrical shock. According to the Littelfuse report, “PPE is the least-effective preventative measure and responsible for many injuries and fatalities due to its human-based practices. GFCI protection, which is a much more effective preventative measure as it nearly eliminates the hazard, saves lives because it does not require human involvement for it to work. Its out-of-sight-out-of-mind practice requires zero energy from the workers to guarantee their safety.” Yet the National Electric Code does not require GFCI protection for circumstances as it does PPE.

For your electrical equipment and service needs, contact J&P Electrical. We can answer questions about safety and offer products to ensure your employees are protected. For further reading, check out the report by Littelfuse.

 

J&P Electrical is a full-service electrical equipment company. At J&P, we supply contractors, end-users, and supply houses with new surplus, quality reconditioned, and obsolete electrical equipment. We also purchase a wide range of electrical equipment, such as bus plugs, ducts, panel switches, substations, and transformers. Call us at 877-844-5514 or visit us at https://www.jpelectricalcompany.com.

 

Written by the digital marketing staff at Creative Programs & Systems: www.cpsmi.com.

Solar Panel Sales Soar as Price Continues to Drop

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), shipments of solar panels reached a record-high 16.4 million kilowatts (kW) in 2019. The former record of 13.5 million kW was set in 2016. Imports, exports, and modules produced and sold domestically all qualify as solar panel shipments; modules shipped for resale are excluded.

“These shipments have steadily increased since 2006, driven by significant price declines and policy incentives that encourage solar PV installations,” the report stated. In 2017 and 2018, policy reforms and import tariffs caused shipments to decline slightly.

Solar panels convert light particles – called photons – from the sun, transforming them into electricity that can be used to power electrical grids. They are used in a wide variety of settings, including both business and residential use.

Since 2006, the cost of solar panels has been steadily declining, thus helping propel the growth of shipments. The average price of a solar panel module shipment in 2016 was $3.50 per watt. In 2019, the price decreased to .40¢ per peak watt. The upsurge in residential solar panel demand is somewhat due to homeowner incentives such as the California Solar Initiative, the New York Megawatt Block program, and other state-level policies.

“Higher module efficiency, greater labor productivity, and lower supply chain costs are largely responsible for the declines in the average value of solar PV modules,” the report stated. The price of solar panel modules and components has declined due to both global surplus (reduced demand in China) and competitive costs within the industry.

A report published in February by Financialnewsmedia.com claims that demand for solar industry installations will double by 2023.

Read the entire report by the EIA to learn more about the record-high sales of solar panels.
 

J&P Electrical is a full-service electrical equipment company. At J&P, we supply contractors, end-users, and supply houses with new surplus, quality reconditioned, and obsolete electrical equipment. We also purchase a wide range of electrical equipment, such as bus plugs, ducts, panel switches, substations, and transformers. Call us at 877-844-5514 or visit us at https://www.jpelectricalcompany.com.

 

Written by the digital marketing staff at Creative Programs & Systems: www.cpsmi.com.

Electricity Rates Measure COVID-19’s Economic Implications

Researchers and students at the University of Exeter Business School developed a way to measure the immediate impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on an economy’s Gross Domestic Product, or GDP. To calculate this data, the scientists analyzed hourly electricity consumption rates during Italy’s spring lockdown to measure the impact of those activities on their economy during that time. Traditional metrics and official statistics take at least three months to calculate and will not remove other factors affecting consumption and production.

Data was analyzed from the Italian power market from January 2015 through June 2020. The results gave the researchers an idea of what the electrical consumption would have been if not for COVID-19 restrictions. The hypothetical model was then cross-referenced with actual consumption rates during and after the lockdown. The end result was then rescaled to focus on the implications for GDP.

In the first quarter, Italy’s GDP fell 5.1 percent, and during the most intense three-week lockdown period (March and April, when many factories were also shut down), the researchers calculated a reduction in the GDP by about 30 percent.

As Italy gradually reopened socially and economically, the GDP was still about 8.5 percent lower than it would have been without the outbreak at the end of June.

Several caveats were noted, including possible shortcomings of solely examining a short amount of time versus a more extended period. The lengthier timeframe would include added influences from other national procedures, as well as potential spillover effects from pandemic policies. Moreover, as adaptation strategies such as working from home are implemented, the researchers noted, “The effect of future lockdown restrictions may become less severe. This consideration has to be balanced against the potential for long-term and repeated lockdowns exerting cumulative and progressively more adverse economic effects, including through the impacts on human wellbeing.”

Read the complete research study conducted by students at the University of Exeter Business School for a detailed examination of the mathematical formula implemented to calculate the data.
 

J&P Electrical is a full-service electrical equipment company. At J&P, we supply contractors, end-users, and supply houses with new surplus, quality reconditioned, and obsolete electrical equipment. We also purchase a wide range of electrical equipment, such as bus plugs, ducts, panel switches, substations, and transformers. Call us at 877-844-5514 or visit us at https://www.jpelectricalcompany.com.

 

Written by the digital marketing staff at Creative Programs & Systems: www.cpsmi.com.

Electrical Grid Cyberattack Simulations Debated by Officials

 

According to testimony at a Senate committee hearing on August 5, the federal government should have the authority to simulate cyberattacks on the electric grid to lessen the nation’s vulnerability. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said, “The threat of cyberattacks by foreign adversaries and other sophisticated entities is real, and it’s growing.”

Citing 2019’s Worldwide Threat Assessment from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Murkowski explained those findings stating that China, Russia, and other foreign adversaries are stepping up cyber operations to target the United States’ military and critical infrastructure, including the nation’s electric grid. The Energy Department claimed that a Russian government-backed hacking group infiltrated a U.S. energy entity’s network in January 2020.

The energy sector’s vulnerabilities are of particular concern to national security since electricity and fuels are used to power transportation, water facilities, hospitals, communications, and more. The gap between physical, operational technology, and information technology systems is narrowing, creating even more concern. Grid operators incorporate new management systems, utility companies install millions of “smart meters” and other internet-enabled devices on the grid. Advancements in technology lead to improved operations and real-time feedback, however, malicious hackers can target these systems to gain access and compromise larger systems.

Murkowski said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has created a unique opportunity for cybercriminals to attack our networks, including critical energy infrastructure. We all know the stakes here. A successful hack could shut down power, impacting hospitals, banks, gas pumps, military installations, and cell phone service. The consequences would be widespread and devastating, and only more so if we are in the midst of a global pandemic.”

Red-teaming is a simulation using hackers to test various organizations’ cybersecurity and threat response. The result provides an outside perspective and has been performed in the past. In July, the Office of Energy Infrastructure Security (OEIS) joined with the National Guard and conducted Cyber Yankee, a red-team-simulated cyber-attack on a utility system throughout the New England states. This exercise was beneficial for professionals to thwart potential incoming threats by creating defensive and recovery plans.

Check out this article by the National Conference of State Legislatures for more information about the nation’s energy infrastructure and the growing cyberthreat.

J&P Electrical is a full-service electrical equipment company. At J&P, we supply contractors, end-users, and supply houses with new surplus, quality reconditioned, and obsolete electrical equipment. We also purchase a wide range of electrical equipment, such as bus plugs, ducts, panel switches, substations, and transformers. Call us at 877-844-5514 or visit us at https://www.jpelectricalcompany.com.

Creating an Electrical Switch for Magnetism

 

A team of researchers from the Dept. of Physics and the Dept. of Chemistry have worked together to discover magnetism of a magnetic semiconductor called Cr2Ge2Te6 that shows a great response to applied electric fields. The material was found to exhibit a state of ferromagnetism with temperatures up to 200k (-73 C). These results were fascinatingly surprising because it was unknown to have ferromagnetic order at these temperatures. To read more on how these researchers were able to create this experiment, click here https://phys.org/news/2020-08-electrical-magnetism.html.

NUS physicists can show control of magnetism in a magnetic semiconductor through electrical use. This will continue to open the exploration for spintronic devices for future research with even more related materials systems.  

The Benefits of Busway Systems Over Cable and Conduit

Electrical cable and conduit allow for effective and reliable ways to get power where it needs to go; however, it’s not always the most efficient method. Busway systems can take up less space, be more cost-effective, and offer more versatile power distribution throughout your infrastructures – especially for those who are industries applications dependent. Below, we provide a few benefits of how busway technology rivals cable and conduit in relation to power generation facility operators.

Ease of Installation: Installing conduit is a complex and challenging task that only the most specialized electricians can accomplish. However, installing a busway system is much less involved and utilizes fewer sophisticated technology and electrical skills to assemble. It usually takes only one bolt per connection, and installers can add up to 10 feet of busway at a time, compared to routing multiple runs of conduit and running them through the piping system.  

Reduction in Implementation Costs: Because of the complex nature of conduit structures, it is very labor-intensive, which means you will be spending more money on hours to erect its infrastructure. By comparison, you can hire less costly workers that will assemble a busway in half the time.

Adaptability that is Cost, Time, and Logistically More Efficient: 

Once the cable and conduit system are in place, it is very disruptive to daily operations to move or modify its existing infrastructure. Facilities installing new equipment can add new bus plugs to their existing busways, making it much less manually cumbersome when compared to adding or modifying conduit systems. Companies that need to move equipment can do so relatively quickly and efficiently to reconfigure their existing busways or even replace feeder busways with plug-in busways. The flexibility provides minimal interruption of service as compared to the traditional cable/conduit system.

These are just some of the benefits that can make the busway model more attractive to owners and operators of facilities that need to utilize industrial power supplies. Reducing overhead, capital, time, and disruptions are some of the busways' benefits compared to traditional industrial systems. Read more about busways systems in more detail here.

J&P Electrical is a full-service electrical equipment company. At J&P, we supply contractors, end-users, and supply houses with new surplus, quality reconditioned, and obsolete electrical equipment. We also purchase a wide range of electrical equipment, such as bus plugs, ducts, panel switches, substations, and transformers.