NEMA Currents : Standardization

A Plug-in Pilot

goodwina — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:44:00 GMT

I just heard about The EV Project, which officially launched last month. The Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation (eTec), using a $99.8 million grant from DOE, plans to install 11,210 chargers for electric vehicles in five states. During the 36-month project, chargers will be installed in Arizona, California, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington State to power 4,700 cars.

I’m really curious to see how this pilot will progress. Electric cars are coming [back], and the question is how, when, and how effectively it will develop. The website offers the chance to suggest locations for charging stations; it’s neat that public input will be part of the process, since the infrastructure needed for electric cars will affect just about everyone.

It’s likely that the importance of standards will emerge as a key finding in The EV Project—standards for the cars, charging stations, etc. For the pilot, there will only be one type of car, but that will obviously not be how electric cars will roll out on a global scale. I like how a blog at cars.com mentioned that plugging in a car will not be like plugging in a hair dryer. This idea was also touched on in October’s issue of ei.

Dishwasher Safe Typing

goodwina — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:54:00 GMT

NEMA standards make appearances in a number of places—lighting, medical imaging equipment, motors, and many other product categories.

I recently heard about a surprising use of a NEMA standard—a dishwasher safe, waterproof computer keyboard. The company says the products are manufactured to NEMA 4X specifications. This refers to NEMA 250, Enclosures for Electrical Equipment (1000 Volts Maximum).

I haven't purchased one of the keyboards, so I can't vouch for their ability to, say, protect against ingress of water, but I do like the idea of a way to really clean out the accumulated debris of office life.

Where Do You Plug-in Your Electric Vehicle?

Moldoveanu, Andrei — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 19:50:00 GMT

Plug-in vehicles, either hybrid or all electrical, are just around the corner. The big question is how are they going to be recharged?

The answer depends a lot on who you are asking. In the US the most significant effort is made by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE International). A number of standards are in the works to cover vehicles charging. That, by the way, includes a vehicle-to-grid option (V2G) that could become an interesting Smart Grid option in a not too distant future.

In parallel, in Europe efforts are made by a group comprising mostly auto manufacturers under the DKE banner (German combination DIN-VDE). They are pushing proposals through IEC TC69, SC23H (coupler) and others.

The problem is that the approaches are not similar. If the situation continues we'll end up with different car chargers and car couplers in various parts of the world. The cars would have to be different too. Since chargers will be part of the infrastructure things would remain in this situation for many years to come. Is there a serious reason for that? Couldn't automotive manufacturers get together and settle on one system good for whole world? We'd all benefit.

What Hasn’t Changed in 82 Years

goodwina — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:09:00 GMT

Cleaning out the files last Friday yielded an illuminating find--a 1927 copy of The National Electrical Manufacturers Association: A Brief Outline of its Function and Purpose (in the picture below, note the autographed instruction to return this to file).

So what's changed since 1927, the year of Show Boat, the expulsion of Leon Trotsky, and the Spirit of St. Louis? (And three years before my grandfather was born.)

The electrical and medical imaging industry has certainly made incredible leaps and bounds. What hasn't changed, though, is NEMA's utility to industry and focus on standardization, technology, and excellence.

I've outlined my favorite highlights from the publication, staying true to the original commas, capitalization, and grammar:

On Technology:

"Forty-five years ago there was no science, no art and no industry for the production, distribution and use of electricity. Today electricity is used by about 200 millions of the people of the world, and in our United States, 315 thousands of human beings make a living in attending to the creating of equipment whereby its marvels are performed."
"To achieve this purpose [of quality electrical service] the members of the Association are interested in finding new products; they want to improve and make more of the products which are already developed and working; and so to make unpopular and unprofitable the manufacture of poor equipment and faulty apparatus. To do this will require initiative, clear thinking, and standardization."

On Statistics:

"Facts, ‘our scarcest raw material,' are increasingly necessary to round out production schedules, costs, sales effort and capital expenditure. Statistics are the searchlights of business--they clearly show the road, its obstacles, condition and slope."

On Standardization and Cooperation:

"The manufacturer and user of electrical and radio equipment is faced with the practical necessity of building and operating apparatus not only according to preference, but with regard to electrical ordinance, central station power supply, underwriters' requirements and interchangeability of parts. Through Nema the combined experience and judgment of the group is focused on these problems, enabling a quick and practical solution which gives consideration to the many important factors involved." Note: When I read this section, I immediately thought of Smart Grid.
"In actual fact, the Association is a pooling of intelligence in engineering, in counsel and in human associations."

NIST on the Right Track

Scolnik, Alvin — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:42:00 GMT

The National Institute of Standards and Technology announced last week that it has created a new Smart Grid Interoperability Office to coordinate and accelerate the standardization framework initiative assigned to it under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Good move. An even better move is that NIST has selected Dr. George Arnold, formerly of Lucent Technologies and more recently Deputy Director of NIST Technology Services, as its new Smart Grid Coordinator. NEMA has been an ardent supporter of the NIST effort since its inception. NEMA has also been urging more aggressive action on short term standards development. It is common knowledge that the lack of standardization is holding up Smart Grid investment. SDO's like NEMA and IEEE, have the people and the processes in place to produce standards in record time. George Arnold has the technical knowledge and an understanding of the standardization processes plus connections with the right people in government and industry to make this all happen. NEMA is anxious to work with Dr. Arnold to break the business as usual mold and accelerate development of Smart Grid standards. FERC is waiting. Manufacturers have the technologies. Dr. Arnold, welcome to Smart Grid!!

Solid-State Lighting Industry Should Get Involved in Nanotechnology Standards

leibowitzm — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:07:00 GMT

A standard test method for the determination of quantum efficiency (power output) of quantum dots and nano-phosphors is under development at RTI International for consideration by the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to IEC TC 113. The result of this method will be that industries that use these nanomaterials can make reliable apples-to-apples performance comparisons of such materials. However, it is especially important for solid-state lighting manufacturers, the end-users of nanoscale crystals, to be at the table during the development stages to ensure that the method produces meaningful results for their particular end-product application. In general, U.S. lighting industry involvement through the TC 113 TAG, to set international standard performance and reliability assessments for nanoscale attributes, will help strengthen its competitiveness in the global marketplace for next generation lighting.

Investigators call Soldier’s electrocution “negligent homicide”

Winstanley, Gerard — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 13:33:00 GMT

The death of a soldier electrocuted while showering at a military facility in Iraq a year ago may be changed from accidental death to negligent homicide. Army criminal investigators say that KBR, the largest US contractor in Iraq, may have failed to have qualified electricians and plumbers undertaking installation work at military camps. Up to 18 other deaths of military personnel and contracts have been blamed on faulty wiring or grounding. The installation codes and inspection practices developed in this country over the last 100 years have brought us unparalleled electrical safety, but they require a strict adherence to the rules the industry has developed. A process in which NEMA, and it's members, have taken a leading role. Our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan spend their days in harms way, they should not have to face danger in their down time. They deserve the same levels of electrical safety that we enjoy at home.

Globally Harmonized Standards Hits a Roadblock

Choinski, Scott — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:37:00 GMT

It's disappointing that US interests were rejected during the IEC TC14 Power Transformers meeting held in November. Two IEEE standards were offered for consideration under the IEEE/IEC Dual Logo and/or Joint Development agreements, IEEE PC57.123 Guide for Transformer Loss Measurement and IEEE PC57.15 Standard Requirements, Terminology, and Test Code for Step-Voltage Regulators. Phil Hopkinson, HVolt Inc., and Jin Sim, Waukesha Electric Systems, made good presentations on behalf of the US to support the IEEE documents, but they weren't accepted. A few European countries were most vocal in rejecting US material, while other countries were silent but ambivalent. Some speculate that such opposition is the result of greater protectionism for national interests due to the slow global economy. Still, it's surprising since the US has been well accepted and highly effective in Maintenance Team 5 meetings revising IEC 60076-1 Power transformers - Part 1: General.

Moving forward, the US will consider submitting a formal New Work Item Proposal (NP) to IEC TC14 for Step-Voltage Regulators. There's a need for the standard and it fits NEMA’s standardization strategy for globally harmonized standards that include essential regional requirements. Not accepting the IEEE standards under the Dual Logo or Joint Development agreements is unfortunate since time and money could be saved using those documents as a base to build from instead of developing standards from scratch.