PV Math
from IAEI Magazine
As we look at the PV array in a PV system, we find that many installers and inspectors are confused by the new system voltage calculations that may be required by the Code specific to PV systems. Code fine print notes (FPN) also address voltage drop that may be applied to the dc wiring from the array to the inverter. This article will cover both of those subjects. More

Ohio City Panel Drops Plan to Regulate Low-voltage Electric Installations
from the Toledo Blade
A proposed law before Toledo, Ohio, City Council to regulate many low-voltage electrical installations -- which would have required a $40 permit fee and subsequent inspections -- was abandoned in committee after dozens of people spoke against the idea. More

Video: Possible Electrocution Investigation Reveals Wiring Insulation was Eroded
from KHON-TV
The city says insulation over electrical wiring in a junction box on Kapiolani Boulevard in Honolulu, Hawaii, had eroded. The discovery was made after crews inspected more than 80 boxes and light poles following the death of a man who may have been electrocuted. More

ESFI Releases Results of National Utility Copper Theft Survey
from PR Newswire via BizJournals.com
The Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) has released the complete results of its 2008 Copper Theft Baseline Survey of Utilities, a new instrument developed to measure how the growing problem of copper wire theft is perceived and addressed by major utility stakeholders across the country. The results reveal critical information about the scope of the problem and how it is being communicated to employees, stakeholders, and the public. More

IAEI Seeks New Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director
from IAEI
The International Association of Electrical Inspectors (IAEI) is seeking an energetic, experienced professional from the electrical industry or inspection community to be its next Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director. The successful candidate should have experience in the technical aspects of the electrical industry equally balanced with skills in overall organizational management. Applications must be received by June 1, 2009. More

Be Safe, Smart about Home’s Electricity
from Houston Weekly
In this article, two major changes in the National Electrical Code (NEC) over the last 40 years are addressed – polarized plugs and the equipment ground. These two devices have reshaped electrical systems to make them safer. You might not immediately recognize their technical names, but you know them for the confusion — and even irritation — they cause when you can’t make a plug fit. More

Electrical Fire Closes Popular North Texas Spa
from NBC-DFW
A fire at a popular Arlington, Texas, salon and spa will keep the doors closed through the end of the month. For more than six hours, 45 firefighters battled a 3-alarm fire at Daired's Salon and Spa Pangea, which was reported as an electrical fire. More

U.S. Could Soon be Greener than Europe
from Newsweek
This is a trick question. What big country is, by most measures, greener than Japan and Germany and produces more geothermal energy than all of Europe combined? If you were to answer the United States, you'd be more right than wrong. The statistics for the country as a whole obscure tremendous differences among the individual states—several of which, on their own, would rank as major "green" countries in their own right. More