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National Electrical Definitions

NFPA Glossary of Terms

International Building Code Chapter 2: Definitions

International Electrotechnical Commission: Electropedia

Because electrotechnology changes continually, definitions (vocabulary) in its best practice literature changes continually; not unlike any language on earth that adapts to the moment and place.

The changes reflect changes in technology or changes in how the technology works in practice; even how the manufacturers create adaptations to field conditions by combining functions.   Any smart electrical component has a digital language embedded in it, for example.

Consider the 2023 National Electrical Code.  Apart from many others the NEC will contain a major change to Article 100 (Definitions); the subject of elevated debate over the past three years.

When we refer “language” we must distinguish between formal language, informal language, colloquial language and dialect which may differ the language spoken, language written at the office and language used on the job site.  “Terms of art”

2026 National Electrical Code | CMP-1 Second Draft Report 

FREE ACCESS: 2020 National Electrical Code (NFPA 70)

2023 NEC Public Input Report CMP-1 (868 pages)

2023 NEC Second Draft Public Comment Report (914 pages)

Are these terms (or, “terms of art”) best understood in context (upstream articles in Chapters 4 through 8) — or should they be adjudicated by the 14 Principals of Code Making Panel 1?   The answer will arrive in the fullness of time.   Many changes to the National Electrical Code require more than one cycle to stabilize.

Code Making Panel 1 has always been the heaviest of all NEC panels.  As explained n our ABOUT, the University of Michigan held a vote in CMP-1 for 20+ years (11 revision cycles) before moving to the healthcare facilities committee for the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee.  Standards Michigan continues its involvement on behalf of the US education facility industry — the second largest building construction market.  There is no other pure user-interest voice on any technical committee; although in some cases consulting companies are retained for special purposes.

To serve the purpose of making NFPA 70 more “useable” we respect the Standards Council decision to make this change if it contributes to the viability of the NFPA business model.  We get to say this because no other trade association comes close to having as enduring and as strong a voice:  NFPA stands above all other US-based SDO’s in fairness and consideration of its constituency.  The electrical safety community in the United States is a mighty tough crowd.

If the change does not work, or work well enough, nothing should prohibit reversing the trend toward “re-centralizing” — or “de-centralizing” the definitions.

Public comment on the First Draft of the 2026 Edition will be received until August 28, 2024. 

Technical Committees meet during the last half of October to respond to public comment on the First Draft of the 2026 National Electrical Code. 

Electrical Contractor: Round 1 of the 2023 NEC: A summary of proposed changes (Mark Earley, July 15, 2021)

Electrical Contractor: 2023 Code Article and Definition Revisions: Accepting (NEC) change, part 2 (Mark Earley, March 15, 2022)

National Rules for Electrical Installations


Theatre: Lighting Design

Artificial lighting was first introduced to theater dramatic performance stages in the 17th century. The use of candles and oil lamps initially provided a means to illuminate the stage, allowing performances to take place in the evening and enhancing the visibility for both actors and the audience. Before this development, theatrical performances were typically held during daylight hours due to the reliance on natural light.

In the early 17th century, theaters in England began experimenting with various lighting techniques. Thomas Killigrew’s Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in London, is often credited as one of the first theaters to use artificial lighting. The use of candles and later oil lamps evolved over time, leading to more sophisticated lighting setups as technology advanced.

The 18th and 19th centuries saw further innovations in stage lighting, including the use of gas lamps. Eventually, the introduction of electric lighting in the late 19th and early 20th centuries revolutionized stage lighting, providing theaters with a more reliable and controllable source of illumination. This allowed for greater creativity in the design and execution of lighting effects, contributing significantly to the overall theatrical experience.

Oklahoma City University

More

Stage Lighting 101 — Everything You Need to Know

Boston University: Theater, Lighting Design

Wayne State University: Lighting Design

Illumination 100

 

 

August 14, 2003

“The world is changed by examples, not by opinions.”

– Marc Andreesen (Founder of Netscape, the first dominant web browser)

 

August 14, 2003 Power Outage at the University of Michigan

2026 National Electrical Code

Current Issues and Recent Research

Today we examine Second Draft transcripts of the Special Equipment Chapter 6 (CMP-12) and product inspection, testing and certification listings that appear Annex A (CMP-1).

 

Once every eighteen months we spend a week drilling into the National Electrical Code by submitting new proposals or comments on proposed revisions.  Today we review the actions taken by the technical committees on the First Draft.   Responses to committee actions will be received until August 26th.

2026 National Electrical Code Workspace

Premise Wiring

Interconnected Electric Power Production Sources “Microgrids”

National Electrical Definitions

Kitchen Wiring

Solarvoltaic PV Systems

Hospital Plug Load

Data Center Wiring

Electrical Inspector Professional Qualifications

Critical Operations Power Systems

Arenas, Lecture Halls & Theaters

Appliances

Emergency and Standby Power Systems

Luminaires, Lampholders, and Lamps

Electric Vehicle Power Transfer

Art, Design & Fashion Studios

Wiring for Luminaires in High Ceiling Occupancies

Infotech 200

INCITS: InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards | Executive Board

Today we break down the literature for building, maintaining and supporting the computing infrastructure of education communities.  We use the term “infotech” gingerly to explain action for a  broad span of technologies that encompass enterprise servers and software, wireless and wired networks, campus phone networks, and desktop computers that provide administrative services and career tech video production.   The private sector has moved at light speed to respond to the circumstances of the pandemic; so have vertical incumbents evolving their business models to seek conformance revenue in this plasma-hot domain.

In 2023 we began breaking down the topic accordingly:

Infotech 100: Survey of the principal standards developing organizations whose catalogs are incorporated by reference into federal and state legislation.  Revision cycles.

Infotech 200: Campus computing facilities for research and education

Infotech 300: Communication networks, wired and unwired at the demarcation point; crucial for defining the responsibilities and boundaries between the service provider and the customer.

Infotech 400:  System, middleware and software — Python, Fortran 2018, Apache, Julia, C++ and others

Infotech 300

We collaborate closely with the IEEE Education and Healthcare Electrotechnology Committee.  Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

 

Internet of Small Things

Freely Available ICT Standards

“Season of Light Illumination”

 

 

IES Standards in Public Review

Relevant Titles & Open Consultations

Rightsizing Electrical Power Systems

“Backup” Power Systems

Image Credit: Unknown

We use the term “backup” power system to convey the complexity of electrical power sources when the primary source is not used; either as a scheduled or an unscheduled event.   Best practice literature in this domain has been relatively stable, even though challenged by newer primary source of power technologies.   We are running our daily colloquium in parallel with the recurring 4 times monthly meetings of the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee.   You are welcomed to join us with the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

Emergency & Standby Power Systems

February 4 Draft Agenda

2026 National Electrical Code Workspace

2028 National Electrical Safety Code

Electrical Resource Adequacy

NESC & NEC Cross-Code Correlation

 

 

Outdoor Deicing & Snow Melting

Electrical Safety

“Snow at Argenteuil” | Claude Monet (1875)

Today our focus turns to outdoor electric deicing and snow melting wiring systems identified as suitable for the environment and installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.  They work silently to keep snow load from caving in roofs and icicles falling from gutters onto pedestrian pathways.

While the voltage and ampere requirement of the product itself is a known characteristic, the characteristic 0f the wiring pathway — voltage, ampere, grounding, short circuit, disconnect and control — is relatively more complicated and worthy of our attention.   Articles 426-427 of the National Electrical Code is the relevant part of the NEC

Free Access 2023 National Electrical Code

Insight into the ideas running through technical committee deliberations is provided by a review of Panel 17 transcripts:

2023 NEC Panel 17 Public Input Report (633 pages)

2023 NEC Panel 17 Public Comment Report (190 pages)

We hold Articles 427 in the middle of our priority ranking for the 2023 NEC.   We find that the more difficult issues for this technology is the determination of which trade specifies these systems — architectural, electrical, or mechanical; covered in previous posts.   Instead, most of our time will be spent getting IEEE consensus products in step with it, specifically ANSI/IEEE 515 and IEEE 844/CSA 293.

Comments on the Second Draft of the 2026 NEC will be received until April 18th.

…

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We collaborate with the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facility Committee which meets online 4 times per month in European and American time zones.  Since a great deal of the technical basis for the NEC originates with the IEEE we will also collaborate with IEEE Standards Coordinating Committee 18 whose members are charged by the IEEE Standards Association to coordinate NFPA and IEEE consensus products.

Issue: [19-151]

Category: Electrical, Energy

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Jim Harvey, Kane Howard, Jose Meijer

LEARN MORE:

IEEE Standard for the Testing, Design, Installation, and Maintenance of Electrical Resistance Heat Tracing for Commercial Applications

844.2/CSA C293.2-2017 – IEEE/CSA Standard for Skin Effect Trace Heating of Pipelines, Vessels, Equipment, and Structures–Application Guide for Design, Installation, Testing, Commissioning, and Maintenance

 

Microgrids

We were doing microgrids before microgrids were cool.  We did not call our school boiler plants or campus district energy systems “microgrids” until the EPACT flooded the electrical power industry with a new cadre of policy makers, regulators and litigators and we were forced into a vocabulary upgrade.

National Electrical Code Article 705 Interconnected Power Sources: Second Draft Transcript

We resume our engagement (and advocacy) for a few concepts which have tracked in the NFPA and IEEE standards development catalogs since the early 1990’s:

  1. Nudge development of the National Electrical Code to recognize that loss of electrical power presents (i.e. reliability, availability) a greater hazard, and more frequent hazard, than wiring fire hazard.
  2. The application of stand-alone AC to DC inverters in the 100 – 1000 watt range to convert DC power from an automobile to households.  A portable vehicle to home 120 VAC outlet strip is effectively a “microgrid” and costs less than $100 not including the extension cords.  
  3. Expansion of the hybrid vehicle fittings with a built-in inverter to provide power to households in the 1000-2000 watt range.  In contemporary parlance this arrangement is now referred to as “vehicle to home” (different than vehicle to grid)
  4. Relaxation of NEC prohibitions against the sharing of residential backup generators and electric storage equipment between two or more separate houses.  This can reduce cost significantly.  Earthing, ground fault, disconnect, overcurrent protection can easily be solved if the vertical incumbents we describe in our ABOUT stop voting against us in the National Electrical Code
  5. Stepping up the backup power systems that maintain the needed power for neighborhood internet access.  Not all students and faculty live on campus.  
  6. Policy makers and regulators should think in terms of setting standards for 10-day, 30-day and 90-day survivability contingencies to limit civil unrest.
  7. Preservation of contingencies with a judicious combination of absorption and electric chillers no matter what the electric rate.  During a major regional contingency power is priceless. 
  8. Promote a “cultural change” among specifiers and university design guideline writers to permit use of aluminum wiring which cost 1/3 less than copper wiring.   Use of aluminum wiring for backup “swing feeders” at medium voltage reduces the cost of an additional contingency by 2/3rds.
  9. Reduce National Electrical Code circuit sizing rules so that distribution transformers within buildings can be reduced, thereby reducing material, heat waste and the reduction of wet-stacking in backup generators which reduces reliability.

National Electrical Definitions

This should be enough for an hour.  We continue the conversation 4 times monthly with the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee.  Feel free to join us today with the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

University of Delaware Vehicle to Grid Research

P2030.12/D1.4, Jun 2022 – IEEE Draft Guide for the Design of Microgrid Protection Systems

A Review on Microgrids’ Challenges & Perspectives

Long-term experience of DC-microgrid operation

P2030.10/D12, Apr 2021 – IEEE Approved Draft Standard for DC Microgrids for Rural and Remote Electricity Access Applications

Hierarchical Network Management of Industrial DC-Microgrids

 

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