Some of the common electro-technologies used in a neonatal care unit include:
Incubators: These temperature-controlled units create a controlled environment to keep premature or sick infants warm and protected.
Ventilators: Mechanical ventilators assist newborns with respiratory distress by delivering oxygen and helping them breathe.
Monitors: These devices track vital signs such as heart rate, oxygen levels, blood pressure, and temperature to ensure the baby’s health and detect any abnormalities.
Phototherapy Lights: Special lights are used to treat jaundice in newborns, helping to break down excess bilirubin in the blood.
Intravenous Pumps: These pumps are used to deliver medications, fluids, and nutrients directly into the baby’s bloodstream.
Feeding Tubes: For infants who are unable to feed orally, feeding tubes are used to deliver breast milk or formula directly into their stomach.
Blood Gas Analyzers: These machines measure the levels of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and other gases in a baby’s blood to monitor respiratory status and acid-base balance.
Infusion Pumps: Used to administer controlled amounts of fluids, medications, or nutrients to newborns.
CPAP/BiPAP Machines: Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) and Bi-level Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP) machines help newborns with breathing difficulties by providing a continuous flow of air pressure.
Neonatal Resuscitation Equipment: This includes equipment such as resuscitation bags, endotracheal tubes, laryngoscopes, and suction devices used during emergency situations to assist with newborn resuscitation.
It’s important to note that specific tools and equipment may vary depending on the level of neonatal care provided by the unit, the needs of the infants, and the policies of the healthcare facility.
Neonatal care, as a specialized field, has been shaped by the contributions of several pioneers in medicine. Here are a few notable figures who have made significant advancements in neonatal care:
Dr. Virginia Apgar was an American obstetrical anesthesiologist who developed the Apgar score in 1952. The Apgar score is a quick assessment tool used to evaluate the overall health of newborns immediately after birth. It assesses the baby’s heart rate, respiratory effort, muscle tone, reflex irritability, and color, providing valuable information for prompt intervention and monitoring.
Dr. Martin Couney, a pioneering physician, established incubator exhibits at world fairs and amusement parks in the early 20th century. He promoted the use of incubators to care for premature infants and played a significant role in popularizing the concept of neonatal intensive care.
Dr. Virginia A. Apgar, an American pediatrician and neonatologist, made significant contributions to the field of neonatology. She specialized in the care of premature infants and conducted extensive research on neonatal resuscitation and newborn health. She also developed the Apgar scoring system, although unrelated to Dr. Virginia Apgar mentioned earlier.
Dr. Lula O. Lubchenco was an influential researcher and neonatologist who made important contributions to the understanding of newborn growth and development. She developed the Lubchenco Growth Chart, which provides a standardized assessment of a newborn’s size and gestational age, aiding in the identification and monitoring of growth abnormalities.
Dr. Mary Ellen Avery was a renowned American pediatrician and researcher whose work focused on understanding and treating respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in premature infants. She identified the importance of surfactant deficiency in RDS and contributed to the development of surfactant replacement therapy, revolutionizing the care of preterm infants.
These individuals, among many others, have played pivotal roles in advancing the field of neonatal care, improving the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and overall outcomes for newborn infants.
Many land grant colleges and universities are stewards of agricultural facilities that require reliable electrical power that is safe and sustainable for livestock well off the core campus distribution grid. Today we examine the 2026 National Electrical Code safe electric service rules with an eye toward the close date of April 6th for public input on the 2029 NEC.
Many land grant colleges and universities are stewards of agricultural facilities that require reliable electrical power that is safe and sustainable for livestock and animal habitat for sporting.
The premise wiring rules for hazardous university owned buildings have been relatively stable. Electrical professionals are guided by:
Farm Load Calculations of Part V of Article 220,
Corrosion mitigation with appropriate specification of power chain wiring
Stray voltage and the equipotential plane
Interactivity with regulated utility power sources.
Public response to the First Draft of the 2026 National Electrical Code will be received until August 28, 2024. We coordinate our approach to the entire NFPA electrical suite with the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee which meets 4 times monthly. We typically refer to previous transcripts of technical committee actions to inform any changes (improvements) that we propose, if any.
We maintain this issue on the standing agenda of our Power and Nourriture (Food) colloquia. Feel free to join us with the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
IEC 60364-1:2025 (6th edition, published September 5, 2025) replaces the 2005 edition (5th edition). This is a major technical revision with significant changes which we will cover throughout 2026 — after NESC and NEC work
“View of Lake Geneva” 1881 Gustave Courbet
Technical Committee 64 develops the International Electrotechnical Commission consensus product that covers similar territory for the global electrical power industry as NFPA 70 (National Electrical Code). Keep in mind that the safety traditions of the NFPA suite of consensus products are inspired by fire safety considerations. IEC 60363 Electrical installations and protection against electric shock — the parent document that applies to the wiring systems of education and healthcare facilities — was inspired from voltage safety.
– concerning protection against electric shock arising from equipment, from installations and from systems without limit of voltage,
– for the design, erection foreseeable correct use and verification of all kind of electrical installations at supply voltage up to 1 kV a.c or 1,5 kV d.c., except those installations covered by the following IEC committees: TC 9, TC 18, TC 44, TC 97, TC99
– in co-ordination with TC 99, concerning requirements additional to those of TC 99 for the design, erection and verification of electrical installations of buildings above 1kV up to 35kV.
The object of the standards shall be:
– to lay down requirements for installation and co-ordination of electrical equipment
– to lay down basic safety requirements for protection against electric shock for use by technical committees
– to lay down safety requirements for protection against other hazards arising from the use of electricity
– to give general guidance to IEC member countries that may have need of such requirements
– and to facilitate international exchanges that may be hampered by differences in national regulations.
The standards will not cover individual items of electrical equipment other than their selection for use. Safety Pilot Function: Protection against electric shock.
Since neither the USNA National Committee to the IEC (USNA/IEC), nor the US Technical Advisory Administrator (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) has a workspace set up for responding to IEC 60364 calls for public comment, we set one up for ourselves several years ago for education facility and electrical engineering faculty and students:
Note that anyone in the world is welcomed to comment upon IEC documents, contingent upon obtaining (free) login credentials. To review the the strike-and-bold you will need login credentials. Alternatively, you may click in to the 4-times monthly teleconferences of the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee. See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting.
Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Jim Harvey, Massimo Mittolo, Giuseppe Parise
International Electrotechnical Commission – Central Office – Geneva
Abstract: This paper presents a broad view of management of design and implementation of power systems for Data Centers. The paper outlines many challenges that are present because of the demanding requirements of Data Centers both in design and management, then introduces opportunities that recent technological advances have made possible. This paper presents several new approaches of ownership and responsibilities that directly affect financial viability of the Data Center.
Best wiring safety practice for the illumination of educational settlement occupancies is scattered throughout the National Electrical Code with primary consideration for wiring fire safety:
Article 410 – Covers the installation of luminaires (fixtures), lampholders, and lamps, including requirements for wiring, grounding, and support.
The renovated Schwarzman Center at Yale now features dynamic new communal areas, a refreshed historic dining hall and eye-catching exterior lighting, enhancing the campus experience.
“Le Lac Léman ou Près d’Evian au lac de Genève” 1883 François BocionISO and IEC Joint Technical Committee 1 is the work center for international information and communications technology (ICT) standards that are relevant to education communities. In accordance with ISO/IEC JTC 1 and the ISO and IEC Councils, some International Standards and other deliverables are made freely available for standardization purposes.
We at least follow action, and sometimes contribute data and user-interest perspective, to the development of standards produced by several ANSI-accredited ICT standard developing organizations — ATIS, BICSI, IEEE, INCITS, TIA among them. US-based organizations may communicate directly with Lisa Rajchel, ANSI’s ISO/IEC JTC 1 Senior Director for this project: lrajchel@ansi.org. Our colleagues at other educational organizations should contact their national standards body.
We scan the status of Infotech and Cloud standards periodically and collaborate with a number of IEEE Societies. See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.
US K-12 schools (public school districts) spend approximately $8 billion annually on energy costs, including electricity, which ranks as the second-largest operating expense after teacher salaries. This figure, cited by the U.S. Department of Energy and EPA, reflects nationwide totals, with much of it electricity-related due to lighting, HVAC, and other needs; efficiency improvements could save 10-30%.
For colleges and universities, specific nationwide electricity or total energy cost aggregates are less uniformly reported in recent sources, but higher education institutions face substantial utility bills—often over $100,000 per large building annually—with campuses consuming significant power for 24/7 operations, research labs, and facilities.
US healthcare systems, particularly hospitals, incur high electricity costs due to continuous operation and intensive equipment use. Individual hospitals often pay $600,000 to over $2 million yearly on electricity alone, with average energy costs around $3-4 per square foot; inpatient facilities consume nearly twice the electricity per square foot of average commercial buildings.These sectors represent major institutional energy consumers, where efficiency upgrades yield significant savings.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is an independent agency within the U.S. federal government that regulates interstate transmission of electricity, natural gas, and oil. It oversees wholesale energy markets, pipeline infrastructure, and hydroelectric projects, ensuring fair rates and reliability. While independent, FERC operates under the Department of Energy’s umbrella but does not take direct orders from the executive branch.
FERC enforces energy laws, approves infrastructure projects, and regulates market competition. FERC plays a crucial role in balancing economic, environmental, and energy security concerns, aiming to maintain a stable and efficient energy system across the United States. Since the U.S. shares interconnected electricity grids with Canada and Mexico, FERC’s decisions on transmission rules and pricing affect energy flows and grid reliability in both countries.
Our interest lies in closing a technical gap that exists upstream from the building service point and downstream from the utility supply point. Some, not all of it, can be accomplished with titles in the IEEE catalog.
Given the dominance of vertical incumbents in the electric power domain, we have submitted a tranche of reliability concepts into the ASHRAE, NFPA and ICC catalogs — not so much with the expectation that they will be gratefully received — but that our proposals will unleash competitive energies among developers of voluntary consensus standards.
One of our proposals was heard at the April-May and October meetings of the International Code Council. We are happy to discuss the outcome of that proposal any day at the usual hour.
In power system engineering, availability and reliability are two important concepts, but they refer to different aspects of the system’s performance.
Reliability:
Reliability refers to the ability of a power system to perform its intended function without failure for a specified period under given operating conditions. It is essentially a measure of how dependable the system is.
Reliability metrics often include indices such as the frequency and duration of outages, failure rates, mean time between failures (MTBF), and similar measures.
Reliability analysis focuses on identifying potential failure modes, predicting failure probabilities, and implementing measures to mitigate risks and improve system resilience.Availability:
Availability, on the other hand, refers to the proportion of time that a power system is operational and able to deliver power when needed, considering both scheduled and unscheduled downtime.
Availability is influenced by factors such as maintenance schedules, repair times, and system design redundancies.
Availability is typically expressed as a percentage and can be calculated using the ratio of the uptime to the total time (uptime plus downtime).
Availability analysis aims to maximize the operational readiness of the system by minimizing downtime and optimizing maintenance strategies.
Reliability focuses on the likelihood of failure and the ability of the system to sustain operations over time, while availability concerns the actual uptime and downtime of the system, reflecting its readiness to deliver power when required. Both concepts are crucial for assessing and improving the performance of power systems, but they address different aspects of system behavior.
Comment:These 1-hour sessions tend to be administrative in substance, meeting the minimum requirements of the Sunshine Act. This meeting was no exception. Access to the substance of the docket is linked here.
On Monday June 13th, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission commissioners informed the House Committee on Energy and Commerce that the “environmental justice” agenda prohibits reliable dispatchable electric power needed for national power security. One megawatt of natural gas generation does not equal one megawatt of renewable generation. The minority party on the committee — the oldest standing legislative committee in the House of Representatives (established 1795) — appears indifferent to the reliability consequences of its policy.
“Our nation’s continued energy transition requires the efficient development of new transmission infrastructure. Federal and state regulators must address numerous transmission-related issues, including how to plan and pay for new transmission infrastructure and how to navigate shared federal-state regulatory authority and processes. As a result, the time is ripe for greater federal-state coordination and cooperation.”
At the July 20th meeting of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Tristan Kessler explained the technical basis for a Draft Final Rule for Improvements to Generator Interconnection Procedures and Agreements, On August 16th the Commission posted a video reflecting changes in national energy policy since August 14, 2003; the largest blackout in American history.
“Landscape with a Farm House and Windmill” (1680) / Jacob Isaaksz van Ruisdael
We have always taken a forward-looking approach to the National Electrical Code (NEC) because there is sufficient supply of NEC instructors and inspectors and not enough subject matter experts driving user-interest ideas into it. Today we approach the parts of the 2023 NEC that cover wiring safety for microgrid systems; a relatively new term of art that appropriates safety and sustainability concepts that have existed in electrotechnology energy systems for decades.
Turn to Part II of Article 705 Interconnected Electric Power Production Sources:
You will notice that microgrid wiring safety is a relatively small part of the much larger Article 705 Content. There were relatively minor changes to the 2017 NEC in Section 705.50 — but a great deal of new content regarding Microgrid Interconnection Devices, load side connections, backfeeding practice and disconnecting means — as can be seen in the transcripts of Code-Making Panel 4 action last cycle:
Keep in mind that the NEC says nothing (or nearly very little, in its purpose stated in Section 90.2) about microgrid economics or the life cycle cost of any other electrical installation. It is the claim about economic advantages of microgrids that drive education facility asset management and energy conservation units to conceive, finance, install, operate and — most of all — tell the world about them.
In previous posts we have done our level best to reduce the expectations of business and finance leaders of dramatic net energy savings with microgrids — especially on campuses with district energy systems. Microgrids do, however, provide a power security advantage during major regional contingencies — but that advantage involves a different set of numbers.
Note also that there is no user-interest from the education facility industry — the largest non-residential building construction market in the the United States — on Panel 4. This is not the fault of the NFPA, as we explain in our ABOUT.
The 2023 NEC was released late last year.
The 2026 revision cycle is in full swing with public comment on the First Draft receivable until August 24, 2024. Let’s start formulating our ideas using the 2023 CMP-4 transcripts. The link below contains a record of work on the 2023 NEC:
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 other IEEE professional societies.
Mike Anthony’s father-in-law and son maintaining the electrical interactive system installed in the windmill that provides electricity to drive a pump that keeps the canal water at an appropriate level on the family farm near Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) is an ANSI-accredited continuous-maintenance standards developer (a major contributor to what we call a regulatory product development “stream”). Continuous maintenance means that changes to titles in its catalog can change in as little as 30-45 days. This is meaningful to jurisdictions that require conformance to the “latest” version of ASHRAE 90.1
Among the leading titles in its catalog is ASHRAE 90.1 Energy Standard for Sites and Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. Standard 90.1 has been a benchmark for commercial building energy codes in the United States and a key basis for codes and standards around the world for more than 35 years. Free access to ASHRAE 90.1 version is available at the link below:
Chapter 9: Lighting, begins on Page 148, and therein lie the tables that are the most widely used metrics (lighting power densities) by electrical and illumination engineers for specifying luminaires and getting them wired and controlled “per code”. Many jurisdictions provide access to this Chapter without charge. Respecting ASHRAE’s copyright, we will not do so here but will use them during today’s Illumination Colloquium, 16:00 UTC.
Keep in mind that recently ASHRAE expanded the scope of 90.1 to include energy usage in the spaces between buildings:
Education industry facility managers, energy conservation workgroups, sustainability officers, electric shop foreman, electricians and front-line maintenance professionals who change lighting fixtures, maintain environmental air systems are encouraged to participate directly in the ASHRAE consensus standard development process.
Univerzita Karlova
We also maintain ASHRAE best practice titles as standing items on our Mechanical, Water, Energy and Illumination colloquia. See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.
Issue: [Various]
Category: Mechanical, Electrical, Energy Conservation, Facility Asset Management, US Department of Energy, #SmartCampus
Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Larry Spielvogel, Richard Robben
N.B. We are knocking on ASHRAE’s door to accept proposals for reducing building interior power chain energy and material waste that we cannot persuade National Electrical Code committee to include in the 2026 revision of the National Electrical Code.
New update alert! The 2022 update to the Trademark Assignment Dataset is now available online. Find 1.29 million trademark assignments, involving 2.28 million unique trademark properties issued by the USPTO between March 1952 and January 2023: https://t.co/njrDAbSpwBpic.twitter.com/GkAXrHoQ9T
