Engineering Articles

Transformer Full Load Current Ratings - Find the maximum secondary current of a 3-phase or a 1-phase transformer.

Connecting Electric Water Heaters - Water and electricity mix dangerously well. Electric water heaters must be connected according to the Canadian Electical Code.

HVAC Acronyms - Electrical consultants need to understand HVAC acronyms.

MCA vs FLA - What are these parameters used for when powering up motors?

Electrical Load Calculation - An electrical load calculation determines the amount of electricity required for your office and business.

Electrical Load Monitoring - Measuring your electrical usage is the first step in discovering problems and lowering your cost.

Business models for electric vehicle charging stations - Exploring the possible market strategies for this new transportation sector in Canada.

Rooftop Receptacle Requirements - Rooftop receptacles are now required in Canada on commercial and industrial buildings.

Motor Service Factor - What is that number on the label?

Voltage Drop in a Circuit - In real life, we have to design electrical circuits to take impedance into account.

Electrical Distribution Systems Assessments - For some facilities, an electrical distribution assessment is done only after things go wrong.

Electrical Distribution Systems & Rodents Do Not Mix! - They are small & cute and look so innocent. When you see them scurrying along the floor, they appear harmless and scared but electrical distribution systems & rodents do not go well together.

Ohm's Law - How Voltage, Current and Resistance Relate - A student recently asked me about Ohm's law and the best way to explain it was to use a water pipe analogy...

Power System Studies - Our electrical distribution system is doing funny things lately...

IC Rated vs. Non-IC Rated Light Fixtures - IC rated vs non IC rated light fixtures. ICS Engineering explains the difference.

Commercial and Industrial Lighting Design - Creating a balance between aesthetics, function, reliability and energy efficiency.

Fire Alarm System Design - The process of how a fire alarm and life safety system is designed.

Attack on an Industrial Control System leaves Massive Damage at Steel Plant - A sophisticated cyber-attack leaves massive damage on a blast furnace at a German steel mill. How to stop cyber-attacks on industrial control systems.

Are Industrial Computer Networks Secure? - Are industrial control systems secure now that viruses are attacking Programmable Logic Controls (PLCs) and SCADA networks?

Critical Flaw Discovered in Many Industrial PLCs - Cyber attacks are now targeting industrial PLCs directly with vulnerabilities in the controlling OS.

Industrial Communication Networks Need Protection - Industrial communication networks used in control systems need to be secure to avoid intrusion & interruption from hackers.

How to Disaster-Proof Your Control System - Control system design should include disaster planning to take into account power interruptions. Control and production data need to be backed up in the case of a large-scale catastrophe.

How to Toughen Monitoring Equipment for Harsh Environments - Industrial control systems, electrical distribution and communication equipment must be made environmentally hardened and rugged to withstand mother nature.

PLC Redundancy - Depending on the difficulty of interruptions, severity of the consequences or governing regulations, some applications require PLC redundancy to keep people and equipment safe.

Types of Redundancies - The type of redundancy to implement in a PLC system depends on the consequences of an equipment failure to the production system, to the products in the queue and to the business continuity.

Fiber Optic Network Outage - Fiber optic networks need to be designed for reliability and durability or communication outages will inconvenience people and industrial control systems.

First Ocean Cable Crossing - 150 years later - the first permanent cable crossing of an ocean.

Project Management Process - A successful project usually has a high-level project manager or project engineer to make sure things stay on track.">

Project Methodology - The engineering process is clear and concise and follows a well practiced guidelines that delivers success.

Project Lifecycle - This article describes the necessary steps to complete a successful engineering project.