FLEMINGTON Flemington Borough Council will consider enacting an ordinance involving property maintenance as well as the 2015 International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) at their Feb. 13 meeting at 7 p.m.

Council is considering enacting the IPMC to better establish and enforce rules regarding property maintenance within the borough.

IPMC regulates and governs the conditions and maintenance of structures within a borough and provides penalties for violators and the condemnation of buildings and structures unfit for human occupancy and use.

The regulations would include eight chapters ranging from the roles and authority the borough will have involving enforcement of the IPMC to establishment of criteria for installing and maintaining heating and air conditioning, ventilation and fireplaces.

According to a notice of intent from the borough office, chapter one will involve the establishment of necessary legal basis for enforcement of the code by the borough.

This includes all the police powers inherent in enforcing the IPMCs minimum standards for the use and maintenance of buildings that must follow the line of authority from the United States Constitution to the state and borough, the notice said.

The chapter defines roles and responsibilities of the borough.

Sections 201 and 202 from Chapter two will address practical concerns that may be encountered while interpreting the code in relation to the use of gender, tense and singular versus plural. It also provides an alphabetical listing of terms that are commonly used through the code.

Chapter three lists a variety of requirements for exterior property areas as well as interior and exterior elements of the structure.

The chapter specifies criteria for installation and maintenance regulations for building components. It also includes requirements for regulating safety, sanitation and the appearance of interior and exterior structure.

Chapter four established the minimum criteria for light and ventilation and identifies occupancy limitations.

Chapter five consists of the minimum criteria required for the installation, maintenance and location of plumbing systems and facilities including water supply systems, water heating appliance, sewage disposal systems and related plumbing fixtures.

Chapter six establishes minimum criteria for the installation and maintenance of heating and air conditioning equipment appliances and systems, water-heating equipment and appliances, ventilation and exhaust equipment, gas and liquid fuel distributing piping and components, fireplaces and solid fuel-burning appliance, chimneys and vents, electrical services, lighting fixtures, electrical receptacle outlets, electrical distribution system equipment, devices and wiring, and elevators escalators and dumbwaiters.

Chapter seven establishes minimum requirements for fire safety facilities and fire protection systems.

The final chapter included, chapter eight, contains a comprehensive list of all standards that are referenced within the IPMC code.

The full ordinance can be viewed at the borough office during regular business hours.

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Flemington to consider IPMC ordinance | News, Sports, Jobs - Lock Haven Express

February 7 2020 @ 15:23 by Richard Dawson

Apex Wiring Solutions has recruited a team of industry specialists and invested over 500,000 in a creating a manufacturing facility for the Apex Core a central hub for a households heating, ventilation, electrical, communication and metering services.

The North East-based company, which claimed to revolutionise UK electrical installation is hoping to once again disrupt the construction industry with this new venture.

Key to this drive are prefabricated utility cupboards (PUCs), which are favoured in the construction sector because they arrive fully assembled and ready to install on site.

Apex directors, Mike and Dave Lewis, are creating the UKs largest PUC manufacturing facility at their base in Littleburn Industrial Estate, near Durham city centre.

Contracts and production managers James Moore and Paul Cooper, alongside production supervisor Kaspars Netlis, will oversee design, development and production of the new product.

The team have been recruited by Apex Wiring Solutions for their reputation for PUC innovation.

Company director, Dave Lewis, said: There are moments in industry when there are huge leaps forward in innovation. We saw that with modular wiring in the early 2000s and were seeing it now with these PUC units.

Modular solutions save developers time, reduce waste, cost less and are safe all things that are vital if the Government is to truly address the housing crisis and build more homes, particularly starter homes.

James, Paul and Kaspars have developed the technology. They have spent the last six years refining and perfecting PUC design and development, so when they became available it was a no-brainer for us to recruit them to lead this exciting project.

See the article here:
Apex Wiring Solutions invests in construction industry disruptor - Apex Core - North East Times

This is Part 3 of a 5-part series on the trucking tech shortage and the strategies to combat it. Read Part 1 on the overall issue here. Read Part 2 on youth outreach here.

At Heavy Duty Aftermarket Dialogue in January, John Blodgett, vice president of sales and marketing of MacKay & Company, revealed a survey done by the consulting firm found fleets' top concern going into 2020 was the technician shortage.

He noted the issue "was not new, but is higher in the ranking from where it has been in the past."

Until recently, the industrial trade, like so many others, has only actively recruited men, which comprises a tad less than half the population. Anytime your choices are slashed in half, your quantity and quality are bound to suffer. So while engine complexity, wages, retirements and messaging are critical factors, the most logical area to address the truck tech shortage is where it has been most glaringly deficient: viewing women as viable workers on the shop floor.

By the industry not looking to hire more women, I think theyre missing out, quite honestly, said Tyson Sontag, a former TMC SuperTech winner and current high school diesel technology teacher..

In his classroom, which is at most 3 girls to 12 boys (usually less), he noticed some of the advantages women bring to the trade. He observed they were more detail-oriented, kept tidier work stations with parts sequenced, and while not as fast as the boys, their work is right the first time.

These are stereotypes traditionally associated with women, and even if not always true show how they could balance a shop floor. But its the negative tropes, such as women not being strong enough to do the job, that seem to keep most shops male-dominated.

Not every man, especially those whose bodies have seen decades of wear and tear, is strong enough to do every task by himself. This is where teamwork comes into play.

Theres always some young dumb lug trying to prove his strengthlet him pull the cylinder head, and let this girl take apart the dash and figure out why somethings not working, Sontag mused.

Its not the most politically correct response, but rings true. A woman, whatever her size, might not always be able to lift as much, but can carry just as much of the workload.

About an hour north, TLG Peterbilt-Joplin learned this, thanks to a tech named Aymee Cunningham, a petite woman who often heard customers question her value to the shop since 2011. She recalled how this all changed in 2014 via a YouTube video posted by the business. It started when a concrete pump truck had a check engine light pop on and interrupt pouring operations. No one from the OEM or Cummins could figure it out.

I decided I was going to make my own circuit for it, she explained, believing the wiring was too small to consistently handle the current.

I fixed it, she said, still visibly affected by the small victory for the shop and giant leap for her self-esteem. They havent had a lick of problems since.

That one moment was a game-changer for at least that one shop.

It was an eye-opener for everybody when she solved that, recalled general manager Roger Bartlett. It was a big deal and she gained a lot of respect.

Few women can command respect upon first walking through the garage door. Bonnie Greenwood is one.

While attending WyoTech in Laramie, Wyo., Greenwood became the first female champion of TMC FutureTech, the student version of SuperTech, in 2017.

Greenwood had a college degree (in wildlife biology) but decided shed rather be a grease monkey. She was hired almost immediately by FedEx Freight in Salt Lake City.

And the term grease monkey is somewhat of an anachronism, said Ellen Voie, founder and CEO of Women in Trucking, an advocacy group promoting female representation in the industry.

People have a misconception when you say diesel tech; theyre thinking that youre all greasy, Voie said. Sometimes that is still absolutely true, but you dont need to be six-foot-five and built like a gorilla.

These days theres no reason why women cant do the job, she said. Its not as physically demanding as it once was.

Maintaining trucks isn't always a dirty job, but sometimes it is, which is fine for Ryder Technical scholarship recipient Sabrina Depue, who fell in love with the diesel trade when she was young. "I didn't have the confidence I could do it even though I loved it, but I dove in head first and I have never looked back," she said.

But Voie questions if the industry is doing enough to let women know the trade has become more accessible. She also mentioned womens smaller hands are something of an advantage when working with wiring, and they can get to places many men cant without removing a ton of other components. Its not hard to imagine a giant master mechanic sheepishly asking the new female tech to unscrew a sensor deep within the labyrinth of pipes and hoses so he doesnt have to spend half a day disassembling it.

Perception is still the biggest challenge. Voie alluded to the infamous Snap-On Tool calendars of yesteryear featuring bikini models as a symbolic no girls allowed sign.

Its always been such a good ol boys network, she said. It takes time to realize they need to make changes.

Since 2016, Ryder has supplied 20 women with technical scholarships, up to $2,000 each, to aid in their education. Diesel mechanic school tuition costs around $4,000, according to alltrucking.com.

Ryder is taking the lead in drawing more women to the transportation industry, at a time when the industry needs to grow the pool of qualified diesel technicians and professional drivers, said Patrick Pendergast, vice president of recruiting services at Ryder.

Together with the Women In Trucking Foundation, we are able to make technical education more affordable for women who are striving to make a career in trucking a reality, he continued.

A best practice Roehl Transportation uses is showing trainers the movie North Country, where Charlize Therons character must assimilate into a coal mine, and discussing the movie afterwards.

It sensitizes them to what women are feeling and thinking when they enter a male environment, Voie said.

Any company wanting to address the issue must go all in, though, and be prepared for the challenges, she said.

To get to that point, Voie believed the way trucking markets these jobs must reverse course. [Some companies] just have this mindset that they think that a NASCAR car in their ad or a Dallas cheerleader is what people are looking for, she said. You just eliminated half the population because that doesnt attract women.

And if this is truly as critical a problem as everyone says, and its been going on for decades (as we spelled out in Part 1), its crazy not to at least try.

Read the original post:
How recruiting women can help defeat the tech shortage - Fleet Owner

The first draft of new electrical safety standards for the private rented sector (the Regulations) have now been laid before Parliament. The Regulations will impose new duties on landlords in relation to electrical installations with stringent penalties for non-compliance. The Regulations are due to apply to new tenancies from 1 July 2020 so those operating in the private rented sector should start planning ahead now.

When will the new law apply?

The Regulations are intended to apply to all new tenancies from 1 July 2020 and to all existing tenancies from 1 April 2021.

However, the Regulations will only apply to specified tenancies, meaning a tenancy where the tenant is permitted to occupy the property as their only or main residence in return for the payment of rent (which need not be market rent). This is a broad definition which catches more than just ASTs. Holiday lettings will not be covered by the definition and there are also some specific statutory exclusions. For example, the Regulations will not apply to social housing, where the landlord shares the accommodation, long leases, student halls of residence, hostels, care homes and tenancies relating to healthcare provision. These types of property will remain subject to the current regulatory requirements.

What is changing?

Landlords are already subject to regulatory requirements in relation to electrical safety. The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires landlords to keep electrical installations in the property in good repair and proper working order. Local authorities have powers, through the Housing Act 2004, to take action where there are electrical hazards in a property posing a safety risk. All circuits in new or rewired homes would normally need to comply with the relevant parts of the Building Regulations. Five yearly electrical installation checks are mandatory but only for licensable Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).

Under the new Regulations, landlords will have to ensure that:

The Regulations define electrical safety standards as being those set out in the 18th edition of the Wiring Regulations (published as BS 7671:2018) which came into force on 1 January 2019. Landlords should note that existing electrical installations installed before 1 January 2019 are very unlikely to comply with the 18th edition in every respect.

The electrical inspection must be carried out by a qualified person and the landlord must obtain a report. The Regulations simply define this as being someone who is competent but the government has previously indicated that it will produce new guidance setting out how landlords could determine competence.

Landlords must provide a copy of the inspection report to any new tenant before they occupy the property. Landlords must also provide a copy to any prospective tenant who requests it within 28 days of a written request from the prospective tenant. Landlords should therefore consider obtaining a report at an early stage (e.g. when preparing to market the property). The Regulations specifically state that landlords must keep a copy of the report until the date of the next inspection so landlords must ensure that their paperwork is in order.

What are the penalties for non-compliance?

The local housing authority will be responsible for enforcing the regulations. Local authorities can request a copy of the electrical inspection report and landlords must supply it within 7 days of the request.

A local housing authority has a duty to serve a remedial notice (requiring the landlord to carry out works within 28 days) if it has reasonable grounds to believe that a private landlord is in breach of its duties under the Regulations. However, the Regulations do set out a procedure for landlords to make written representations against the notice. If the landlord fails to comply with a notice then the local authority can do the work itself and recover its costs. Landlords have a right to appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal against the costs recovery.

In dangerous situations requiring urgent remedial action, the local housing authority can arrange for an authorised person to take immediate action (subject to providing the tenant with at least 48 hours notice). Again, the local housing authority can apply to recover its costs in this situation.

In addition, local authorities can impose a financial penalty of up to 30,000. The local authority can issue more than one penalty in the event of a continuing failure.

Landlords will already be aware of the requirements relating to gas safety certificates. Landlords are prevented from evicting a tenant using a Section 21 notice if the landlord failed to provide a copy of the gas safety certificate to the tenant prior to occupation. It is worth noting that that the penalties for failure to comply with the new electrical safety regulations are as set above and the ability to serve a Section 21 notice is not affected.

How much is this going to cost?

In the original consultation on this topic (2018), the government stated that they estimated that the average cost of an electrical safety check would be around 160 per property every five years. However, there is likely to be significant variation across the sector depending on portfolio size and geographic location. There will also be hidden costs such as those associated with researching and liaising with electrical testers, preparing the property and overseeing the checks, and one off familiarisation costs.

Action points

The Regulations are still in draft form so landlords should continue to monitor this topic. However, given the cross-party support for this initiative, the details are unlikely to change significantly. The changes also bring England into line with the mandatory requirements for electrical inspections that already apply in Scotland. Landlords may wish to start researching suitable electrical testers now so that they are ready to comply with the new Regulations in relation to new tenancies later this year. Landlords may consider reviewing their existing properties now in order to assess whether they comply with the electrical safety standards as defined in Regulations.

Landlords will no doubt want their electrical installations to be safe in order to ensure tenant safety and help prevent fires. For further clarification of how the new regime will operate in practice landlords should also review the governments guidance on the Regulations (when this is released).

Read the original here:
Landlords - something to spark your interest - Lexology

The leading international organisation for building codes and standards says that all newly constructed homes should be EV-ready, and guidelines have been recently accepted by US local governments to ensure electric vehicles (EVs) are taken into account for all new building constructions.

A global transition to electric mobility is already well underway: EV pioneer Tesla is now worth more than General Motors and Ford combined at around $US90 billion ($130 billion), legacy car-makers such as Volkswagen, Hyundai, Ford, and most recently Kia have announced billions invested towards developing electric models, and others such as GM, BMW, Daimler have promised electric models in coming years.

In a release on the new guidelines for improving the energy efficiency of US homes from the New Buildings Institute last Monday, the body noted the important role that electric vehicles have to play in tackling climate change.

Electrification of buildings and vehicleswith clean, renewable power supplyis one of the key policy solutions for tackling climate change, and in new buildings electrification readiness can be done at a very small incremental cost, the institute noted.

The new guidelines will require all new buildings to make a percentage of parking spaces ready and available for electric vehicles, including installation of the necessary electric infrastructure to avoid expensive retro-fitting later on.

In Australia, the need for new buildings to be EV-ready was recognised in the proposed EV policy plan by the Australian Labor party in the lead up to 2019s May election.

However, a vicious and blatantly incorrect campaign run by the Morrison LNP government, and particularly minister for energy Angus Taylor, included claims that the policy amounted to a housing tax that would cost consumers thousands of dollars.

The new building guidelines outlined by the ICC are designed to avoid unnecessary costs rather than add to them.

The code change proposal will increase the cost of initial construction, but provide long-term savings for EV owners through the avoided retrofit costs of installing EV charging infrastructure, it is noted in the new definitions added by the ICC to the 2018 Energy Conservation Code.

Publicly accessible electric vehicle DC fast charging infrastructure that is typically accessed on highways and other key routes now has considerable penetration the US, but access to adequate AC charging at home so EV owners can charge EVs in much the same way as mobile phones is also a critical piece of the puzzle.

As noted by the ICC, the lack of access to EV charging stations continues to be a critical barrier to EV adoption. In particular, there are significant logistical barriers for residents of multi-family dwellings to upgrade existing electrical infrastructure and install new EV charging stations.

A lack of pre-existing EV charging infrastructure, such as electrical panel capacity, raceways, and pre-wiring, can make the installation of a new charging station cost-prohibitive for a potential EV-owner.

The installation of an EV charging station is made three to four times less expensive when the infrastructure is installed during the initial construction phase as opposed to retrofitting existing buildings to accommodate the new electrical equipment.

New residential buildings are constructed to last for decades, and so it is critical that EV charging infrastructure is incorporated at the pre-construction stage to ensure that new buildings can accommodate the charging needs of future EV-owners, it concludes.

New definitions added by the ICC include:

ELECTRIC VEHICLE SUPPLY EQUIPMENT (EVSE): The conductors, including the ungrounded, grounded, and equipment grounding conductors, and the Electric Vehicle connectors, attachment plugs, and all other fittings, devices, power outlets, or apparatus installed specifically for the purpose of transferring energy between the premises wiring and the Electric Vehicle.

EV CAPABLE SPACE: Electrical panel capacity and space to support a minimum 40-ampere, 208/240-volt branch circuit for each EV parking space, and the installation of raceways, both underground and surface mounted, to support the EVSE.

EV READY SPACE: A designated parking space which is provided with one 40-ampere, 208/240-volt dedicated branch circuit for EVSE servicing Electric Vehicles. The circuit shall terminate in a suitable termination point such as a receptacle, junction box, or an EVSE, and be located in close proximity to the proposed location of the EV parking spaces.

Bridie Schmidt is lead reporter for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She specialises in writing about new technology, and has a keen interest in the role that zero emissions transport has to play in sustainability.

See more here:
All new homes should be EV-ready, says international code council - The Driven

Article 110 of the National Electrical Code (NEC) covers the general requirements for the examination and approval, installation and use, access to, and spaces about electrical equipment. Some of the quick requirements include:

Be careful not to confuse the term interrupting rating [Sec. 110.9] with short-circuit current rating [Sec. 110.10].

Overcurrent protective devices must have an interrupting rating capacity equal to or greater than the fault current available at the equipment line terminals [Sec. 110.9]. Unless marked otherwise, the ampere interrupting capacity (AIC)rating for circuit breakers is 5,000A [Sec. 240.83(C)], and it is 10,000A for fuses [Sec. 240.60(C)(3)].

Electrical equipment must have a short-circuit current rating (SCCR) that permits the circuit protective device to open due to a short circuit or ground fault without extensive damage to the electrical equipment [Sec. 110.10]. Listed equipment applied per its listing meets this requirement (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Electrical equipment must have a short-circuit current rating (SCCR) that permits the circuit protective device to open due to a short circuit or ground fault without extensive damage to the electrical equipment.

Available shortcircuit current is the current, in amperes, available at a given point in the electrical system. This current is first determined at the secondary terminals of the serving electric utility transformer. Thereafter, the available shortcircuit current is calculated at the terminals of the service disconnect, then panelboards and other equipment as various connections are made downstream from the main service. Beginning at the serving electric utility transformer, the available shortcircuit current decreases at each downstream connection point of the electrical system.

Electrical equipment and cabling must be installed in a neat and workmanlike manner [Sec. 110.12]. One aspect of this is that unused openings must be closed by fittings that provide protection substantially equivalent to the wall of the equipment [Sec. 110.12(A) and (C)].

Exposed cables must be supported by the structural components of the building so that the cable will not be damaged by normal building use. Electrical equipment must be firmly secured to the surface on which it is mounted [Sec. 110.13].

Conductor terminal and splicing devices must be identified for the conductor material, and they must be properly installed and used per the manufacturers instructions [Sec. 110.3(B)].

Single direct burial types UF or USE conductors can be spliced underground with a device that is listed for direct burial [Sec. 300.5(E) and Sec. 300.15(G)]. Multiconductor UF or USE cables can have the individual conductors spliced underground with a listed splice kit that encapsulates the conductors and cable jacket.

Electrical connection failures cause insulation failure, short circuits, ground faults, and fires. Improper terminations, poor workmanship, violating the manufacturers instructions, and improper torqueing can each cause poor electrical connections.

For equipment rated 100A or less, size conductors 1 AWG and smaller per the ampacities in the 60C temperature column of Table 310.16 [Sec. 110.14(C)(1)(a)(1)]. Conductors rated for at least 75C temperature and that terminate on terminals rated 75C can be sized per the ampacities in the 75C temperature column of Table 310.16 [Sec. 110.14(C)(1)(a)(3)].

For equipment rated greater than 100A, size the conductor per the ampacities in the 75C temperature column of Table 310.16 [Sec. 110.14(C)(1)(b)(1)] (Fig. 2). Splicing and terminating devices with terminals rated 90C and not connected to electrical equipment can have their conductors sized per the ampacities in the 90C temperature column of Table 310.16 [Sec. 110.14(C)(2)].

Fig. 2. For equipment rated over 100A, size the conductor per the ampacities in the 75C temperature column of Table 310.16.

Markings

Youll find many requirements for markings throughout Art. 110. For example, where caution, warning, or danger labels are required, the labels must meet three requirements [Sec. 110.21(B)]:

1. The markings must warn of the hazards using effective words, colors, symbols, or a combination of words, colors, and symbols.

2. The label cannot be handwritten, and it must be permanently affixed to the equipment.

3. The marking must be of sufficient durability to withstand the environment involved.

Some other marking requirements include:

Spaces about electrical equipment consist of working space for worker protection [Sec. 110.26(A)] and dedicated space to provide access to, and protection of, equipment [Sec. 110.26(E)]. The working space must always be clear; therefore, this space cannot be used for storage [Sec. 110.26(B)]. Working space is not required at the back or sides of equipment where all connections and all renewable, adjustable, or serviceable parts are accessible from the front of the equipment.

While OSHA and NEC tables provide values for various voltages and conditions, these are minimum values. The actual values needed for adequate working space and worker protection in each installation may be greater. NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace, provides guidance in determining the severity of potential exposure, planning safe work practices including establishing an electrically safe work condition arc flash labeling, and selecting personal protective equipment (PPE).

The point of determining the correct working space for a given installation isnt to see how little of it you can get by with. The point is to determine how much is needed to efficiently and safely service the equipment. The efficiency aspect isnt required by OSHA or the NEC, but it can dramatically affect operational profitability. This same logic applies to Part III of Art. 110, which provides working space requirements for installations over 1,000V.

You must allow for sufficient depth, width, and height:

Exception No. 1: The minimum height of working space does not apply to a service disconnect or panelboards rated 200A or less located in an existing dwelling unit.

Fig. 3. The height of the working space must be clear and extend from the grade, floor, or platform to a height of 6 ft or the height of the equipment.

Exception No. 2: Meters are permitted in the working space.

If equipment thats above a suspended ceiling or in a crawl space is likely to require servicing while energized, all of these conditions apply [Sec. 110.26(A)(4)]:

(1) Equipment above a suspended ceiling must have an access opening at least 22 in. 22 in. Equipment in a crawl space must have an accessible opening at least 22 in. 30 in.

(2) The working space width must be at least 30 in., but never less than the width of the equipment.

(3) The working space must permit equipment doors to open 90.

(4) The working space in front of the equipment must comply with the depth requirements of Table 110.26(A)(1); horizontal ceiling structural members are permitted in this space.

When live parts are exposed for inspection or servicing, the working space, if in a passageway or open space, must be suitably guarded. Furthermore, at least one entrance must provide access to and egress from the working space. [Sec. 110.26(C)].

Thinking that you can just look up something from here if a question arises is a mistake. To avoid errors, allot time on a regular basis to study, understand, and be familiar with the requirements.

Working space issues are especially an area of confusion. Remember, nothing prevents you from exceeding working space minimums if conditions merit doing so. You just cant go the other direction.

Holt is the owner of Mike Holt Enterprises, Inc. in Leesburg, Fla. He can be reached at http://www.mikeholt.com.

Read the rest here:
General Requirements of the NEC - EC&M

The US will need9.6 millionnew electric vehicle charging ports by 2030. Where will all those chargers be located? According torecent research, almost 80% of those will be in single and multi-family residential buildings. Thats a big change. Homes in the US are typically built with wiring for only a few 240W outlets in the garage, just enough to handle a washer and dryer. But theInternational Code Council(ICC) has foreseen the need for this radical increase in EV chargers, and it approved changes to building standards in a2020 provisionthat will allow all new homes built in the US to be EV-ready.

By Carolyn FortunaCleantechnica

In 2019, there were more than 68,800 Level 2 and DC fast charging units throughout the United States. Of that total, 16%, or approximately 10,860 units, were DC fast chargers that make long-distance travel more practical for electric vehicles (EV), according to theOffice of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

TheSouthwest Energy Efficiency Projectarguesthat EV-ready building codes are one of the most effective and low-cost strategies for states and local governments to encourage consumers to buy or lease electric vehicles. At their most basic, they say, the codes establish EV infrastructure requirements for new construction projects, including the electrical capacity and pre-wiring to make possible the future installation of EV charging stations. States and municipalities around the country have developed their own EV-ready building codes to accommodate local EV market trends and to meet community-specific climate goals.

The new ICC guidelines call for installing panels, outlets, and conduits capable of charging at least one full-size EV in a single-family garage overnight. Multi-family buildings will need two spots, along with more that can be easily retrofitted, a standard known as EV capable. Homeowners will still need to install their own EV charging equipment.

Heres the actualICC languageof the new EV-ready standard:

R404.2 (IRC N1104.2) Electric Vehicle (EV) charging for new construction. New construction shall facilitate future installation and use of Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) in accordance with the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70).

R404.2.1 (IRC N1104.2.1) One- to two-family dwellings and townhouses. For each dwelling unit, provide at least one EV Ready Space. The branch circuit shall be identified as EV Ready in the service panel or subpanel directory, and the termination location shall be marked as EV Ready. Exception: EV Ready Spaces are not required where no parking spaces are provided.

tR404.2.2 (IRC N1104.2.2) Multifamily dwellings (three or more units). EV Ready Spaces and EV Capable Spaces shall be provided in accordance with Table R404.2.2. Where the calculation of percent served results in a fractional parking space, it shall round up to the next whole number. The service panel or subpanel circuit directory shall identify the spaces reserved to support EV charging as EV Capable or EV Ready. The raceway location shall be permanently and visibly marked as EV Capable.

The definitions for the ICC EV-ready construction are as follows:

ELECTRIC VEHICLE SUPPLY EQUIPMENT (EVSE). The conductors, including the ungrounded, grounded, and equipment grounding conductors, and the Electric Vehicle connectors, attachment plugs, and all other fittings, devices, power outlets, or apparatus installed specifically for the purpose of transferring energy between the premises wiring and the Electric Vehicle.

EV CAPABLE SPACE. Electrical panel capacity and space to support a minimum 40-ampere, 208/240-volt branch circuit for each EV parking space, and the installation of raceways, both underground and surface mounted, to support the EVSE.

EV READY SPACE. A designated parking space which is provided with one 40-ampere, 208/240-volt dedicated branch circuit for EVSE servicing Electric Vehicles. The circuit shall terminate in a suitable termination point such as a receptacle, junction box, or an EVSE, and be located in close proximity to the proposed location of the EV parking spaces.

A2016 studydetermined that installing PEV charging infrastructure during initial construction is very cost effective. The cost for installing complete or nearly complete 240-volt 40-amp electric circuits as a retrofit is several times more expensive than installing this infrastructure during new construction. The study authors concluded that installing infrastructure during new construction can avoid retrofit costs including breaking and repairing walls, longer raceways (also referred to as conduit) using more expensive methods and upgrading electric service panels. In addition, the soft costs such as permitting and inspections and project management are much lower for new construction.

The ICC is the building standards organization which sets voluntary guidelines for new homes. The ICC, a non-profit trade association, develops model codes and standards used worldwide to construct safe, sustainable, affordable and resilient structures. It has 64,00 members with 377 chapters worldwide.

Follow CleanTechnicaon Google News.

(Originally appeared at our sister-site, Cleantechnica.)

Read the original here:
All new-built homes in the US will be EV ready - Red, Green, and Blue

Should service members be issued a "War on Drugs" medal recognizing the role the U.S. military has played in combating global drug trafficking over past five decades? One petitioner believes they should.

The petition calls for the president of the United States, in this case, Donald Trump, to issue an executive order that establishes the "War on Drugs Service Medal" as a "total force" military award that recognizes all service members from 1971 to the present. The White House petition was created by Thomas Marriott, who dedicated the effort to his father, Lt. Col. John Thomas Marriott II, according to the campaign's website.

When asked how such an award would, or could be created, the Pentagon directed Task & Purpose to Volumes 1-4 of Department of Defense Manual 1348.33, writing that those hundred-plus pages have "the language."

However, the public affairs office did note that "most are established by Law and/or Executive Order," and that this specific petition "has not been discussed at the Pentagon."

So, that's something.

Marriott's petition, and the accompanying website, appear earnest, and the military has certainly played a significant role in taking on drug traffickers across the globe, from providing training and support to allied militaries, to drug interdiction operations like that time a Coastie showed off his brass balls by leaping atop a speeding narco-submarine in the middle of the ocean.

However, as much as we here at Task & Purpose love the idea of getting a new piece of chest candy, we're also growing a little tired of endless wars.

In light of that, we came up with a list of 11 other awards we'd like the Pentagon to consider making official, beginning with...

Operation Enduring Clusterfuck Campaign Medal: For all those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan in the early days who are now realizing that this shit is never going to actually end.

Belligerence In Uniform Award: Awarded to E-4s and below who spent four years or more getting chewed out for having 3+ inches of hair on their heads.

Valorous Hands-In-Pockets Medal: Given to those who in the face of overwhelming odds refused to remove their hands from their pockets while getting knife-handed by a squad-sized element of staff non-commissioned officers.

Twentynine Palms/Fort Irwin Service Ribbon: In recognition of the selfless sacrifice made by those poor souls who endured a non-deployable duty assignment to Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, or Fort Irwin National Training Center, in California.

Intergalactic Defense Ribbon: Awarded to the first enlistees of the Space Force.

Knife Hand Action Badge: Awarded to non-commissioned officers who perfected the knife-hand when counseling junior soldiers.

Meritorious Barracks Legal Ribbon: Awarded to junior soldiers who display prominent legal knowledge without having any type of law degree.

Terminal Lance Corporal Achievement Award: Awarded to enlisted Marines upon second promotion to Lance Corporal following a loss of rank due to non-judicial punishment. Gold Oak Leaf clusters denote additional awards.

The Content Wars Award: Awarded to any and all former U.S. service members who record at least 10 video rants in the driver's seat of their truck within the first month of separation. Recipients are eligible for 'V' devices if the truck is moving.

National Military Base Housing Ribbon: Awarded to service members (and their families) who endured and survived asbestos, mold and faulty wiring while living on any military installation.

E-4 Mafia Unit Citation: Awarded to members of an Army battalion where 90% of specialists are absent from mandatory morning PT, working parties, and are a constant presence in the smoke pit.

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There's a petition calling for a 'War on Drugs' medal. Here are 11 other awards also worth considering - Task & Purpose

Want to know how much energy your home is using? You can take the power companys word for it, or you can measure your usage yourself. With a device like the Emporia Vue you can do this fairly simply and without having to complete any major rewiring.

Like the Sense Energy Monitor we reviewed in early 2019, the Emporia Vue uses a pair of electromagnetic current sensors that clip on top of the two electrical mains that enter your circuit breaker. The sensors can detect the total amount of wattage your home is pulling down from the grid, and this information is fed once per second to an attached monitor.

The monitor, via Wi-Fi, relays that information to Emporias servers in the cloud, and from there to an app on your smart phone. This enables you to observe your homes energy consumption in real time and historically.

What Sense offers that Emporia does not is a way, via machine learning, to identify the footprint of different devices based on the way the devices in your home use power. Over time, Sense can identify your refrigerator, oven, furnace, and more. Add the Vue Expansion Module, and you can add up to eight additional clips that connect to individual circuits in your house and monitor them directly, without any guesswork.

Emporias system, however, costs much less than Senses: The Emporia Vue base unit is just $50, plus another $60 if you choose to add the eight circuit-specific sensors (you can buy the two bundled for $100). A 200-amp, three-phase current sensor for light commercial implementations is also available for $15. Thats a significant savings any way you look at it; but, of course, you will face some caveats along the way.

Cramming all of the Emporia Vues components into your electrical panels box can be challenging.

First, installation isnt entirely a matter of just clipping sensors onto wiring. The Vue itself must be powered in order to work. That means shutting down your entire electrical system (the controls for which I discovered were in a completely different location outside my home) and connecting wires to an unused circuit breaker and to the neutral bus bar. If you dont have an unused breaker, a wire-tap pigtail is included in the box that lets you borrow a little power from a breaker thats otherwise in use.

Connecting all of this isnt too much trouble, even if (like me) youve never done any work inside your electrical panel. Emporias instructions are easy to follow, and the only hiccup I encountered involved the antenna for the Vues Wi-Fi connection. Because electrical panels are metal and (of course) full of electrical gear, Wi-Fi signals dont penetrate far beyond the box. The antenna must be run outside the box by snaking the cable through a knockout and mounting it on the outside of the panel.

This spike in the kitchen circuits consumption of electricity can be attributed to the coffee maker.

My problem: My circuit breaker is recessed into the wall, which meant having to run the wire not just through a knockout but through the drywall, as well. For the purposes of my testing, I opted not to drill holes in the wall and instead just used the Vue with the cover of the breaker box removed during my testing.

The other hardware issue with the Vue is that all these sensors and wires really add up quickly, and they consume a huge amount of space inside the breaker box. Just fitting the base Vue unit, along with two sensors, power adapter, and related wireless gear, inside the box can be difficult. My breaker box, with some 40 circuits connected and virtually nothing unused, is incredibly full of wiring, and finding a place to stash the Vue wasnt easy. This was compounded when I added the expansion module and its additional sensors, which arent the smallest. I managed to find room for four of the eight inside the box before my panel started to look like a plate of spaghettiand it became to reattach the panel cover. (Emporia sells alternate styles of clips, but we didnt receive these for review.)

Once you have the Vue equipment and its mobile app installed, the system starts collecting data immediately. The primary Vue system works exactly as advertised, and I was able to watch my power consumption climb from 500 watts at night to nearly 2,000 watts in prime time. You can break down usage by anywhere from the second to the year, but the most useful views are the daily and hourly consumption views, which give you a more comprehensive and actionable understanding of your power draw.

Emporias expansion module lets you monitor the energy consumption on specific circuits.

If youve set up individual circuits to be monitored, the Vue system lets you drill down into each of them via the same interface. While its nice to monitor, say, the usage of the coffee maker or the entertainment center, I wasnt really drawn to checking these things more than once or twice, because their patterns didnt really change.

If there was a way to stack all this information together and view it one screenso I could more easily see how much the air conditioner drew as a portion of the total power consumption, for examplethis might have been more useful. Also worth noting: the sensor for my dishwashers circuit never recorded any data, for reasons I was never able to determine.

The Vue has no connections to other smart home systems or IFTTT, the latter of which could be useful to, say, alert you if power consumption climbs higher than expected or spikes when it shouldnt. Then again, Vue could infuse features like this directly into its app over time, which would only enhance its overall utility.

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Emporia Vue energy monitor review: Understand your home's energy consumption without breaking the bank - TechHive

The Spanish company ARPA launched a new business line, ARPA CHANGE, proposing the efficient and sustainable solutions that will change the industry. Doing this, ARPA pretends to help the private sector as well as the defence sector, in the transition to sustainability, showing that the change is possible. ARPA, the Spanish company with more than 50 years of experience in the design, manufacture and deployment of field logistic solutions, has a mission which is to lead the change to a world increasingly sustainable. To do so, ARPA has developed solutions based on solar energy, water treatment and waste management, which facilitate the accomplishment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to meet the 2030 Agenda.

We want to give a fair and adequate answer to the challenges of globalisation, designing, manufacturing and implementing turn-key sustainable solutions so all kind of installations, industries, hospitals, farms, hotels, sports centres, schools, residencies, barracks and business in general can adopt these technologies, leading the transition towards sustainability. Says Clara Arpa, CEO of the company.

An example of an innovative solution is the production of energy by hybrid panels installations for power generation and hot water (with the most efficient panels in the market). The installation incorporates photovoltaic panels, which incorporate 60 or 72 photovoltaic cells, depending on the size of the panel, which are placed on a system for absorbing heat forming a single module. In addition to the common wiring for any panel, this system has a zone which is outputted to the heat will be used to heat water.

A hydraulic circuit and a small tank thermally insulated complete the design that can provide this dual-use, without compromising the ability to produce electricity, since the photovoltaic cells of this panel 21 operate with improved performance, achieving improvements to 15% of the performance of photovoltaic panels. Besides the obvious advantage of having the space required to give the captured energy from the sun for both uses, production costs are reduced and installation, making it the most efficient hybrid solar panel in the market today, says Fernando Peitivi, Director of the renewable energy installations.

With this solution, coupled with that also innovative water sanitation systems and waste management developed by the company, ARPA CHANGE aims to contribute to the implementation of Agenda 2030 through the goal number 8, decent economic growth and work. Contributing in improving their production processes so that companies reduce their emissions (if possible, to 0), better management of the water, reduce the generation of waste and having a positive impact on the environment.

our goal is to encourage other companies to do so through a sustainability analysis, make a diagnosis of the sustainability and customise a solution for each installation, explains Clara Arpa. These installations can be made in many infrastructures, whether civil or military. An example would be the installation of such panels in barracks. Usually, in these cases the return on the investment is between 4 and 6 years and can obtain energy savings between 60 and 70%, leaving 530Kg issuing CO2 per panel.

ARPA also features a hybrid monitor that collects and processes all the information from the solar installation (thermal, photovoltaic or hybrid), which can be accessed by the user in real-time as well as a history of thermal energy and/or electricity produced by the facility during the day, during the month or event from the first day you can find data such as cost savings, the amount of CO2 emissions that are no longer issued and the amount of energy produced by the installation site. With this strategic decision, ARPA confirms its indolent with sustainability and positions the private sector as a key element of change.

By launching ARPA CHANGE, extrapolates its extensive experience in the activity of the company, which so far focused on the design, manufacture, installation, maintenance and management of mobile field equipment for military, civilian, health and all kind of emergencies all around the world. We want to show that sustainability can and should go in parallel with profitability and efficiency. We intend to contribute to a fairer world and this is our bit, concludes Clara Arpa.

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ARPA is Leading the Transition Towards Sustainability - Army Technology