Electrical power

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_rod Here are some pictures what lightning can do to a tree – example why you need lightning protection on buildings. →

I have earlier posted DC to AC inverter teardown that showed wat was inside one cheap “modified sinewave” inverter. Now I do a tear-down to a more expensive “true sineware” inverter PI150S from Velleman. This inverter convers 12V DC to nice sinewave 230V 50Hz AC power  (up to 150W). View to front and back. This unit →

http://www.edn.com/design/power-management/4458391/How-smart-is-it-to-deploy-smart-meters-on-the-smart-grid-?utm_content=buffer93829&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer Conventional grids are ‘dumb’ and ‘blind’ since they do not monitor themselves using various modern sensor technology like those deployed in a typical smart grid architecture. In a smart grid architecture, numerous sensors are deployed throughout the grid infrastructure that can monitor, test, and communicate. This may even lead to self-repair and healing/removing and →

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/04/nissan-launches-british-made-home-battery-to-rival-teslas-powerwall Batteries that have powered electric cars around the UK will get a second life providing energy storage for households, with the launch this week of a British-made home battery to rival the one made by Elon Musk’s Tesla. I mentioned Tesla battery a year ago in this blog at  http://www.epanorama.net/newepa/2015/05/02/watch-elon-musk-announce-tesla-energy-in-the-best-tech-keynote-ive-ever-seen-the-verge/ →

http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/transportation/advanced-cars/zincbased-batteries-can-provide-more-energy-safety-than-liion Rechargeable zinc-based batteries could not only store as much energy as lithium-ion batteries but also be safer, cheaper, smaller and lighter, new research finds. The results suggest zinc batteries could find use in mild hybrids (microhybrids), electric vehicles, electric bicycles, and eventually perhaps smartphones and power grid storage. The researchers are now aggressively testing these batteries and exploring scaling →

http://interestingengineering.com/really-take-run-world-off-renewable-energy/ With electric power establishing itself even further into our modern society, generating it is becoming an even more complex issue. As we seek to find a sustainable power source, we are naturally drawn to the thought of renewable energy. However, the question remains, what would it really take to run the world completely off of →

Low voltage DC systems need suitable connectors. Different proprietary connectors are available, but usually with them problem is their price and availability. Traditional lighter plug as used in cars is awful in many ways. Some applications use XLR connectors successfully, with the downside that you can accidentally plug mic to such outlet.  One thing I have sometimes seen in Finnish electrical installations →

http://www.edn.com/design/power-management/4458294/Using-a-supercapacitor-for-power-management-and-energy-storage-with-a-small-solar-cell–Part-1 The environment has abundant energy but little power. Energy harvesting can tap the environment’s “infinite” source of energy, and avoids the cost of wiring to mains power or replacing of batteries. This article will look at using small solar cells.  Depending on the light level, whether indoors or out, small solar cells may deliver →

This is 150W 12V DC to 230V 50 Hz AC conveter designed to be used in car. It failed few days ago when powering a laptop.  Let’s take a look what is inside. Closer look. Here is DC power input filtering.. looks as quite ugly late add-on to design.. More circuit board details. On the →

http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/electronic-product-reviews/other/4458242/Power-Integrations-highlights-importance-of-power-factor-correction–at-APEC-2017?utm_content=bufferce187&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer Power factor correction is the process of improving a low power factor in a facility by increasing the ratio of real (working) power to apparent (total) power. Power-factor correction allows the input current to continuously flow, reduces the peak input current, and reduces the energy loss in the power supply, thus improving its operation →