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TEGG SERVICES
Sleepy Hollow Management, Part Two
Knights' Electric's TEGG Services is in the process of completing their work for Sleepy Hollow Management
at Fountaingrove Corporate Centre located at 3510 Unocal Place off Fountaingrove Parkway in Santa Rosa."We didn't find any major electrical problems in the building,"
says Ben English, Project Manager for Knights' Electric's TEGG Services
, "we are adding a new sub panel on the second floor to increase circuitry. We found some breakers that were overheating with
our infrared and ultrasound testing
. We replaced a few of the breakers and tightened the connections on the rest." |
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Knights' Electric's TEGG Services will be a adding a sub panel like
this at the Fountaingrove Corporate Centre.
(click photo to enlarge) |
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3-pole breaker in the switchgear has loose connection that was
tightened.
(click photo to enlarge) |
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"With the flow of electrons through the breakers it creates heat," says English, "then the metal components in
the breakers cool down when they are not in use. The heating and cooling process can loosen the connections in the breakers. The problem can become expediential because you're paying
for the power loss. We like to keep the breakers cool and tight because you use less kilowatt hours and it saves on the energy bill." |
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In this building, which has professional tenants like attorneys and accountants, the electrical usage is not as
high as a production facility, but the loss of power could be a critical problem. With high-end computers exchanging information overnight as well as during the day, down time is not
acceptable. |
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Sub panel with loose connection
was tightened.
(click photo to enlarge)
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Breaker with bad connection was replaced.
(click photo to enlarge)
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"Although the building remains as built out twenty years ago, our tenants have expanded on the amount of
equipment they rely on and our plug load is more intense," says Susan Lyon, Property Manager for Sleepy Hollow, which manages the building, "We signed a three-year contract with
TEGG, it helps us be more proactive.
We're very happy with TEGG." |
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COMMERCIAL
Sonoma County Water Agency
Solar Project
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Knights' Electric's TEGG Services will be a adding a sub panel like this
at the Fountaingrove Corporate Centre.
(click photo to enlarge) |
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The Sonoma County Water Agency Administration Building solar project
consists of multiple solar installations using silicon technology to convert sunlight directly to electricity. The 2,752 solar photovoltaic panels were installed on the Administration Building roof and ground-mounted shaded power canopy. The project can generate an estimated 650,737 kilowatt hours each year, saving the SCWA more than$117,000 in annual energy costs.
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Knights' Electric, Inc. was responsible for the wiring of the solar panels. PowerLight Corp.
of Berkeley designed and installed the project, which covered a total of 37,017 square feet. The project is one of largest municipal solar projects in Sonoma County, generating enough electrical power in one day to power 500 homes. The kiosk in the front lobby of the Administration Building has the real-time power output indicated on a meter that can be viewed by visitors.
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Portion of the SCWA parking roof which is also covered with solar
panels.
(click photo to enlarge)
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Richard Freitas, Project Manager for Knights' Electric, said "This project was interesting for many reasons, one being that unlike most power generation
projects, which have moving mechanical parts, this system doesn't have any moving parts because of the photovoltaic process for producing electricity."
Knights' Electric installed the wiring strings between the combiner boxes and the solar panels. 'When you consider the amount of electrical power moving through the connected system
and the fact that you can't turn the panels off after they have been connected – that's a lot of juice to deal with. As long as the sun is shining, the system is 'live", says Freitas.
Safety, as always, was a definite factor on this project for Knights' Electric and everyone else that was involved.
SCWA received a $1.6 million dollar rebate from the PG&E
Self-Generation Incentive Program which represents about half of the total project cost of $3.6 million. |
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RESIDENTIAL
New and Improved Title 24
Since September of 2005 all permits for residential work in California must comply with the current
Title 24 guidelines. These guidelines have been established to save energy by promoting alternative ways to light homes. The Title 24 guidelines are capsulated as follows:
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Fluorescent column contemporary
wood floor lamp.
(click photo to enlarge)
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Fluorescent contemporary wall sconce.
(click photo to enlarge)
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- Kitchen – 50% of lighting wattage must come from high efficiency fluorescent or LED fixtures.
- Bathrooms, Garages, Laundry and Utility Rooms – All lighting shall be high efficiency fluorescent, LED or motion sensor fixtures.
- All Other Rooms – All lighting shall be high efficiency, motion sensor or have dimmer switches.
- Outdoor Lighting – All lighting mounted or attached to building shall be controlled by photo eye and/or motion sensors.
- Decorative and/or landscape lighting which is not attached to building is unregulated by Title 24.
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Scott Cameron, Knights' Electric's Residential Project Manager, says "Title 24 adds a marginal increase to cost of residential construction with the
required fixtures and switches." In regards to fluorescent lighting he says, "A lot of people have a negative opinion about fluorescent lighting, but fluorescent lighting has come a
long way. With color correction technology and indirect fluorescent lighting it's closer to incandescent lighting. I think people should give fluorescent lighting a chance. They just
might like it." |
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Fluorescent ceiling light fixture.
(click photo to enlarge)
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Fluorescent caged wall sconce.
(click photo to enlarge) |
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LED lighting is another alternative in complying with Title 24. "It's in its infancy and has mostly
been used in landscape lighting, spot and step lighting, under cabinet and cove lighting," says Cameron, "LED is the coming thing in residential lighting." With an expanding market,
due to Title 24, these new lighting technologies will likely explode into the next big thing in residential lighting design. |
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