INDUSTRIAL/WINERIES
Control Shop One of Knights' Electric specialties is motor controls and control system integration. The
demand for this expertise has gradually risen to new heights in winery facilities throughout all wine regions in the world. In Napa and Sonoma Counties Knights' Electric has worked with many of the premium wineries
installing motor control systems and creating design/build crush and fermentation areas. A key to Knights' Electric's success in motor control systems is their Control Shop located at their facility in Windsor.
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Chris Barnett (l), Scott Webb and Roberto Mendoza (r) in the Control Shop
at Knights' Electric's facility in Windsor
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The Control Shop designs and manufactures
control panels used in control system integration and power stanchions used for industrial power outlets. Currently, Knights' Electric is building
control panels for Gallo of Sonoma's new Redwood Row Project.At Beringer Blass Wine Estates
in Asti Knights' Electric is installing 50 pump-over control panels for the expanded tank farm. Each control panel will automatically
control the time and duration of the pump-over for each tank with an internal timer and automatic start and shut off controller for the pump. Knights' Electric is also manufacturing power or pump
stanchions, as they are known in the wine industry, for Beringer Blass Wine Estates.At Pokka Beverages in American Canyon Knights' Electric is installing their control
panels for the wastewater treatment system and performing electrical fieldwork for pumps and flow monitors. Knights' Electric is also installing control panels for Pokka's new cooling tower.
Scott Webb, who has been with Knights' Electric for 6 years, supervises the Control Shop at Knights' Electric. Along with Roberto Mendoza and Chris Barnett,
they form the core of expertise and workmanship that produce a wide variety of motor control panels and power stanchions.
COMMERCIAL/RESIDENTIAL
Oliver Ranch – Lighting is Part of the Art
The Oliver Ranch is one of our country's premium private reserves for site-specific
art. There are more than 17 outdoor installations, among which are the works of Terry Allen, Miroslaw Balka, Roger Berry, Ellen Driscoll, Bill Fontana, Kristin
Jones, Andrew Ginzel, Andy Goldsworthy, Jim Jennings, Dennis Leon, Jim Melchert, Bruce Nauman, Martin Puryear, David Rabinowitch, Fred Sandback,
Richard Serra, Judith Shea, Robert Stackhouse, and Ursula Von Rydingsvard.Steven and Nancy Oliver have been art patrons and collectors for decades. Mr.
Oliver sees the ranch as a role model for philanthropy, and funding the arts has been a life-long passion. The Oliver Ranch project started in 1985 when Mr. Oliver
commissioned a site-specific work by the New York sculptor Judith Shea. Ever since, the Olivers have continued commissioning contemporary artists whose work
they liked. Currently, Steven Oliver serves as a Past Chair of the Board of Trustees of the California College of Arts and Crafts. Among other posts he served as a
President of the Board of Trustees of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and on the National Endowment for the Arts.
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Visiting Artists House
at The Oliver Ranch in Geyserville
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Knights' Electric has been involved with the project since its inception. Early on Knights' Electric wired the main residence
and since then they have supplied electrical circuits and lighting for many of the outdoor installations. The most recent work has been on the Visiting Artists House; a project conceived by
internationally prominent sculpture David Rabinowitch and San Francisco architect Jim Jennings. Rabinowitch's piece is a "sculptural habitation" -- a 274-foot-long structure featuring a
set of extraordinary carved concrete walls and two living areas. The plan for the habitation, conceived by Jennings, won a Progressive Architecture award in 1990.
Oliver & Company, headed by Steven Oliver, was the general contractor and Dan White of Knights' Electric worked with Dodt, a San Francisco lighting and electrical systems consulting firm, to install and create the
lighting effects involved in the
project. 1,300 feet of fiber optic strands were used to light Rabinowitch's sculpted walls. An illuminator housed in the building sends light through the optic strands
embedded in the wall behind frosted glass, creating a consistently muted lighting effect throughout the sculpted design. The artist's living areas, which are channeled
into the hillside north and south of the sculpted walls have automated window shades that can open as you enter the room. Over 65 tree lights, path lights and a
Vantage lighting control panel are other features Knights' Electric also installed for the project.
RESIDENTIAL
Trilogy – Part 2, The Rough Electrical
In Trilogy – Part 1, The Foundation, we described the foundation work and the plans for a custom home in Shiloh Estates built by Jim Murphy & Associates. Now
we look at the important phase of the rough electrical, which has just been completed.
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Vaulted ceiling with recessed lighting boxes.
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Electrical wiring to main panel.
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In the exacting precision of custom home building the close-in inspection tests the
layout plan and execution of the electrical configuration that has been "roughed in". With automated lighting, automated shades and blinds, appliance placement,
home entertainment and computer cabling hanging in the mix, the electrical layout needs to accommodate the plan and be flexible for the future – just in case there are changes.
"Sometimes all of the details might not be in the plans," says Matt Sweeney, Residential Project Manager for Knights' Electric, "The owner and architect might
make changes that need to be addressed." It all has to be finalized and correct for the close-in inspection, after which the home is sheet rocked. "We always
complete a walk through with the owner or architect after we box the house out from the plans," explains Sweeney, "We look at things like interior elevations,
cabinet dimensions and heights of outlets – things that look right on the plan but sometimes need to be viewed just to make sure everything is homeowner friendly."
At this custom home in Shiloh Estates all of the recessed lighting boxes, pendants, soffits for cove lighting and outlets are set and a list of appliances and
electrical equipment have been checked for electrical hook ups. Knights' Electric is also working with the HVAC contractor to provide electrical power to the boiler and
pumps for the Hydronic heating and cooling system. Outside the plumbers are completing the installation of a circulating pump for an artificial creek. Knights'
Electric will supply power to the creek pump and the pump for the fountain. The wiring for the Lutron HomeWorks lighting control system and closed circuit
security cameras has also been completed. "The rough electrical needs to be exact on this home," says Sweeney, "Typically to make changes later we can wire
in under the floor or above the ceiling. This home is built on a slab and has vaulted ceilings."
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