NEWSLETTER
November 2004
INSIDE TEGG SERVICES
TEGG At Rodney Strong VineyardsCOMMERCIAL
Vinwood CellarsRESIDENTIAL
Lutron Seminar –
Dim & Dimmer Subscribe to NewsletterNewsletter Archives
KNIGHTS' MESSAGE We hope you enjoy our monthly newsletter as much as we enjoy making it available to you. We look forward to sharing stories and ideas that promote our
customers, their businesses and how we all work together to come up with solutions to the challenges we face together. We also look forward to hearing from you with your comments, feedback or story
ideas to make our newsletter more valuable to you.Barbara Ragsdale
CFO & Editor
CREDITS
Contributors to Stories:Knights' Electric
Barbara Ragsdale
Art Knight
Rob Knight
Michael Ragsdale
Lizzy Ragsdale
Matt SweeneyRodney Strong Vineyards
Jim Magness,
Facility Mgr. Vinwood Cellars
Ed Robbins,
Maintenance Mgr. Writer:
Mark Dommer
Dommer & Associates Editor:
Barbara Ragsdale
Knights' Electric
Knights' Electric, Inc.
11410 Old Redwood Hwy.
Windsor, CA 95492
TEL (707) 433-6931
FAX (707) 431-2342
Lic. #432135
info@knightselectric.com
www.knightselectric.comCopyright 2004
Knights' Electric, Inc.
Independently Rated Highest in Quality |
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TEGG SERVICES
TEGG
At Rodney Strong Vineyards
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Knights' Electric's TEGG Service has engaged in work at Rodney Strong Vineyards in Windsor
(click photo to enlarge)
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"They checked three distribution stations. One panel for the lower wine cellar and tasting room, another panel
for the upper cellar, crush pad and barrel room, and the last panel for administration area and production had a suspect breaker," said Jim Magness, Facility Manager at Rodney Strong
Vineyards. "They're going to do the follow up and the recommended work, I also have another panel that I want them to check." |
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3-Phase, 480 volt distribution panel
(click photo to enlarge)
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Infrared photo of the breaker indicates a higher than acceptable heat range on B phase
(click photo to enlarge)
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"The main thing we're doing with our TEGG Service is preventative work," says Michael Ragsdale, General Manager for Knights' Electric's TEGG Services, "If we can make the repairs before electrical failures occur it's going to make the
facility safer and prevent costly down-time later on." |
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 Magness sees the benefits of TEGG Services for facilities like Rodney Strong Vineyards, "It's important to check the electrical systems in
older facilities like ours that have evolved over time. Things have been added to the electrical system as we've grown in size. Of course, a
new facility could have a problem if there was a bad breaker somewhere."Knights' Electric's commercial department has engaged in work with Rodney Strong Vineyards
for many years, including the construction of their
crush facility.
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COMMERCIAL
Vinwood Cellars
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The three new electrical motors that work in combination to power
the winery's cooling system compressor.
(click photo to enlarge)
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Vinwood Cellars has four 30-ton presses
and two 15-ton presses in their wine
production crush pit area.
(click photo to enlarge) |
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The existing refrigeration system that was removed consisted of three natural gas driven, 454 Chevy truck
engines that powered the refrigeration compressors. They were replaced with three electrically powered motors, one 150-horse power, one 250-horse power, and one 400-horse power. The
computerized control system will sequence the compressor motors running one, two or all three at the same time, depending on how much cooling is needed.
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"This was a complicated job," says Art Knight, Vice President of Knights' Electric,
"We had to replace the old control system with a new Logix control system." You really have to have extensive knowledge of motor controls to do this kind of electrical work." Knights'
Electric's Mike Rose, Glenn Davis, and Greg Hannan preformed the work. |
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Knights' Electric installed Logix, a programmable logics controller,
for the compressor system.
(click photo to enlarge) |
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One of three motor control panels
for the new electrically powered
compressor motors.
(click photo to enlarge)
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A good portion of the work took place during the crush. "The winery brought in temporary chilling units while
the winery's cooling system was being worked on and a 1500kw back-up generator was connected to the temporary chillers during testing of the new system," says Knight. |
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Roberto Mendoza, of Knights' Electric's TEGG Service, preformed a power quality survey on the
main electric service to ensure the quality of the voltage and amperage. A drop in voltage was detected when starting the system during testing. PG&E installed a larger
transformer and additional conductors to the switchboard as a solution to the problem. |
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Knights' Electric had previously installed
the motor controls for the crush pit.
(click photo to enlarge) |
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Knights' Electric has also completed previous electrical projects at Vinwood Cellars, including temperature
controls for the wine tanks and motor controls for the crush pit. |
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RESIDENTIAL
Lutron Seminar – Dim & Dimmer
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RadioRa dimming systems operate with wireless radio frequency
with a keypad (on right) or hand held remote control.
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Last month, Matt Sweeney, Knights' Electric Residential Project Manager, attended a
two-day seminar, "Dim & Dimmer," presented by
Lutron Systems
at the Lutron Headquarters in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania. Lutron engineers shared technical information on how dimmers work and the advances that are being made for energy conservation, efficiency, and versatility.
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Lutron dimmer keypads have an infinite combination of scheduling commands.
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"A dimmer actually turns on and off at a rate of 120 times per second when it is turned up or
down," says Sweeney, "that's what gives the gradual lighting effect whether it's increased or decreased." Because of that dynamic a room can be lit with a dimmer that has a
timer device to create a slow and gradual lighting effect. This effect is also evident in commercial applications that slowly turn on lights to conserve energy. "The gradual lighting
of a standard 60-watt bulb with a dimming system makes the filament last longer and can double the life of the bulb," says Sweeney. |
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Title 24 lighting regulations, which are designed to conserve energy, state that residential lighting for new
construction is required to be fluorescent in kitchens and bathrooms. Lutron Spacer Systems, which operate with infrared dimming and remote
control, can increase energy efficiency with gradual and timed daily lighting schedules. Less sophisticated systems with a wall box switch and adjustable fade rate are also available
from Lutron.
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Lutron dimmer wall switches come in many designer colors. |
Lutron RadioRa
systems have come into prominence because of their versatility. Operating on a radio frequency, RadioRa is wireless
and can be added to a wired system to expand it, in the case of retrofitting or remodeling, or it can operate as a stand alone system.All of these topics were covered in
the seminar and the attendees were also given a tour of the Lutron facilities in the Lehigh Valley. Sweeney was especially impressed at the Allentown facility where products testing
takes place, "Every single product goes through end of the line testing, so you know when you get it and use it, it's going work."
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