TEGG SERVICES
TEGG Tests Cooperage
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Barrel Making at Foster's Wine Estates Americas
Cooperage in Cloverdale
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Knights’ Electric, Inc.’s TEGG Services was recently contracted by Foster’s Wine Estates Americas Cooperage in Cloverdale to test and evaluate their electrical system. Knights’ Electric’s commercial department had previously completed work there a few years ago when they replaced the entire electrical system during a remodeling of the facility and installed the power and control wiring for the dust controller that captures air born wood dust from the production area.
Foster’s Wine Estates Americas has a uniform safety program for all of their facilities, HSE (Health, Safety & Environmental) that covers everything from job safety to the type of light bulbs that are used in work areas, how waste materials are disposed of and more. ‘It’s the most comprehensive safety program I’ve ever seen’, says Lee Vandervort, Maintenance Technician at the facility.
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Infrared testing for electrical systems and panels is required by the HSE safety program and that’s were Knights’ Electric’s TEGG Services is able to meet the standards for their certified safety program. “Their (TEGG’s) infrared camera is really sensitive”, says Vandervort, “it can detect temperatures within one tenth of a degree.” |
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Production Area at the cooperage
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After Knights’ Electric’s TEGG Services inspected the electrical system a few repairs were made to circuit breakers and the “dust bunnies” that collect over time were cleaned out of the panels. Dust is a factor in a cooperage where shaping wood in the barrel making process produces air born particles.
Speaking about Knights’ Electric’s TEGG Services Vandervort had this to say, "They were very professional and they have a great system. We’re just not able to see all of the problems that they can detect.”
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COMMERCIAL
More Solar Power for Water Agency
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Solar array fields at Sonoma County Water Treatment Plant
on 8th Street East in Sonoma
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The Sonoma County Water Agency is building a new solar energy field that will power their water treatment facility in the city of Sonoma. The solar field, which consists of six array fields of pole-mounted panels that follow the sun, is located on 8th Street East, an industrial corridor east of downtown Sonoma.
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Solar panel strings installed by Knights' Electric
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The project consists of 5,208 separate solar photovoltaic panels that basically turn sunlight into electricity. The system is capable of generating over 1000 kilowatts of power. Knights’ Electric, Inc. is once again working with the PowerLight Corporation, a Berkeley based company that designs and installs solar power projects. "Working with PowerLight Corporation, as solar technology transitions from the aerospace to the mainstream commercial market, is an exciting learning experience", says Richard Freitas, Knights’ Electric’s Commercial Project Manager. |
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Knights' Electric's Benjamin Lanvin feeds
wire through conduit under wetlands swale
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Knights' Electric installing heavy gauge
wire under the solar array fields
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Knights’ Electric worked with PowerLight on another solar project at the Sonoma County Water Agency administration building in Santa Rosa. That solar project, which powers the administration building, produces enough electricity in one day to power 500 homes. The Sonoma project has almost twice as many solar panels.
The project site features a wetland swale which is situated in the middle of the solar field. In order to connect three of the array fields a lateral boring, or drilling maneuver, was necessary to create a twenty foot deep tunnel under the wetland for the conduit and wiring to be completed without disturbing the wetland area. Knights’ Electric pulled the large gauge wiring through the conduit tunnel to complete the connections over 600 feet away.
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Equipment pad installed by
Knights' Electric
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Knights' Electric's Nathan Costa
works on the equipment pad
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Knights’ Electric completed the wiring of the solar field with “strings” connected to the combiner boxes that send low voltage DC power to the equipment pad, which was also installed by Knights’ Electric.
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On the equipment pad the power travels through four inverters and four isolation transformers to clean up the power, turning it into AC power for the switchgear which sends power through the final 1000 kVA transformer at the end of the pad. From there the 12.5 kV of electrical power, all of which has been created by the solar field, is sent to a nearby PG&E transformer to be metered and dispersed into the grid. |
Knights' Electric's Nathan Costa
checks the switchgear
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1000 kVa transformer
installed by Knights' Electric
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RESIDENTIAL
House of Stairs
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One-of-a-kind custom home built by Total Concepts
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Knights’ Electric, Inc.’s residential department is completing the final items on their punch list for a custom home built by Total Concepts. This unique one-of-a-kind of kind 5500 square foot home is a multi-level structure with stairways connecting several living areas.
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The main floor, with the great room and kitchen, is the central location from which you go up stairs to the master bedroom and guest rooms or down stairs to the laundry room, which opens to the carport. There is an art studio above the carport, which can be accessed from a kitchen stairway. There is also a stairway to the den, which has an end wall wine cellar. |
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Walkway from laundry room
to carport with wall sconce lighting
installed by Knights' Electric
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“The electrical wiring was a little tricky because of the different levels”, says Scott Cameron, Knights’ Electric’s Residential Project Manager, “there was a lot of structural concrete and iron used in the construction of the home. We did a pre-wiring walk through with the architect, which was very helpful. Total Concepts is very detail oriented which helps us with our work.” |
Art studio with T-5 fluorescent lamps
installed by Knights' Electric
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The home has over 120 recessed lighting fixtures and many surface mounted wall sconces, which were installed by Knights’ Electric. Knights’ Electric also installed a 400-amp distribution panel in the mechanical room and two other sub panels for the home, which also has a solar power system. |
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Wine cellar backlit with fluorescent strip
with overhead recessed lighting
installed by Knights' Electric
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Knights’ Electric used a small Lutron RadioRa lighting system for the path of travel through the house as well as exterior and landscape lighting. Keypads are strategically placed throughout the house to allow maximum control of the lighting. The lighting system can also be activated from the homeowner’s vehicle as it approaches the home with a visor remote. |
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