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The ongoing saga of the statutory registration of electrical contractors took another turn with the announcement by the Electrical Contracting Board (ECB) that its function of registering contractors had been extended until 31 August 2012 or to a later date determined by the chief inspector. This announcement contradicts the announcement by the Department of Labour (DoL) in March this year that it would assume responsibility directly for contractor registration as of 1 June 2012. It is the latest in a series of contradicting announcements by the DoL and the ECB regarding contractor registration, sowing considerable confusion in the industry… (more)
A glance through Vector this month tells us that skills shortages in this country are fast becoming a serious threat to industry and economy alike. Industry players are exasperated, calling, as does ECA(SA) president Mark Mfikoe, the inability to develop skills “the biggest scandal in this country”… (more)
Converting conventional fluorescent luminaires with magnetic ballasts and T8 tubes to luminaires with electronic ballasts and T5 tubes by means of so-called “conversion kits” is claimed to provide technical advantages, energy efficiency improvements, and much needed energy savings. In most cases, however, the reality is quite different, several problems… (more)
In her article, “Solar heater rules eclipse local firms” (Mail & Guardian, 11 November 2011), Lynley Donnelly reports that solar water heater (SWH) makers in the Western Cape are “shutting their doors after decades in business”… (more)
Vector is officially 35 years old this year! Founded in 1977 by Ray Beaumont and Tom Beattie (no relation to our Carrol Beattie) as a publication for the drives sector, the magazine has a long and eventful history of keeping firstly the electrical and process engineering industry and now, of course, the electrical contracting industry, abreast of news, views, events and technology… (more)
A senior associate and counterfeiting expert at law firm Adams & Adams recently stated to the media that global confiscation of counterfeit goods currently increases by 46% per year. This makes the manufacture of counterfeit product one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. In South Africa, the trade in counterfeits amounts to some R362-billion a year. This impacts on all aspects of the economy and the electrical contracting industry is no exception. What, then, can industry do to help weather this storm?… (more)
Some changes are taking place in the Vector editorial staff. After being editor for nearly ten years, Peter Adams is handing the baton over to Mark Botha who, in the meantime, has the title of acting editor. Mark, who has been features editor on Vector and Energize magazines over the past 12 months, has been navigating a “vertical learning curve”, coming to grips with the complexities and the “who’s who” of the electrical and electrical contracting industries… (more)
Heat resulting from power losses generated by equipment under load must be dissipated through the assembly enclosure cooling surface areas for non-ventilated arrangements to maintain temperature equilibrium at or below specified operating temperatures… (more)
by Mark Botha and Chris Yelland, EE Publishers
The debate around hydraulic fracturing in the Karoo is an issue of national and public interest. Shale gas extraction has the potential, some say, to change the face of the country’s power industry and improve the lives of millions of South Africans. Public opinion, however, is a powerful force well-known to have hampered the nuclear industry in the past… (more)
Silicon anode materials have a much higher capacity for lithium than carbon and, as a result, are capable of almost ten times the gravimetre capacity per gram (mAh/g). They deliver extended cycle life without degradation of capacity… (more)
Advocate Neville Melville says the Consumer Protection Act will change the face of business in the very near future. He says it essentially requires businesses to ensure that all their dealings with consumers are “fair, reasonable and honest”… (more) He says it essentially requires businesses to ensure that all their dealings with consumers are “fair, reasonable and honest”… (more)
Both the positively and negatively-charged ends of lithium-ion batteries can now be created by means of genetically engineered viruses that coat themselves with iron phosphate and attach to carbon nanotubes to create a network of highly conductive material… (more)
by Mike Rycroft, Mark Botha and Chris Yelland, EE Publishers
It is well known that the price of electricity in South Africa has been too low for years. The generation capacity crisis in 2008 prompted a review of Eskom’s build programme and associated funding plan. The original expectation was that there would be a short-duration adjustment to bring prices to the correct level, and thereafter electricity prices increases would follow inflation. But the adjustment did not develop in line with expectations, and price increases much higher than inflation are expected for many years to come… (more)
Using carbon nanotubes for one of the electrodes in a battery produces a significant increase (up to tenfold) in the amount of power it can deliver from a given weight of material, compared to a conventional lithium-ion battery. Nanotubes comprise a form of pure carbon in which sheets of carbon atoms are rolled up into tiny tubes… (more)
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