IEEE S.F. Bay Area Council e-GRID's
BayAreaTech

THURSDAY January 19, 2012
OEB Industry Applications Chapter
Speaker: Alex McEachern, Power Standards Lab.
Time: No-host social at 5:30 PM; Presentation at 6:15 PM; Dinner at 7:15 PM; Presentation continues at 8:00 PM
Cost: $25 for IEEE members; $15 for student and retired members; $30 for non-members
Place: Location changed to: Hilton Concord Hotel, 1970 Diamond Boulevard, Concord
RSVP: by January 16 with Michael Nakamura, mnakamur@ebmud.com or phone (510) 287-2066
Web: www.e-grid.net/docs/1201-oeb-ias.pdf

Worldwide, we’re connecting sensitive loads like computers to a grid that was designed a hundred years ago for tough old motors, lights, and heaters.  So, not surprisingly, we’re seeing compatibility problems. These compatibility — or power quality — problems can be chameleon-like, blending into a background of software bugs, loose cables, and operator errors: all intermittent problems with similar symptoms.  But there are straightforward practical methods for detecting power quality problems (many don’t require any instruments at all), and, once they’ve been detected, solving them.  Using hands-on examples from his worldwide consulting practice, ranging from monkeys in Malaysia to conductor coils in Lichtenstein, McEachern cheerfully demonstrates how to think about power problems, investigate them, and get them solved.