Listen, in this episode of DC Power Hour, Allen is joined by Nick Fortune and Mike Vest of HOPPECKE Batteries Inc. as they discuss power outages, threats to the grid, and more with Ryan Wallace and Lucas Berndt from Eagle Eye Power Solutions. Episode Highlights 5:09 – My feeling is that the grid is overextended. […]
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In this episode of DC Power Hour host Allen Byrne is joined by DC power experts Lucas Berndt and Ryan Wallace to discuss our aging DC power infrastructure, focusing on under-funding, skill shortages, and maintenance challenges. They explore real-world outages and the urgent need for infrastructure upgrades and skilled tradespeople. Episode Highlights 5:33 – They […]
Join Allen from the Battery Blarney duo on this episode of DC Power Hour as he welcomes back industry expert Al Warner and introduces Ryan Wallace, a new team member at Eagle Eye and first-time guest. Together, they dive into the timely topic of power outages, breaking down the causes and sharing their valuable industry […]
In this episode of DC Power Hour, Allen along with special guests Al Warner and Fran Losey discuss how AI growth, along with data center growth and the required electrification, affect the powering infrastructure. Episode Highlights 06:03 – Do you agree with me when I say that the politicians are those that try to enforce these laws […]
Since the early days of civilization, the method by which the craft skills have been taught was through an apprenticeship program. A young person would work under an older craftsman, learning the skills to eventually ply a trade and succeed – maybe not always in the way they might have thought. After all, some of […]
Assessing Convection-Cooled SMRs for Today’s Critical Power Applications Switched Mode Rectifier/Chargers (SMRs) are the dominant method of charging stationary batteries for telecommunications (telecom), information technology (IT) and other standby power applications. The vast majority of these are forced air cooled. In North America, the exception is with the utility companies who still favor older linear […]
There is no question in the mind of any battery professional that the only way to establish the capacity of a battery is to do a load test. Yet, for many battery owners, the question is: why do I need to know the battery capacity when that was already calculated when the battery was sized? […]
How to Monitor and Maintain Battery Systems in Hard-to-Reach Places On the evening of Thursday August 14, 2003 electrical power began to fail and soon a major power outage struck across large parts of the northeast United States and Eastern Canada including dozens of major cities. Fifty million people were affected, and the estimated cost […]
In this episode of the DC Power Hour David and Allen introduce Ed Rafter, a special guest on DC Power Hour, who is an expert in UPS batteries. They discuss the differences between ups and downs, voltage, discharge times, and other aspects of battery powering. Ed has a 40-year career in mission-critical applications, focusing on […]
In this episode of the DC Power Hour David and Allen introduce the Power Solutions sales team, including Brian, Luke, and Andrew. They discuss the evolution of the utility market and customer issues. Luke emphasizes the growing adoption of permanent 24/7 monitoring and the importance of better understanding and interpreting data. Brian mentions that utilities […]
In this episode, the Battery Blarney Duo is back in action to discuss the important topic of battery monitoring for different types of stationary battery applications. What all does a BMS monitor and what doesn’t it? They’ll discuss IEEE 1491, which they’ve have both chaired committees on, and review all that’s included in this vital […]
In this episode, George is joined by Lucas Berndt, modular switch-mode charger product expert, to talk about industrial battery chargers and redundancy. They discuss the benefits of having a modular charger – with hot-swappable power modules – for redundant functionality in case of an outage. They address how this satisfies NERC and TPL standards that […]
In this episode, George Pedersen of The Battery Blarney Duo answers questions about the basic concept and workings of battery backup for electric substations and their critical components. He touches on topics including ensuring the stability and reliability of the electricity grid, reducing the risk of equipment damage, keeping communications systems powered and preventing costly […]
The discussion about the chemistry and applications of batteries continues in this episode with Al Warner, Dan Lambert, and The Battery Blarney Duo. They compare flow and lead acid batteries in terms of their reliability and need for maintenance. They examine the problems with energy-storage batteries, such as a zinc manganese battery, as well as […]
The world is rapidly becoming more and more reliant on technology. We rely on technology for communication, commerce, and so much more. One of the most important aspects of our technological infrastructure is the stationary battery. Stationary batteries are used to provide backup power or continuous power to a facility. The Battery Blarney Duo, George […]
The Battery Blarney Duo welcomes Al Warner to talk about the unreliability of the electric grid. The electric grid is one of the most important infrastructure elements in the United States. It’s a system of interconnected power plants and transmission lines that delivers electricity to homes and businesses. The grid is also one of the […]
Stand-by power installations are a crucial part of any business or facility. They provide emergency power during outages, ensuring that critical systems keep running. However, many businesses and facilities are finding that the quality of their stand-by power installations is declining. What’s causing this decline, and what can be done to improve the situation? The […]
In today’s episode, we talk about UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) applications and improvements that can be made based on seasoned expertise from George and Allen. The Battery Blarney duo talks about how UPS systems were initially used and the pitfalls of using them over the years. They talk about the problems with the batteries, the […]
In this episode of the DC Power Hour Podcast, we learn about renewables and alternative energy sources. In the Battery Blarney segment, industry experts George Pedersen and Allen Byrne dive into talking about different topics from solar farms, a combination of other sources, alternatives and much more. In the second segment, we are joined by […]
In this episode of the DC Power Hour podcast, we learn about equipment redundancy. In the Battery Blarney segment, industry experts George Pedersen and Allan Byrne explain what it is, why it is important, and what applications it pertains to. They discuss their experience in the telecom industry and the evolution from redundant chargers to […]
In the Battery Blarney segment of this episode, George and Allen talk about the aging grid infrastructure in America and the proposed infrastructure bill. They also talk about what happened in Texas and discuss problems with financial engineering and energy storage. One of the problems is that the infrastructure has not kept pace with the […]
This podcast episode looks at the state of the DC power industry through the eyes of industry experts George Pedersen and Allen Byrne. With roughly 80 years of experience between the two of them, they share how we got to this point, some of the challenges along the way, and give us their thoughts on […]
The term “Sealed Maintenance-Free,” in my opinion, is a marketing-driven term. In the early 1980’s, when telephone Private Branch Exchanges (PBX’s) were being deployed into customer premises, computer mainframes were migrating out of dedicated computer rooms, and smaller computers were being situated in occupied office space. Consequently, users were demanding that the battery manufacturers come […]