Illuminate anything from skateboards to yard games, and transform them into unique, eye-catching displays that you can use anywhere. single colors or

Perfect for tailgating or late-night stargazing—portable LED light strips make the perfect truck bed lights. They’re easy to install and are a great way to add colorful illumination without having to do any vehicle wiring. Adhere the strips to your truck bed with their adhesive backings, and mount the battery pack in a covered location so that it’s not exposed to water.

Let your little one ride in style with LED strip lights on their wagon, stroller, or ride-on Power Wheels vehicle. These portable LED lights are super simple to install and can be set to one of many exciting single-color or color-changing modes. They will not only capture the attention of your baby, but they’ll also provide increased safety and visibility for evening walks or events.

From movie, theater, or extravagant Halloween props to models and costume figures—portable LED strips lights will take your project to the next level. They’re available in several shades of white as well as pink, UV, blue, green, yellow, amber, red, or color-changing RGB to match any theme or design.

Decorate your skateboard or scooter with LED strip lights, and differentiate yourself from the crowd. The portable LED lights are easy to apply, and you can use the wireless RF remote to control single-color or color-changing modes while you ride.

Brighten up your next tailgate party or camping trip! Install portable LED strip lights on canopy tents, sun shelters, instant canopies, pop-up shelters, or E-Z UP Instant Shelters. A variety of colors are available—including “Bugs-Away” yellow—and the strip lights provide up to 402 lumens of illumination.

With portable LED strip lights, you can create a lighted wreath, garland, or other holiday decor that’s unlike anything storebought. Colors are available for every holiday, and the attention-grabbing strip lights have several modes from flash to strobe to fade and more.

The home electrical system consists of various components that enable the safe delivery of energy to different sections and appliances in the household. Even though the system may appear complex, it is important for the homeowner to understand a few basics.

This would help you when things do not work or there is an emergency that requires turning off circuits or the entire installation. In addition, an understanding of the home electrical system will help the owner respond to questions from prospective buyers.

All the electrical circuits in the house originate from the main breaker panel. The panel is usually inside the house and near to the power entry point. However, the panel can also be far, and especially when in a multi-family structure.

The rating of the panel determines the number of circuits and power that the home electrical system can support. Some older homes have been using the 100 Amp service, smaller installations use a 60 Amp service while newer and larger houses are built with 200 amps to accommodate the increased number of electrical and electronic equipment commonly used in a modern household.

Different loads require the correct size of cables and breakers that can handle the current without heating up. For example, an air conditioner requires a 30 amp circuit while a kitchen may use two 20 amp circuits.

If there is a fault, such as a short circuit or overload, the breaker trips and cuts off the power to the affected circuit, hence preventing further damage that could lead to fire. Before resetting the breaker, you should first ask an electrician to check and rectify the problem.

A home electrical system consists of different individual circuits originating from the main breaker panel. The wires from the panel run to the rooms to supply the outlets, lights, and hand wired appliances. In most cases, several rooms may share the same circuits such that all the lights in the house are on one breaker, outlets on another breaker, etc.

Some dedicated circuits from the main breaker may go directly to the hard-wired appliances and nowhere else. Equipment such as the electric water heaters, furnaces, and air conditioners are usually installed on their own. Other hard-wired devices include the smoke alarms, which may also have battery backups so they will work even when there is a power outage or a fire interrupts the home electrical system.

Grounding is an essential protective feature that must be installed in all home electrical systems. It provides a path for the electrical current arising from faults that make the exposed metallic parts to become live and dangerous.

The ground connects all the exposed metallic parts to the earth mass through a third wire in the power cord to the equipment. This provides a low electrical resistance path for the current, hence, making the parts safe to the touch even in the event of a malfunction.

maintenance and repairs.

Pay as you go electricity plans allow consumers to pay for their electricity in advance. The plan, which uses prepayment meters, helps consumers to monitor and control the way they use electricity. This saves on energy costs.

Keypad based prepaid meters: This meter has a keypad to input the electricity token number. Consumers purchase the credit using a variety of methods. These include visiting the agent, paying through banks or mobile payments in some countries.

Key meter: Consumer uses an electronic key loaded with the tariff information and credit.

One way card system: Uses a disposable card. The user purchases power with a reloadable debit card. The loaded card is then passed near the meter, which has an in-built card reader.

Two-way card systems: Uses a smart card and the meters have a real-time, two-way communication capability. It is one of the most secure, but more complex and expensive methods to implement.

These allow consumers to interact with their meters and query balances using their mobile phones by sending an SMS to a monitoring system. In addition, the user is able to track electricity use by the hour, day, month or annually using the phone or online access.

These smart prepaid meters offer easier top up options. They include online payments or by text, as well as scheduled and auto top-ups.

When using a prepaid meter, the customer must keep track of the remaining credits and replenish to avoid disconnection.

Ensure there is enough credit when going away for long periods. The meter will continue collecting the standing charges even when on no load. Consumers should ensure they have enough credit to last until they return.

Some crooks will take advantage of the consumer’s lack of knowledge and offer them cheaper credits than those bought directly from the utility company. For example, they will sell their credits at half price. This is more common with Key Prepaid Meters and the crooks will usually have master Keys, which they use to top off the consumer’s meter.

If the energy company finds out, the consumer ends up paying twice for their electricity; first to the crook, and then to the energy company.

To avoid falling victim:

Mechatronics, or mechatronic engineering combines mechanical and electrical engineering to design innovative products and systems. These systems must rely on mechanical and electrical components working together in harmony.

The list includes DVD disc drives, anti-lock braking systems, manufacturing, electric motors and clothes dryers, among others. These devices require electronic controls and feedback systems to interact seamlessly with their mechanical design.

Motor control systems operate by using a programmable logic controller or PLC. This system allows advanced programming and algorithms to dictate a motor’s behavior. Therefore, they can be programmed to control multiple motors or VFDs. A robotic arm or a large factory machine is a good example of this.

In addition, PLCs can accept inputs from a wide range of sensors and switches. This allows precise feedback from the machine it controls. Furthermore, it executes built-in software.

The smallest high-precision motors, DC motors, found in computer hard drives and DVD readers. Due to their miniaturization, they can be easily controlled by computer software to perform nearly any imaginable task. A battery powered quad-rotor drone offers us a prime example of DC motor control. Accelerometers and gyroscopes feeding data into a computer controller adjust the speed of each motor independently to keep the drone flying level.

A simple technology that combines electric motors with feedback control, known as servomechanisms, provides valuable information. They utilize a small electric motor, gearboxes, and a potentiometer to produce accurate position feedback to the motor itself. This ensures that the motor has moved to the correct position. Thus, precise movement control of a motor is possible. Applications of servos include RC car steering, fly-by-wire systems in aircraft, robotics, and industrial control valves.

Servos communicate with computer systems, allowing them to be part of larger mechatronic systems, so they can be controlled by PLCs and computer algorithms.

The field of mechatronics constantly evolves. Therefore, as it does, it incorporates cutting edge computer software and mechanical design, bringing to life new inventions. These breakthroughs make modern-day living much easier and more fun.

If you work in hazardous locations and conditions, you would understand the need to promote safety and ensure that the risk of explosions is reduced. It is crucial that you eliminate one or more component of the ignition triangle to minimize the chances of an explosion. The 3 protection methods listed below are widely used in hazardous locations, in the process control industry:

Before we delve a little deeper and understand these techniques, let’s take a quick look at the role electrical enclosures.

Electrical enclosures are cabinets containing different electrical components such as switches, sockets, plugs, knobs, transformers and controls. These keep the surroundings safe from any kind of electrical hazard. Such enclosures are resistant to spark and shock and they have a high tolerance to extreme temperatures. They must be used in hazardous locations as they keep an interior explosion from spreading to the external environment and damaging life and property. Let’s see how they are relevant in the Containment method of protection: