EleBlog

30 Jan, 2009

According to the 1/09 issue of its Executive Insights newsletter (found here, PDF), here are the Jan-Dec 2008 construction starts data vs. the Jan-Dec 2007:

Total -- down 14.1%

Residential -- down 36.0%

NonResidential -- up 0.1%

Heavy Engineering -- up 2.8%.

Says Jim Haughey:


EleBlog doesn't agree. But Haughey, the chief economist at RCD, has earned the right to have his predictions presented without immediate dissent. I think. Maybe.

30 Jan, 2009

. . . from Utility Automation & Engineering T&D magazine (whoo! that's a name) -- are found here. #2 and #3 interested me:

2. Renewable energy growth will slow in 2009 but rebound in 2010.

The high cost of credit will slow near-term growth of many renewable energy markets (e.g., wind, solar, geothermal, biomass) but the fundamentals of renewable energy will ensure a rebound by 2010.

3. Utilities will place greater emphasis on distributed energy as a grid support tool.

30 Jan, 2009

If you blink, you miss it.

I've been trying to follow the updated tally that David Bodamer (who writes the Traffic Court blog for Retail Traffic magazine) is maintaining on his blog. As of yesterday (1/29), it was up to 1,633 stores to close due to bankruptcies, liquidations, and announced closings.

Note these are storefronts (each store = 1), so the biggest single component of that seemingly HUGE number is Circuit City, which said on 1/16 that it would liquidate, closing 567 stores.

Here's the thing: Bodamer is updating this frequently. I printed out the 1/22 version. One week ago, including Circuit City, his tally was 1,322.

30 Jan, 2009

Also known as "power harvesting" or "energy scavenging." I've been following this (from afar) for a few years now. It's INTERESTING. Read a little ditty on it here.

BE SURE to read to the end, which talks about a "piezoelectric wireless" lighting switch.

30 Jan, 2009

I was following some solar links the other day when I came across a company called SOLON. This interested me, as I know who Solon was!

On the Solon corporate home page (the English version, anyway), there's a little slogan:

"Don't leave the planet to the stupid."

30 Jan, 2009

NEMA posted the January reading on its Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI). The numbers still suck. Keeping in mind that "50" is the magic dividing line between expansion and contraction --

the "current conditions" index component "rose" to a reading of 20 in January. That's a gain of 12 from December 2008 (last month's reading was a 7-year low).

The "future conditions" in North America index was 37.5. That was up 1.5 points. It's still way below 50.

You can read NEMA's paragraphs on this, and/or follow a link to a 5p PDF -- here.

30 Jan, 2009

My client NECA+IBEW together run ElectricTV.net. The recent edition (posted 12/29/08) included a segment on LED street lights in Ann Arbor, Mich.

It might be worth a look-see.

28 Jan, 2009

As this seems to be getting more attention lately, it might be worth your time to see this piece in the March/April 2008 issue of Technology Review (which comes from MIT). I'm not sure how practical this is going to be in the next 20 years (i.e., before I die!).




CAPTION FOR ABOVE GRAPHIC FROM TECHNOLOGY REVIEW:

Marin Soljačić and colleagues used magnetic resonance coupling to power a 60-watt light bulb. Tuned to the same frequency, two 60-centimeter copper coils can transmit electricity over a distance of two meters, through the air and around an obstacle.

1. Resonant copper coil attached to frequency converter and plugged into outlet
2. Wall outlet
3. Obstacle
4. Resonant copper coil attached to light bulb

Credit: Bryan Christie Design

- - - - -

What I really liked about the piece (besides the graphic above with explanation) is that Nikola Tesla figures prominently in the lead. Anyone who has spent time in the electrical industry knows enough to worship at the feet of Tesla!!!

28 Jan, 2009

When I talk to people about LEDs, I try to point out that they are going to change the very nature of lighting. The technology makes things like a "wall of light" possible (changing ambient lighting, for example).

Here's a 1,200-word story from the Cape Times (in South Africa), offered 12/23/08, headlined The future of lighting may be turned on to paper-thin sheets.

The article talked about OLEDs (organic LEDs). It's stuff that used to be futuristic. You'll find the article FASCINATING. And yet it doesn't go far enough into the possibilities of this technology.

This is gonne be BIG. Find the piece here.

28 Jan, 2009

A 1/20 article in The Modesto Bee (that's in California) -- find it here, if it remains accessible online when you click through -- carries the headline Where will the jobs be? It lists 25 top jobs as compiled by Alliance Worknet, an organization "that connects business with job seekers." The group, according to the newspaper, publishes this list annually.

And, at #2 on the list: ELECTRICIANS. Here's the comment:


#3 on the list is "Telecommunications line installers and repairers," which is an occupation not all that far from electrical work.

28 Jan, 2009

That's the headline on a 1/23 CNNMoney story on FORECLOSURES. Turns out "there is probably even more excess housing inventory gumming up the market than current statistics indicate," according to the piece.

Back in a column posted to TEDMAG.com on 12/4/08, I wrote about the NAHB's 2x/yearly housing forecasting conference. One of the things the speakers talked about was the "overhang" of houses -- the "excess housing inventory." THIS IS IMPORTANT (not because I wrote about it, but the concept itself). Read it here.

Bottom line: If the CNNMoney article is correct, the housing overhang is much BIGGER than the numbers have indicated. That be bad, really bad.

28 Jan, 2009

Julie Jacobson, my all-time favorite wiring industry writer, penned a piece 12/26/08, 6 Technology Trends for 2009. She identified them as:


The piece on Installation programs, though brief, is damn interesting!

28 Jan, 2009

From AECCafe: "Five AEC Challenges for 2009." AEC = architecture, engineering, construction. This article is devoted to a niche within the AEC biz, but incluides a section on "Solar Boston." Note that the article is on several HTML pages (the Solar Boston piece is on p2). Here's a bit on SB:

28 Jan, 2009

PC World last month offered Four Ways to Cut Data Center Power Consumption. These are (details at the link):

23 Jan, 2009

10 top design trends in senior living facilities was an article in the Januar issue of Building Design & Construction. They are:

23 Jan, 2009

Security Distributing & Marketing magazine has offered a forecast, with graphics, for its industry. It looks like a 7.8% decline in total industry revenue. Despite that, the SDM verdict is neat: "A good place to be." 

23 Jan, 2009

My friend Craig DiLouie has penned a 2009 construction outlook over at AboutLightingControls.org. It printed out single-spaced at 9 pages, with graphics. It's worth your time. 

23 Jan, 2009

If you didn't go to the Consumer Electronics Show, and you want to keep up, HomeToys has planted 127 releases online. 

23 Jan, 2009

From Jim Sinpoli, "new year resolutions" for the industry covered by AutomatedBuildings.com. His point to go with the graphics below is pretty important, I think:


   

23 Jan, 2009

From Leanne Tobias of GreenerBuildings.com, what she thinks will happen in '09. One of them is:

23 Jan, 2009

. . . from HP. 23-page PDF. Summarized here. 

21 Jan, 2009

It's been damn cold here in the Washington DC metro area in the past three months. But what the heck do I know, anyway? Here's what the U.S. government said in a weekly Energy Dept. e-mail received today:

2008 Lands Among the Ten Warmest Years on Record for the Globe

Calendar year 2008 was somewhere in the range from the seventh to the tenth warmest year on record, according to the Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS). The GISS actually finds 2008 to be the ninth warmest year, but it also notes that several close years fall within the range of scientific uncertainty, which is why it's difficult to say exactly where 2008 falls in the rankings.

The range defined by GISS is convenient, because it embraces the different rankings found by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), which says 2008 tied with 2001 as the eighth warmest year on record, and the United Kingdom's Met Office, which found 2008 to be the tenth warmest year on record. The climate monitoring groups do agree on one fact, however: the ten warmest years on record have all occurred since 1997.

They also agree that a La Niña contributed to cooler global temperatures in 2008, relative to the previous several years.

See the global temperature analyses from the GISS, the NCDC, and the Met Office.

21 Jan, 2009

Electricity prices (the national average here) rose by about 60% or thereabouts from 1990 to today, and they are projected to rise against by 60% to 2030. What does it mean that the red line ("Real 2007 prices") is almost totally flat?

It means there will have been one heck of a lot of inflation from 1990 to 2030.

This, by the way, is also from the AEO 2009 from the DoE's EIA (see previous post).

21 Jan, 2009

Out in December, the Annual Energy Outlook 2009 is about the United States (it's from the EIA of the DoE). The EIA came out with an "early release," and the graphic below comes from the free 23-slide PowerPoint you'll find here.

Bad news? Energy use growth is going to slow because electrical contractors are going to do more energy-efficient retrofits, and electrical distributors are going to sell more energy-saving products. This is GOOD news. Look at the copy the EIA analysts included in the arrow!

21 Jan, 2009

The International Energy Agency last November issued the World Energy Outlook, which goes out to 2030. The most interesting stuff (there is a LOT of stuff, but we're cutting to the chase here!) is below. It adds up to $26 trillion in "needed" investment, about half of which goes into electricity. Half of that needs to go into Transmission & Distribution (and other half into generation plants of some sort).

Remember, this is the WORLD outlook, and goes to the needs of Earth, not just the United States of America!

21 Jan, 2009

A press conference from the IBS (international builders' show), a National Association of Home Builders event. I went last year (it was in Orlando). I didn't go this year (it is being held in Vegas).

I don't like Vegas. Unlike everyone else I've ever met, when I go there, I come back poorer.

ANYWAY -- here's the info:


CGP DESIGNATION CONTINUES STELLAR GROWTH
AS NEW GREEN PROGRAMS, PARTNERSHIPS
UNVEILED AT THE INTERNATIONAL BUILDERS' SHOW


LAS VEGAS, Jan. 21 - A new agreement with Purdue University means that the Indiana school's construction management students will be the first in the country to earn a professional designation from the National Association of Home Builders University of Housing when they receive their bachelor's degrees.

Students can earn the Certified Green Professional (CGP) designation to jumpstart their knowledge of green building practices.  "That's yet another sign of the success of this University of Housing program - that it's considered to be an added value to a traditional university degree," said T.W. Bailey, a home builder from Frisco, Texas, and chair of the CGP designation task force for NAHB.

Bailey and Purdue Prof. Dale Koehler spoke at a press conference this afternoon at the International Builders' Show in Las Vegas. Students can choose to pursue either the CGP, the Certified Aging in Place or the Residential Construction Superintendent educational designations from the NAHB University of Housing and the Home Builder's Institute in the Purdue program, which is funded by the National Housing Endowment.

But as NAHB celebrated Green Day today, the focus was on the exhibits, educational sessions and other special events that marked the association's continuing focus on green home building. The CGP designation, which is based on 24 hours of classroom instruction, industry experience and other requirements, was introduced just 11 months ago and numbers more than 1,900 designees.

In the midst of the housing market downturn, the country's home builders and remodelers are still preparing themselves for the homes and home projects of the future. In fact, said Bailey, association volunteers are already working with curriculum development experts to create a new "Master" green building and remodeling designation to meet the demand for more advanced training and coursework. The new designation is expected to be unveiled in early 2010.

The phenomenal growth of the CGP is not surprising because of the value the industry places on green, press conference participants noted.

Home builder Greg Ugalde of T & M Building Co. Inc in Torrington, Conn., said the CGP designation adds credibility to his company's marketing efforts. "It indicates to a customer that the person they are hiring to design, build or remodel their home sees building green as more than just a buzzword or marketing ploy," he said at the press conference.

Countrywide Bank Senior Vice President Dave Porter of Seattle said the CGP designation is also an excellent idea for suppliers, manufacturers and other home building industry professionals. When he is talking to a builder about energy-efficient mortgages and other incentives, the knowledge gleaned from the CGP coursework gives him a leg up. "As a lender I deal with hundreds of builders, real estate agents and other industry professionals. In these interactions, I often share industry best practices, and of course building green is at the top of the list," he said.

21 Jan, 2009

That's next Tuesday. You can listen, for free, to Jim Haughey and Ken Simonson talk about the economy and construction. It's worth an investment -- and all you need to throw into the pot is your time (the thing is FREE). 

19 Jan, 2009

An Associated Press article on Boston.com -- on light bulbs -- pretty much goes all over the place (which is pretty impressive, considering it is relatively short). Among other facts in there:

The cost of switching to LEDs and compact fluorescents could be a jolt to some consumers. Royal Philips Electronics introduced a line of LEDs in Europe last year for about $90. General Electric's base LED bulb sells for about $35 to $40.

Americans keep about 73 million lights on every day for a period of between four and 12 hours, with about 28 million powered by energy-efficient bulbs, according to the Department of Energy.

What the article OMITS: General Electric recently halted its research into creation of a more-efficient incandescent bulb. In theory, this would be a bulb that could meet the federal efficiency lighting standards of 2012 (keeping incandescents in the game). Here's what Craig DiLouie wrote about this a month ago.

19 Jan, 2009

RealComm has a weekly advisory; it's not always great, but I try to check in every once in a while and catch up. The 12/5/08 installment provided some info from an early November tour (by "visionary real estate leaders") of smart buildings in Dubai. There's a video recorded, too (it'll cost you to see it).

Here's a slice from the article:

19 Jan, 2009

This is from a Gallup reading of consumer spending. The two graphs do NOT show the same thing. See excerpt below for Gallup's take.



FROM GALLUP:
Spending then settled back down, but the lowest three-day average of January 2008 was $69, still well above the current average of $58. Thus, the data from the first week of January this year suggest -- to no great surprise -- a continuation of the drop in consumer spending seen for most of 2008, and certainly a lower level of spending than was the case a year ago at roughly this same period of time.

19 Jan, 2009

One of my clients is TED, "The Electrical Distributor," the official magazine of the National Association of Electrical Distributors. Just recently, TED launched www.TEDGreenRoom.com, a site for stuff about the intersection of the electrical industry and the green movement.

It's worth your time!

19 Jan, 2009

Catching up with reading, I found this from a 12/08 article on National Real Estate Investor online:

19 Jan, 2009

From the IAEI magazine. Remember, this is written for INSPECTORS. A slice:

19 Jan, 2009

It's going on in China. 

16 Jan, 2009

Barry Ritzholtz has posted a map (go here to see it) profiling 2008 data on home foreclosures in the U.S. The words that go with it:

RealtyTrac reported this week that in 2008, the U.S. had a total of 3,157,806 foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — on 2,330,483 U.S. properties.

This was an 81% increase over 2007, and a 225% percent increase from 2006.

The report also shows that 1.84 percent of all U.S. housing units (one in 54) received at least one foreclosure filing during the year, up from 1.03 percent in 2007.

16 Jan, 2009

I just got around to reading "Occupational Employment and Wages, 2007." The Bureau of Labor Statistics emitted this report on 5/9/08.

Key data:

According to the BLS document, there were 624,560 electricians employed (not all in construction, I don't think).


- - - - -

Remember, these numbers are for 2007. NONE of the groups below were included in the electricians category.

- - - - -

Other related occupations:

16 Jan, 2009

A 1/8 report from the Assoc. General Contractors of America is a bit scary. The release (contains a link to survey data) sums it up as follows:

An estimated two-thirds of the nation's non-residential construction companies are planning to cut their payrolls, according to new employment and business forecast figures released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. All told, those layoffs are forecast to result in a 30 percent decline in the number of people working on construction projects.

"Unless the business climate changes significantly and soon, the construction sector will continue to experience the kind of devastating job losses and crippling declines in business activity that will undermine efforts to end the recession," Stephen Sandherr, the association's chief executive officer said.

The forecast results, which are based on a representative survey conducted by the construction association late in 2008, found no relief in sight for construction companies that already have been among the hardest hit by the economic slowdown. Many construction companies experienced significant slowdowns beginning late last year, resulting in a 10 percent decline in the number of construction workers since 2006, Sandherr noted.

According to the forecast figures, the association's member companies have seen or are planning for declining activity in every type of construction market. Ninety-two percent of building contractors and 93 percent of road builders are expecting or experiencing declining activity. Over 83 percent of utility contractors are bracing for declines while 77 percent of water resource contractors are expecting a decline in business building levees or locks.

Close readers of the EleBlog will note that this dovetails beautifully with the AIA consensus nonresidential forecast, posted here a few items earlier.

16 Jan, 2009

I'm not sure the fact that this reporter, blogging on the site of Engineering News-Record ("the construction industry's bible") has extra credibility b/c he's from a minerals-exporting country. But in a 1/8 blog entry, here's what he says about copper:

16 Jan, 2009

Lots of us have been around too long; I count myself in there. There's already dismay (or disgust) with the Obama Administration, and the guy hasn't yet taken office. Here's what Jim Haughey of Reed Construction Data (he's chief economist there) wrote in a blog entry today (1/16/09) about the construction segment of the stimulus plan:


and

16 Jan, 2009

I've become a big fan of David Bodamer, who blogs for Retail Traffic. In the post to which the link takes you -- with a headline about Circuit City's close-down -- you gotta read it. DB provides a list of recently announced store closings. He's got ONLY those that have come out in 2009 thus far (and you know, like, the year's only 16 days old at this point).

Bottom line: 1,132 potential store closings.

16 Jan, 2009

Back in summer, the American Institute of Architects gathered info from the usual suspects and issued a consensus NONresidential forecast. It was neat for an additional reason: The presentation on the web.

Here's the EleBlog post on that earlier dingus (includes a link). The relevant data: AIA's consensus forecast was:


Now, AIA has emitted new info (same neat presentation) -- find it here. This is a worsening construction nightmare; here's the lead paragraph:


SO: It boils down to:

15 Jan, 2009

Sound & Video Contractor offers a free podcast on its site in which the interviewee is Jim Hayes (a friend of mine) -- president of the Fiber Optic Association. It's #1 of a two-part series; I'll try to find #2 when it posts and link it later. 

15 Jan, 2009

IBS = the International Builders Show, to be held soon in Vegas. Here are links to info on products to be displayed by Broan, Eaton and Progress Lighting.  (More)

15 Jan, 2009

Here's a story that says Energizer is working with another company "to enable contactless power delivery and charging solutions." Whoooo!!!

15 Jan, 2009

I didn't go to the November 2008 Electronic House Expo. If you didn't, you might enjoy a HomeToys.com report on the event.  (More)

15 Jan, 2009

TEGG is a network of electrical contractors (see site here). A recent article about FacilityOne, an org that is spreading its wings, carried a headline about its launching of a subsidiary in Dubai. But your intrepid EleBlogger read through that and on, and found these paragraphs (entire item here):

Meanwhile, the relationship with Allen & Shariff and other partners has led to significant growth in the United States, said Lynn Stetson, vice president of partner development for FacilityOne.

This year, the company has signed two Trane Co. dealers, Harshaw Trane in Louisville and Tampa Bay Trane in Florida, and the corporate office of Pittsburgh-based TEGG, which maintains a network of about 170 electrical contractors.

Two TEGG service providers, Louisville-based Comstock Brothers and California-based Bass Electric, now are FacilityOne distributors and agreements are in the works with another five TEGG providers.

Mike Comstock, general manager of Comstock Brothers, said company officials formed a wholly owned subsidiary, The Comstock Group LLC, about six months ago to market FacilityOne and related services.

“We were extremely impressed with FacilityOne,” Comstock said. “We saw that as a hell of a sales tool for our company.”

It complements the electrical diagnostic testing and preventative maintenance serv­ices the company already was marketing and gives customers an “in-depth picture” of their electrical systems, Comstock said.

The FacilityOne software and Comstock Group subsidiary also gives company officials an opportunity to branch into other sectors, such as heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, fire alarms and energy management.

Conservative estimates call for at least $200,000 in FacilityOne sales in 2009, Comstock said. But the greater payoff will be about $800,000 in the sale of additional services to FacilityOne clients.

“I’m as optimistic about this product as anything I’ve ever seen,” Comstock said.

15 Jan, 2009

I've monitored this subject area for a while, and found recently that the Architects offer a free podcast on Creating Meaningful Environments for the Elderly.

When you go to that page, note that the headline starts with these words: "Our Elderly Are People Too!"

Really? I thought they were a bunch of bookshelves!
 (More)

15 Jan, 2009

A 12/15/08 CE Pro article says Sears Recruiting Integrators for ServiceLive. Paragraph #2:

12 Jan, 2009

An 8-step plan for making existing buildings smart, written by a smart guy, can be found here. The 8 steps (for building owners -- although electrical contractors might pay attention, as they can be the implementers of such a plan, assuming they work closely with those owners):


Check it out. Building owners NEED to do these things; electrical contractors can be the trusted vendors who get the prime contract to get these projects done!

12 Jan, 2009

One underneath-the-radar thread I've picked up in the past few years is the approaching "conclusion" that utilities will HAVE to go to the other side of the meter (the side on which electrical contractors work) to save energy.

Reasons:


Another piece of evidence: A 1/7/09 column on the UtiliPoint International website titled Musings on Home Energy Management Systems. The article doesn't precisely "Say" that utilities should get into this business . . . but why else is it posted to the site, by a Utilipoint staffer??? She writes:

12 Jan, 2009

While stumbling over an article on Transformers the other day from the New Yorker magazine -- I had clipped it from the magazine two years ago, and was pleased (a) to find the tear-out in my files, and (b) to discover the article freely available online(!) -- I found another piece worth calling to your attention.

It's about LIGHT POLLUTION, and it's from the 8/20/07 issue. A tiny slice:

12 Jan, 2009

After listening to a 90-second podcast from a Jones Lang LaSalle associate on "sustainability in industrial buildings," the website Globest.com (which is pretty good, by the way) asked him to elaborate ("go into greater depth on the feasability of building industrial product to LEED standards." Here's where you find it -- and here's an important (to EleBlog visitors, I hope) slice:

GlobeSt.com: You say industrial lighting costs can be reduced by "up to 40%," but what is the average savings? How much additional upfront costs would be involved to reach the 40% figure?

Brandt: From a tenant’s perspective, often new buildings can come outfitted with energy-efficient T5 or T8 lighting already in place. There are no direct costs for this tenant, only savings in their monthly electricity costs. Other times this cost will come out of a tenant improvement allowance.

A general estimate is that T5 or T8 lighting will require a 15%-25% premium over the cost of metal halide lighting. The actual average savings is tough to estimate as other factors such as daylight harvesting, motion sensors, interior painting, and skylights all affect the final number.

While this might not be as high as 40% for all tenants, any savings they can realize over older metal halide lighting will help to improve their bottom line.

12 Jan, 2009

An article from the Sept/Oct ENERGYBIZ magazine (presented here as a 4p PDF, one page of which is an ad), called New Jersey "California East." Once upon a time, Maryland was "California East," but that was about being liberal, not using the sun's rays.

According to the article: "New Jersey's renewable energy programs are proving that solar will be built if prices are subsidized and reduced" (by government policies).

This is NOW a TIMELY article, isn't it? If we're about the spent trillions of dollars (printing most of them up from scratch) to stimulate the economy, wouldn't it be SMART for policy to encourage solar PV installation, solar PV manufacturing, and the whole shebang?

Sure, we need to fill potholes and built on-ramps to highways. But we can get to that LATER. Let's do something SMART now -- at least, that's the EleBlog take!

12 Jan, 2009

Jon Takiff, a columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News, tackled the KVAR Energy Controller and the Black & Decker Power Monitor in a column on 10/8/08. It's an interesting chance for electrical folks to read what a newspaper guy thinks about the kinds of products we think about every day. Takiff's take:

12 Jan, 2009

Every month, www.kitco.com posts (for free) the Fortis Metals Monthly, an analysis of the market for copper (!!!), zinc, aluminum, gold, silver, and other stuff. The November issue (50p PDF) -- start on page 6 and go on to pages 7 & 8 -- included an article headlined, Landfill: a new metal resource? Here's a key phrase:


75% of this "waste" metal (unrecycled and thrown out with the trash) is steel, Fortis says, with another 20% being aluminum. Fortis's verdict on landfill mining: Not now, but someday.

10 Jan, 2009

Electronic House magazine (which you can find on newsstands) recently provided a list of its top articles of 2008. One of them (from 4/15/08) was The Truth About "High-End" Cables, subheaded as follows: although marketed as a performance enhancer, many view high-end cables as the snake oil of consumer electronics." 

10 Jan, 2009

I found a Reed Construction Data forecast for nonresidential construction in 2009, here. The table below provides a lot of "other" data, but the figures in red at the far right are the projections from Jim Haughey, chief economist.



Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

	Spending in Oct 2008 sea. adj. ann. rate	Percent Change From Oct 2007	Total 2007 Spending	2007	2008	2009
Nonresidential Buildings	464,494	9.6	402,242	17.6	12.1	-0.5
Education	107,317	9.5	96,085	12.9	8.5	0.8
Commercial	81,794	-11.2	88,478	15.4	-2.9	-9.1
Office	76,511	8.9	64,702	19.4	13.2	1.7
Healthcare	46,718	3.9	42,904	11.5	6.5	0.8
Amusement & Recreation	23,819	6.1	21,610	13.8	7.4	-4.5
Manufacturing	69,496	53.3	42,538	21.1	46.0	6.0
Lodging	39,292	18.3	28,602	59.0	30.2	2.9
Public Safety	12,757	24.1	9,869	26.5	24.5	-1.9
Religious	6,790	-6.2	7,454	-3.8	-7.9	-7.9

10 Jan, 2009

A blog I try to get to at least once a week (TrafficCourt, from Retail Traffic magazine, by David Bodamer) ran this item late last year: An analyst says "up to 3,000 retail properties could close in March and April."

That's not 3,000 stores. It's 3,000 PROPERTIES -- strip malls, shopping centers, etc.

It's gotta be wrong . . . right?

I tried to click through to the original item (in the Boston Herald), but it's now behind a firewall.

10 Jan, 2009

Well, I missed this late-October release from Frank Murawski on the cabling market. So I'm posting the whole thing (see his website here):

FTM Consulting announced that its latest study, “U.S. Structured Cabling Systems Market,” indicates that the market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 20.1% during the next five years. This growth will be fueled by increased use of SCS in data centers and the initial deployment of VOIP systems, which require enormous amounts of cabling. Currently, LAN cabling accounts for the largest SCS market. By 2013, it is projected that VOIP cabling will account for the largest market.

Frank Murawski, President of FTM Consulting Inc., said, “After suffering a downturn during the first part of this century, following the heydays of double-digit growth in the 1990s, the SCS market is now poised for renewed growth. This growth will not come from LAN cabling, as in the past, but from new applications being added onto the existing enterprise’s LAN network. We view these add-on applications as subnets that are interconnected to the enterprise’s primary network. This includes data center interconnectivity, VOIP using the existing network backbone, and video over IP being integrated into the primary network. Other applications that will provide smaller growth include the addition of wireless networks in certain areas of the building.”

The total SCS market is projected to grow from $6.4 billion in 2008 to $16.0 billion by 2013. One of the report’s major findings is that UTP cabling will remain the largest portion of the market during the next five years. Fiber cabling, even though increasingly used in applications, such as data centers, is expected to be a much smaller market than the UTP cabling during the next five years.

10 Jan, 2009

Dell offers "5 tips" for a greener data center (via GreenerComputing.com). 

10 Jan, 2009

Subject to revisions over the next TWO months, the construction industry in 2008 averaged 5,525,000 legally employed PRODUCTION workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (see below). The "real" final numbers will be out in the first week of March, when they get done revising November and December 2008.

As currently cobbled together, the "Ann" -- annual average -- is 5.86% below the 2007 average. I'm sure that will change, and perhaps be a bigger decline (?).

Perhaps more importantly, the figure for December (with 2008 data subject to revision) is reported in the table below DOWN 9.84% from 2007. I'm not sure the weather was that much different in 12/07 vs. 12/08, so we'll have to assume that the decline is a result of a reduce amount of construction.

Note that Production workers are the guys and gals ON THE JOB (i.e., it omits the overhead workers, including project managers, execs, and office employees of construction firms).

Note that (p) means preliminary and subject to revision.

Here's how to read each cell: ADD 000. So the July 1999 number = 5,435,000.

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Ann
1999	4530	4584	4641	4933	5133	5321	5435	5441	5387	5388	5333	5132	5105
2000	4870	4825	4991	5164	5326	5498	5593	5604	5530	5523	5416	5204	5295
2001	4920	4921	5044	5199	5408	5567	5640	5625	5544	5513	5389	5214	5332
2002	4908	4883	4934	5066	5234	5392	5438	5447	5383	5349	5265	5055	5196
2003	4729	4661	4741	4946	5157	5326	5391	5421	5381	5354	5268	5095	5123
2004	4804	4761	4909	5121	5338	5508	5609	5629	5568	5599	5518	5340	5309
2005	5026	5039	5160	5432	5637	5821	5891	5944	5890	5919	5898	5679	5611
2006	5464	5484	5587	5792	5995	6139	6194	6236	6129	6081	5957	5778	5903
2007	5537	5409	5587	5739	5951	6142	6187	6167	6081	6050	5912	5662	5869
2008	5363	5301	5356	5463	5636	5743	5781	5803	5692	5620	5431(p)	5105(p)	5525(p)

10 Jan, 2009

Employment in electrical contracting -- among PRODUCTION WORKERS -- was down 3.04% last month (from 11/07). Last month's employment figure was down 2.3%. THIS PROVES NOTHING. It means nothing. I'm keeping an eye on it, but I don't really see anything.

See for yourself. By the way "production workers" are the people in the field doing construction work (i.e., we're omitting the office and overhead types here). These data are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and just came out Fri. 1/9/09.

(p) = Preliminary. Note that the next item has CONSTRUCTION data, and is one month ahead. So they'll put our (p) data for December 2008 next month (first week of February) and will finalize December and the 2008 total ("ann" = annual average) one month later (first week of March). OK?

HOW TO READ THIS CHART: each month's cell is in thousands. So July 1999 (directly below) read 724.0 = 724,000.

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Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Ann
1999	664.4	662.9	665.1	671.3	684.2	706.3	724.0	730.2	729.6	732.4	733.7	734.4	703.2
2000	722.3	719.3	727.3	738.0	747.3	764.2	777.1	783.9	784.1	778.9	781.2	776.7	758.4
2001	758.3	749.0	755.3	759.2	769.7	774.0	781.1	774.3	762.2	755.9	739.4	734.4	759.4
2002	709.7	701.0	697.4	693.9	699.0	709.4	714.6	713.8	704.3	688.8	685.1	677.2	699.5
2003	655.2	645.7	641.3	645.6	652.0	670.0	679.7	681.5	678.6	675.4	665.3	659.8	662.5
2004	637.7	629.0	634.5	641.9	650.1	664.4	674.1	668.7	661.3	669.7	672.0	667.0	655.9
2005	649.1	641.3	648.5	653.9	660.1	673.6	683.7	686.5	683.3	691.0	693.7	688.9	671.1
2006	677.7	682.8	687.6	691.8	696.4	710.5	722.2	728.7	726.6	723.8	718.7	720.5	707.3
2007	708.1	701.3	705.7	716.1	727.0	742.0	752.0	746.8	746.3	748.9	740.5	739.2	731.2
2008	721.5	714.1	714.3	715.5	720.5	728.0	739.4	741.7	733.6	731.5	718.0(p)

08 Jan, 2009

An article on electric distribution nitty-gritty in The New Yorker? Yes, in the 9/25/06 issue. Essentially, the article slams the Bush Administration for inaction on energy issues, using transformer regulations as a point of departure. Before we all get around to political posturing, read this, from the article's 2nd paragraph:


EleBlog take: A pox on both their houses!

08 Jan, 2009

A Multi-Housing News product short displayed what's below, the Multi-Maxx electric meter bar. It's a security device that prevents tampering.


 

08 Jan, 2009

December's issue of "Executive Insights" from Reed Construction Data shows total construction down 14.4% in 2008's first 11 months. Non-residential was down 1.1%. Click on the link to download a 6p PDF. 

08 Jan, 2009

From GreenBuild: A 1,282-sq.-ft. demonstration classroom, built at the show, to demonstrate "innovative design features, building systems, and materials in the High-Performance School of the Future, Today." 

08 Jan, 2009

This is the subject of a post-GreenBuild story on RenewableEnergyWorld.com. The major trade mentioned is roofing. The heading on the item is "Video," but the video has disappeared. 

08 Jan, 2009

32,213 miles on four continents, in a 17-month-plus road trip traversing nearly 40 countries. It is said to be the "first world tour without using a single drop of oil." 

06 Jan, 2009

"The role of cabling in a home theater installation" (from Blast magazine) provided a lot of food for thought. Here are some words that came under the subhed "Conduit or No Conduit" --

Many people do the wiring for a home theater installation by first running a lot of conduit in walls, and then pulling cable in as needed. As often as not, this turns out rather badly.

It’s easy to underestimate the size of conduit required, and we have had countless calls from people who suddenly, at the peak of their installation work, need to pull a large amount of cable through an undersized conduit.

If you’re going to use conduit, we recommend installing the largest conduit your wall cavity will accommodate; 3/4 inch conduit will give you lots of grief unless your cabling needs are exceedingly modest.

The best use of conduit in most home theater installations is as a future-proofing device rather than as a primary means of installing cable.

Rather than installing cable in conduit, consider installing cable and conduit. As long as you have access to the space where the conduit will go, it’s generally easier to install the cable alongside, and the conduit then provides some assurance that, in the event that you need to run new types, or duplicate runs, of cable, you’ll have a convenient way to get them in.

That section is followed by tips "to make life easier" if you're going to run conduit for a home theater and pull cable through it.

06 Jan, 2009

"How to use percentage of completion accounting" is the title of this article from Professional Builder (the #2 home-building industry magazine). I have to admit, I've heard about percentage-of-completion accounting in the construction industry forever, but I've never read a short, simple article that deals with it.

Worth your time.

05 Jan, 2009

An article (found here) with the headline "Seeing Double -- Seeing Green" -- provides food for thought.

It's about using 2 monitors. This is "green" because it saves paper, the article says (you don't have to print out as much). It's smart business, because it increases productivity.

Productivity gains from this kind of set-up are estimated at 20% to 50%. That's impressive! From where do the productivity gains come? Here's a bulleted (aimed at accountants):

• Comparative analysis between documents like tax returns or financial statements
  
• Report creation, reserving one screen for resource materials while typing the report on the other
  
• Monitoring e-mail on one screen while working on the other
  
• Researching complex issues while working on a document or tax return

NOW WAIT: The article goes on about this, provides details on how to do it ("you will need a video card...." blahblahblah). But it doesn't tell me the basic facts about whether or not this really IS green.

Facts I would need to know:


I'll bet a detailed analysis might show the two-screen idea IS greener than printing out paper. But without that kind of thinking behind the article, what you had here is a CLAIM, not proof.

Beyond all of that green stuff, if you really get a 20% productivity advantage (or better) from using 2 screens, then it might be worth pursuing even if you DO use more energy. First, business is business. Second, if you have an office of 10 heavy computer users and increase productivity by 20%, in theory you could reduce the workforce down to 8 (via attrition?).

You're going to save a lot of energy (and be greener!) when those 2 people aren't driving to work, turning lights on in their offices, etc. and etc.

TO SUM UP: I can make a good case that this idea IS GREEN. But the article really did not.

05 Jan, 2009

Marketwatch.com offered a 12/12 "IPO Report" on the stock of MYR Group. This electrical contractor (with most of its activities and revenue coming from utility power line work) was NOT public for 8 years. It was acquired in 1999. Now, it's public again.

MYR's stock symbol is MYRG.

MYR's prospects seem good (even if you don't trouble to read the article), b/c most savvy people think the national grid is going to continue to get a lot of attention and investment. In addition to building out NEW power lines (to bring power from remotely located power plants including Wind and Solar), companies like MYR and Quanta Services (symbol PWR) are going to be very busy for the foreseeable future doing renovations, rehabs, retrofits, and upgrades (pick a word) of the grid.

I learned from reading the article that MYR had recently disgorged the D.W. Close operation. I hadn't been aware of that. If memory serves, MYR bought Close in the late 1990s. So this is a 360-degree turn for that electrical contracting company (a big one, that serves the Pacific Northwest) as well.

05 Jan, 2009

OSRAM Sylvania conducted a socket survey. I have no bone to pick with Sylvania, but I'm pretty certain the results (read 'em here) are skewed somehow.

Here's one result:


I'm pretty sure that, if this result is correct, it's not reflected in actions by actual human beings. Sales of CFLs are up, but they are not up to the point that 68% of U.S. consumers are buying ONLY CFLs when they go to the store to buy replacements.

Let's say I'm right. Why would that number have popped up in the survey?

Well, it seems to me that, were you to do a comprehensive survey on Broccoli, you'll find out that Americans claim to eat a lot more of the stuff than is actually sold.

You can find this in a lot of things. An overwhelming number of Americans claims to be religious Christians, and yet church attendance does not reflect this.

Surveys are scientific. But like any scientific product, the numbers need to be understood by first throwing in a heaping helping of Common Sense.

05 Jan, 2009

This past weekend's issue of Barron's, the financial weekly, included a page on China's electric utilities. From the piece:


Also of note: "November electricity output plummeted 9.6% from the year-earlier level, to its lowest figure in a decade, as the global economic slowdown was increasingly felt by Chinese industry."

EleBlog take:

1. The 11/08 power consumption decline kind of puts the finishing touch on the idea (expressed months ago by economists and others) that the Chinese economy -- and other emerging markets/countries -- were "disconnected" from the economic fate of the U.S. and the Western world. I didn't know it at the time (not for sure), but it was Bunk.

2. If China will build power plants with half the power-producing capacity in 2009 compared with 2007, that's got to be good for global warming. China builds a lot of coal burners, and (from what I've read), the plants are being built so fast and with such rotten old technology that they are especially awful polluters (that is to say, they produce a lot more pollution per watt of power generated than modern coal-burners in the West).

3. Along with that, less power-plant building means reduced Chinese consumption of copper, doesn't it?

05 Jan, 2009

The official US gummint report on construction "put in place" in November started the year with a bang. It is bad, but not as bad as one might have thought. Construction might be slowing, but it's slowing . . . slowly.

Key stats:

Actual construction in the year's first 11 months was down 5.3% from the same period in 2007. At $998.4B for the period, however, it is a cinch that the 2008 total (when December is added in) will top $1 trillion.

Private residential construction in the 11-month period was down 27.7%.

Private residential construction in the same period was UP 16.0%.

The data show Office construction, which sure employs a lot of electricians, was up 35% compared with 2007's first 11 months.

Public construction was up 7.5%.

TWO NOTES:

1 -- a lot of these numbers seems very familiar. I went back to an earlier EleBlog entry (on "put in place" for the first 2 months of 2008) -- here. The numbers are NOT identical; the only significant change, tho, is that the drop in residential construction is deeper now than it was in the report on 9 months ago.

2 -- Jim Haughey of Reed Construction Data blogs here that the drop in Nov. construction was "surprisingly small." I'm pretty sure he's right. But I don't think it means much.