Ken's Korner

Data centers have their own standards for fire protection as identified under the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 75). A closer look at Chapter 5 Section 4 pertaining to Raised Floors we find the following standards: 5.4* Raised Floors. Where raised floors are used, they shall comply with 5.4.1 through 5.4.4. 5.4.1 Structural supporting members for raised floors shall be...

New in the NEC Handbook - 2017 edition 110.14 Electrical Connections 110.14(D) Installation. Where a tightening torque is indicated as numeric value on equipment or in installation instructions provided by the manufacturer, a calibrated torque tool shall be used to achieve the indicated torque value, unless the equipment manufacturer has provided installation instructions for an alternative method of achieving the...

Not every order is a rush job, but quick turn will always be an important part of the data center industry. At PDU Cables, we recognize this and are prepared to meet our customer's needs, be it delivering cables in a month, a week or a day. Running a Second Shift is the Key to Accommodating Rush Orders Running two...

PDU Cables is happy to announce it has undertaken exclusive distribution of Busway Solutions tap-off boxes.  Busway Solutions has designed a safer and superior tap-off box to the standard OEM plug-in’s offered for Starline’s T5 series busway track system.  Fully compatible with any of the 250, 400, 800 and 1200 amp T5 series systems. The re-engineered plug mast with larger...

MINNETONKA – February 1, 2017 – Engineered Products Company, has promoted Troy Peterson to President of PDU Cables. PDU Cables, a division of Engineered Products Company, the industry leading manufacturer and supplier of power-distribution cable assemblies in North America since 1981, has promoted Troy Peterson from Vice President of Sales and Marketing to President, effective immediately. Troy joined Engineered products...

If you are looking for a lower price, you will always find someone eager to satisfy this requirement. They will work for the lowest amount of money they possibly can, but in the process will give you the least in terms of labor, material, attention to detail, quality and service value. Can you blame them? Why should they give you...

Even with all of the labor and cost saving benefits of purchasing branch circuit power cables through PDU Cables, there are still data centers and electrical contractors that build their own power whips. From some of these DIY people, I get comments like, "Power whips aren't hard to build", "They're all the same." or "What difference does it make?" How...

As the number of data centers continues to increase in the United States, they are becoming much more energy efficient. A new report from the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has found that electricity consumption by data centers nationwide, after rising rapidly for more than a decade, started to plateau in 2010 and has remained steady...

I was reading some literature that was touting the use of an overhead power distribution system. It made its case for overhead cabling mostly by pointing out the potential risks related to restriction and obstruction of airflow as the result of leaving abandoned cables under floor and not having an organized cabling system. And then to drive their point home...

I was reading an article about how the Prineville Oregon data center electricians have to stay in hotels and even camp out because there isn't enough housing available for all the workers. "We have 300 or 400 electricians working here, and they're having difficulty finding places to stay." Jeff Kerr, Senior project manager, Rosendin Electric. "At some points, there are...