Featured

Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters Critical to Home Appliance Fire Safety Per NEMA White Paper

• September 20, 2023
• Marc Neufcourt

Developed by the NEMA Low Voltage Distribution Section (LVDE), NEMA’s white paper, Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters and Home Appliances (NEMA BS 31026-2023) reveals that AFCIs are protecting over 60 million appliances with a very small number of documented reports of unwanted tripping. NEMA BS 31026-2023, dives into the data and research that confirm the safety that Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCIs) provide to prevent electrical fires in homes. Put simply, AFCIs are compatible with home appliances and an Read More[...]

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: The Conductor for Rail Electrification

• August 21, 2023
• Steve Griffith

By Steve Griffith, PMP Executive Director, Transportation Systems and CybersecurityThe Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) has over $300 billion slated for rail improvements, presenting an opportunity for improvement and modernization unlike any in the history of American railways. This is a policy area that the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has been leading with our Rail Electrification Council  (REC). The REC’s mission is to promote the electrification of domestic railroad (freight and/or passengers) transportation and as an enabler of electric Read More[...]

High Performance Building Week Recap from NEMA

• June 29, 2023

By Todd Sims, Director, Government RelationsThis June, NEMA participated in national High Performance Building Week on Capitol Hill. Fellow associations, advocates, manufacturers, and other stakeholders throughout the supply and value chains joined NEMA to promote the benefits of high-performance buildings and advocate for policies to advance the access to these buildings to all Americans.  Throughout the week, the coalition met with the following members of congress: Senators Murkowski (R-AK), Durbin (D-IL), Feinstein (D-CA), Cortez Mastro (D-NV), Merkley Read More[...]

Automatic Receptacle Control Applications (ARCs) – a Key Piece of Reducing Building Emissions

• June 14, 2023
• Michael Farnham

By Andrei Moldoveanu, Technical Fellow Buildings InfrastructureIt’s High Performance Building Week—a week of events and news that promotes building safety and the latest in building innovation and technology. NEMA is a member of the High Performance Building Coalition (HPBC) and supports the advancement of building innovation and technologies as pillars of our infrastructure. While many public events will take place this week, today we are excited to highlight NEMA’s Updated White Paper on Automatic Receptacle Control Applications (ARCs). As we Read More[...]

Road Safety and Connected Transportation Headline 2023 ITSA 2023 Annual Meeting

• May 4, 2023
• Steve Griffith

NEMA CEO Debra Phillips led future of transportation talk with industry leadersBy Steve Griffith, PMPNEMA Members Applied Information, Yunex Traffic and Qualcomm along with automakers Ford and Audi, joined NEMA President and CEO Debra Phillips for a look at the future of transportation at the 2023 ITS America Annual Meeting. As our roads and highways are undergoing a transformation, conversations like these are vital. Our members are leading us towards an automated, connected and safer future.The same day as this Read More[...]

Inflation Reduction Act Brings Electrical and Appliance Tax Credits to Homeowners

• March 16, 2023

by Don Iverson, Schneider ElectricJust in time for tax season, tax breaks for eligible home improvements such as energy-efficient upgrades, new appliance installation, and electrical service improvements can help lighten Americans’ tax burden.A newly added perk of tax breaks has arrived for certain electrical and appliance upgrades under the Inflation Reduction Act. The credits not only save consumers money, but will help improve electrical safety in the home, according to electrical industry safety experts.Home renovation offers big opportunities to improve not Read More[...]

NEMA Supports the American-Made EAS-E Prize

• February 8, 2023
• Brian Marchionini

A new $2.4-million award system from U.S. Department of Energy Building Technologies Office aims to spur innovative solutions to advance widespread electrification upgrades in residential buildings, and NEMA supports the endeavor.The American-Made Equitable and Affordable Solutions to Electrification (EAS-E) Home Electrification Prize is a two-phase competition designed to support a suite of design solutions, tools, and/or technology innovations that make electrification more affordable and accessible in existing U.S. homes. Applications are being accepted now through March 2023.Through this prize, the U.S. Department Read More[...]

NEMA Applauds DOE Efforts to Strengthen U.S. Rare Earth and Critical Mineral Supply Chains

• April 5, 2022

The recent, ongoing global supply chain disruptions have impacted the lives of Americans through inflated prices and delayed goods. As discussions around an overreliance on foreign supply chains and critical minerals are ongoing, President Biden recently announced a plan to invoke the Defense Production Act. The Administration’s goal is to spur greater domestic output of raw materials for clean-energy technology products and to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign supply chains.To help the federal government better understand domestic processing capabilities, the  Read More[...]

NEMA Submits Statement to House Ways and Means Committee on Administration’s 2022 Trade Policy

• March 30, 2022
• Jena Passut

By Spencer Pederson, Vice President of Public Affairs, NEMAOn Wednesday, March 30, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on the Biden Administration’s 2022 Trade Policy Agenda.While the electroindustry shares with the Administration the fundamental goal of creating well-paying American jobs and shoring up our domestic supply chains, NEMA submitted a statement for the record to the committee outlining three key areas of focus as the Committee considers trade policy:U.S. Leadership in International Standards-Setting OrganizationsFirst, as U.S. Trade Representative continues its Read More[...]

NEMA Outlines Ways to Decarbonize ‘Difficult’ Industrial Sector

• March 15, 2022

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) recently submitted comments to the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) in response to the Advanced Manufacturing Office’s (AMO) Request for Information (RFI) on Industrial Decarbonization Priorities.In the RFI, the AMO notes that the industrial sector may be ‘difficult-to-decarbonize.’ But difficult doesn’t mean impossible, and there are incremental steps we can take today. The electroindustry recognizes the importance and urgency of decarbonizing manufacturing and production processes as we work Read More[...]

DOE Proposes to Revise the Process Improvement Rule (Again)

• April 22, 2021
• Alex Boesenberg

On April 12, the Department of Energy (DOE) published proposed modifications to its Process Improvement Rule of February 2020. The proposal responds to a Memorandum from the White House Chief of Staff directing agencies to review several rulemaking outcomes from the previous Administration.Before issuance of the February 2020 rule, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and other trade associations argued the original Process Improvement Rule of 1996 was sorely out-of-date, and its guidance had been interpreted and reinterpreted so many Read More[...]

NEMA Staff Analysis: An Assessment of the DOE LBNL Motor Systems Market

• February 26, 2021
• Alex Boesenberg

The Motor Systems Market Assessment (MSMA) is a study that delves into significant detail on the number, disposition, and operating characteristics of electric motor-driven systems in US industrial and commercial facilities. The study’s in-depth details will inform numerous activities and industries, assisting in planning and decision-making. This NEMA analysis focuses on the regulatory impacts of the MSMA and how NEMA (and other entities) may use it to inform and influence US Department of Energy rulemakings for minimum energy conservation Standards Read More[...]

Smart Buildings: A Key Element of Smart Energy and Climate Policy

• February 4, 2021

With the enactment of the Energy Act of 2020, smart buildings are finally making their debut in US clean energy and climate policy. Section 1007 of the bill, titled “Smart Building Acceleration,” directs the Department of Energy (DOE) in consultation with the General Services Administrator (GSA), to establish a Federal Smart Building Program to implement smart building technology and demonstrate the costs and benefits of smart buildings.The new law defines a “smart building” as a building, or collection of buildings, Read More[...]

The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane End-of-Season Report

• December 21, 2020

The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season was extremely active and costly. The season produced 30 named storms, 13 hurricanes, and six major hurricanes. Property damage estimates for the 2020 season are approaching $45 billion.The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season had many other notable statistics:This was the most active hurricane season on record and the seventh costliest on recordTropical Storm Arthur formed on May 14, more than two weeks before Atlantic Hurricane Season officially beganEvery named storm this season except three (Arthur, Bertha, Read More[...]

Standby Power Regulation Emerging for Connected Devices

• October 30, 2020
• Alex Boesenberg

As part of a 2020 Strategic Initiative (SI), NEMA examined regulators’ openness to referencing industry Standards for standby power, rather than developing new requirements. Standby power is the energy needed by a device to be ready to respond to an outside query or control signal while the device is otherwise not performing its primary function. The SI also focused on developing industry guidance for regulators about the standby power requirements of connected devices that offer edge computing, cybersecurity protection, monitoring, Read More[...]

The Half-Life of a Champion

• October 8, 2020
• NEMA Communications

by Tip Goodwin, ANSI C119 Standards CommitteeYou’re most likely familiar with the term “half-life,” as in the half-life of a radioactive isotope. The half-life measures the time required for the isotope to decay to half its strength. With each half-life, the radioactive level weakens by half. I have often applied a similar concept to my personal and business life, i.e., the “half-life of a champion.”Let’s set the stage. You, your boss, or maybe an associate, champion new technology, a new process, Read More[...]

NEMA Responds to Hurricane Laura

• September 10, 2020
• Bryan Holland

The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season is the first on record in which 13 tropical storms have formed before September. As of the writing of this report, a total of 17 named storms, five hurricanes, and one major hurricane have developed during this season. This season is also the first to see seven named tropical cyclones make landfall in the continental U.S. before the end of August. Hurricane Laura was a deadly and damaging Category 4 hurricane that tied with the 1856 Read More[...]

Hurricane Isaias Sets off Atlantic Hurricane Season

• August 12, 2020
• Bryan Holland

The ninth tropical cyclone of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season developed on July 28, approximately 600 miles east of the Leeward Islands. With its landfall on August 3, Hurricane Isaias became the earliest fifth named storm on record to make landfall on the U.S. mainland.Due to the storm’s slow development and asymmetrical geometry, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina were mostly spared any significant impacts as the storm passed, never making landfall along these territories Read More[...]

NEMA Launches Healthcare Facilities Council

• July 27, 2020
• NEMA Communications

This piece was originally published in the July/August 2020 issue of electroindustry.by Marc Neufcourt, Industry Director, NEMAThe healthcare industry is facing accelerating changes driven by a perfect storm of new technology adoption, consumer demographics, and regulation. To top it off, the industry is at the forefront of a global pandemic, with COVID-19 pushing to the limit its staff, infrastructures, and operations.There is little doubt that the current crisis will only accentuate trends that are reshaping the industry such as telehealth Read More[...]

All-Electric Buildings: Electrification in the Code

• July 27, 2020
• NEMA Communications

This piece was originally published in the July/August 2020 issue of electroindustry. by Mike Stone, West Coast Field Representative, NEMA Member companies have made possible the electrification of the country. What the term “electrification” has meant traditionally is to provide electricity to areas that previously did not have service. In the late 19th and first part of the 20th centuries, providing electricity to all parts of the country, including rural areas, was the challenge. The products and technology supplied by NEMA Members Read More[...]