Who is this guy?
Who is this guy?
In the old days, individuals who bounced around different areas of expertise were known as people who couldn't hold a job. Now we call them Seasoned Generalists.
George Kamburoff is a consultant in electrical power with over 25 years of experience solving power and production problems.
After many years of experience in the electronics, plastics, and primary metals industries, this Seasoned Generalist joined Pacific Gas & Electric Company in 1980 to help start and conduct their innovative Energy Conservation and Management programs. While a Senior Energy Services Engineer in Technical Services, his onsite work in customer facilities led to the establishment of the company's power quality programs.
Mr. Kamburoff wrote and delivered substantial parts of the Power Quality Course Seminars for the Electric Power Research Institute and the Power Electronics Applications Center, and is known for his lively and interesting presentations. His troubleshooting and seminar businesses are conducted from Pleasant Hill, CA. He earned a Bachelor of Science from California State University, Fresno, and a Master of Science from the University of San Francisco.
What the heck is Power Quality?
Power Quality is the relationship between the electrical system and the loads (such as your computer) connected to it, and how they affect each other. Your computer right now is grabbing rapid pulses of current from the power line, so it can store it in a capacitor as DC and dribble it out to its loads. The trouble is, although computers don't draw much current, all computers on the same circuit want it at exactly the same time. This can lead to real trouble, causing heating in wires, connectors, and fuses, as well as other problems.
Electrical systems have provided the power for industry, commerce, and daily living for over a hundred years. But, electrical systems were designed for motors and light bulbs. Electronic equipment has characteristics the electrical system was not designed to handle. Motor drives, electronic ballasts, computers, and other office equipment place stresses on our distribution systems often leading to data loss, equipment errors, and occasionally, to electrical fires.
Good Power Quality awareness will let you "build-in" immunity to power problems, providing reliable operations without spending large sums of money on special equipment.