Good News! Electric vehicle-related jobs in Los Angeles grew by 15.3% between 2007 and 2010. While the number of these jobs is still small, totaling a little over 550 in 2100, the growth rate is a hopeful sign and is a small part of the overall growth in our green economy jobs. The growth rate in L.A.’s green economy jobs between 2007 and 2010 was 7.1%, yielding a total of over 89,000 jobs in 2010.

L.A. scored #3 in growth rate for electric vehicle-related jobs between 2007 and 2010, with Kansas City at #1 and Phoenix at #2. “Electric vehicle-related jobs” includes manufacturing of electrical equipment and other parts for electric cars. It doesn’t include, for example, what we at The Electric Connection do, install chargers for electric vehicles (EVs), nor the selling of electric cars. Nor does the 2007-10 growth rate include small companies of 5 or fewer employees. For these reasons, the 15.3% figure for 2007-10 is undoubtedly an underestimate of job growth in the Los Angeles area related to electric cars.

However, the figures are an indication of an exciting phenomenon occurring all over the country — the growth of the green economy. The green economy encompasses recycling, energy audits, solar cells, and other industries which, like EVs, have an environmental benefit. The growth of the green economy benefits not only the environment, but also has a particularly welcome benefit of creating middle income jobs that don’t require higher education.

Yes, many green economy jobs go to environmental engineers, computer programmers, and others who have gone to college. In fact, many of these college-educated people are the innovators who create the green jobs to begin with.

But many green economy jobs, like in the manufacturing of electrical parts for electric cars, don’t require a college education. People are calling them “green collar” jobs — jobs that can be filled by people who might otherwise fruitlessly look for blue collar jobs that have been lost to robots in manufacturing plants or have been shipped overseas to people who make low wages.

We’re experiencing a process that has repeated itself throughout history — innovation seeding job creation. When Scottish engineer James Watt created innovations that made the steam engine useful commercially, he made the Industrial Revolution possible. The Industrial Revolution started with steam-powered textile plants. Textile and other steam-powered manufacturing plants led to the creation of factory jobs, which at that time, required limited education. This allowed subsistence farmers to leave their fields and begin (in an admittedly arduous path!) upward mobility. This was the rise of the Middle Class.

Today, the green economy, created by innovation, yields both green collar jobs and those requiring higher education. The growth of jobs in the EV manufacturing sector in L.A. is good over the long term not only for our environment, but also for our job market, providing work for people with various levels of education.

For more information about the growth of electric vehicle-related jobs in L.A. and the rest of the country as well as other green economy jobs, go to the report, Sizing the Clean Economy, by the Brookings Institution, July 2011.

Click here for more information about installing a charger for your electric vehicle.

Your computer system is essential to your business. But are you protected in the event of a serious power surge? Most companies aren’t, which means they’re playing with fire when it comes to the essential system that powers their company.

A serious power surge can severely damage your computers, causing thousands of dollars in repairs and replacement—and that doesn’t even account for the priceless data that you could lose. And even aside from serious damage to your computer system, your computers require a lot of electricity, which can cause frequent tripped breakers and power outages, and damage productivity of your office.

The most reasonable solution is to install a dedicated circuit breaker for your computer system. Not only will this protect your computers and your business, but it will improve productivity and give you ease-of-mind. Our licensed, trained electricians can install dedicated circuitry for the computers in your office to prevent slowdown and correct any electrical problems you may experience throughout the day.

Like in any other building, all electricity that enters your office travels through your circuit breaker before being fed into the different parts of your business. Each circuit is protected by a breaker, and to protect against electrical hazards, certain medium and heavy duty appliances require their own circuit or a “dedicated circuit.”

Too many items plugged into the same outlet, or several outlets connected to the same circuit, creates a lot of “noise” that consists of fluctuations in electronic current. This noise can cause problems for sensitive electronic equipment that can be damaged by mini-surges and fluctuations in power.

Without an appropriate dedicated circuit, an appliance may draw more current than the circuit can handle. This can lead to a number of problems, including causing the wiring to overheat and potentially start an electrical fire. Dedicated computer circuitry reduces this danger, allowing you to run your computers without risk of outages or worse.

A Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) receives information from one or more inputs. This semiconductor control device processes the information based on a software program. Finally, it sends an output control signal. The microprocessor based control system performs functions such as timing, logic, sequencing and others. The PLC follows instructions from an operator-defined program.

These intelligent systems provide reliable, high-speed monitoring and control of processes in automated applications. In addition, they are easy to program and configure.

Once the program updates the output, the CPU starts over and the cycle repeats again. The cycle depends on the number of inputs, outputs, and size of the program, while the action will depend on the inputs coming from a variety of sensors.

The input sensors include components such as switches, proximity sensors, photoelectric sensors, pressure switches, level switches, encoders and temperature sensors, while the output devices include actuators, relays, switches, and many more.

PLCs rely on software programs that help them in making the necessary decisions. The PLCs are programmed through a variety of tools, which may differ in ease of use, appearance, and complexity. The most commonly used PLC programming language is Ladder Logic, a graphical software that uses common electrical symbols. Other languages include Function Block Diagram (FBD), Sequential Function Chart (SFC) and Structured Text (ST).

The programming is done on the device such as a computer or handheld device after which it is transferred to the PLC memory using a communication interface.

Selecting a suitable PLC that will address your current and future needs can be a challenge, especially with the large number of different PLCs on the market today. The available PLCs have varying capabilities, physical sizes, complexity, cost, power requirements, scalability and other parameters. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the correct programmable logic controller for your specific application. Special systems can be designed for use in harsh environments.

The Programmable Logic Controller has revolutionized and simplified controls in automation and industrial applications. PLCs are easy to install, wire, program and modify to suit changing application requirements. These control systems are usually available in a wide range of sizes that ensure finding exactly what you need for any application.