Toronto Electricians and Electrical Contractors

Building access control systems – or home control systems – are developed to ensure the safety of people and data within the premises. An essential feature of an access control system is to ensure that only authorised individuals are allowed entry to specific areas of an infrastructural facility. Efficiently installing an access control system can enable an organisation to control who is accessing their facilities, ensuring safety for all. An access control point is integrated into either a door, turnstile, parking gate, elevator, or other physical barriers, where access points can be electronically controlled – typically, these points happen to be a door. It is crucial for entities (residential or commercial) to keep their occupants and assets safe by having an effective system in place. These security measures can be kept up-to-date by considering the listed points. Evaluate the usefulness of your system First and foremost, one should inspect what the fundamental purpose of thei...

The Norampac cardboard box factory, of pulp and paper giant Cascades Inc., wanted to reduce heating costs and improve employee comfort. The factory has 25 steam coil air heaters spread over 427,000 square feet—all on one floor. Each heater is controlled by a local mechanical thermostat, resulting in excessive energy costs, uncomfortable working conditions, and lack of centralized monitoring and control. Increase worker comfort, reduce energy spend and minimize installation costs The factory’s management had clear objectives to reduce energy costs associated with heating while increasing worker comfort by centrally managing temperature setpoints according to schedules. They also had to keep tight control of the project’s costs. In order to minimize direct and indirect costs, the installation had to be performed without affecting facility operations. Production downtime was not an option. 25% savings on heating costs Working around built-in challenges The sheer size of the factor...

Written by Angela Webb, HR Consultant This May, I will celebrate my 13 th year of service with Schneider Electric. My time with Schneider has been marked by an abundance of learning and growth—both personally and professionally. In most cases, opportunities for career growth and development at Schneider directly correlate to the contribution and ambition of each individual employee, regardless of gender or ethnicity. As a woman and person of color, I have found this to be true of my own career even in the absence of a comprehensive diversity and inclusion strategy. At Schneider Electric, “Embrace Different” is one of our core values. In recent years, the Company has placed a needed emphasis on gender diversity (hiring, developing, and advancing women at SE) and I am so pleased to see that the strategy is expanding to include ethnicity, veterans, generations, LGBTI, and individuals with disabilities. I believe it’s vitally important to the bottom line and longevity of the company t...

Whether it’s an overnight stay or a three-week vacation, expectations for hotels have never been higher. Today’s travelers aren’t just looking for a place to crash after a long day of sightseeing, cuisine sampling, and souvenir hunting – they’re expecting a personalized, connected guest experience. Exceed the expectations of your guests and you’ll create a happy, loyal fan base. Fall short, and your hotel could draw negative reviews and face major issues. So, what’s the best way to ensure your hotel provides the perfect atmosphere for guests, draws rave reviews, and establishes a loyal customer base? Simple, provide a state-of-the-art hotel experience – and the easiest place to start is in the guest room. I get by with a little help from my (Internet) friends Before we dive into technologies that can improve the guest experience, let’s quickly touch on the influence of hotel reviews. After all, with 80% of travelers reading 6+ reviews prior to booking, customers weigh the words of f...

What’s the Emergency? Keeping International Requests for Law Enforcement Access Secure and Safe for Internet Users Law enforcement access to data is in the middle of a profound shake-up across the globe . States are pushing to get quicker, deeper, and more invasive access to personal data stored on the global Internet, and are looking to water down the international safeguards around privacy and due process in the name of “speed” and “modernization.” One part of that push is concentrated on the Council of Europe’s Cybercrime Convention (also known as the “Budapest Convention”) — an international instrument,  ratified by the United States and over 60 countries around the world , that spells out the procedures, checks and balances when law enforcement from another nation needs to comply with when requesting digital data held in another jurisdiction. The Council of Europe’s Cybercrime Convention Committee (T-CY)  is currently drafting an update in the form of a ...

When the Copyright Office Meets, the Future Needs a Seat at the Table Every three years, EFF’s lawyers spend weeks huddling in their offices, composing carefully worded pleas we hope will persuade the Copyright Office and the Librarian of Congress to grant Americans a modest, temporary permission to use our own property in ways that are already legal. Yeah, we think that’s weird, too. But it’s been than way ever since 1998, when Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, whose Section 1201 established a ban on tampering with “access controls for copyrighted works” (also known as “Digital Rights Management” or “DRM”). It doesn’t matter if you want to do something absolutely legitimate, something that there is no law against — if you have to bypass DRM to do it, it’s not allowed. What’s more, if someone wants to provide you with a tool to get around the DRM, they could face up to five years in prison and a $500,000 fine, for a first offense, even if the tool is only ever...

Recently, the French Federation, Domotics, and the Smart Building Alliance (SBA) for Smart City awarded Jean-Pierre Moreau of Light and Room Control EcoXpert , Connectibat , the 2017 Smart Building prize. The event was part of the international Mondial du bâtiment exhibition. Having one of our esteemed EcoXpert partners earn this honor, prompted us to take the opportunity to provide some insight into the day-to-day real life of a Schneider Electric L&RC EcoXpert partner. KNX projects (or C-Bus ) are, of course, a core part of their activity and service offering. However, the continuing evolution of Internet of Things (IoT) technology is redefining the world in which we live and the ways we interact with that technology. Today’s building automation professionals must consider the growing need for full and seamless integration that incorporates a variety of different components and elements including: Specialist system controls, including: Power Distribution HVAC Door E...