Grounding, Batteries, and Ladder Safety: The Technical Backbone of Low-Voltage Work

We break down essential technical concepts for low-voltage professionals, from proper termination block spacing to ladder safety protocols. 

• Use the four square inch rule for every four-pair circuit when planning termination block wall space
• UPS batteries perform best at 77°F with life reduced by half for every 10°C above optimal temperature
• Speaker coverage for speech intelligibility requires checking polar plots at 2kHz with attention to the -6dB drop point
• Stranded patch cords have 25% more attenuation and require careful handling to prevent impedance swings
• Work breakdown structures should include planning, kickoff, actual work, and closeout phases
• Outside plant installations involve public, private, and railroad right-of-ways requiring proper permits
• Ladder safety requires checking spreaders, rubber boots, weight ratings, and never using damaged equipment
• Never stand on the top two rungs of a ladder or allow multiple people on standard ladders

For more detailed information on ladder safety, check out our 34-minute show covering top ladder safety tips and common mistakes to avoid.

Chapters

• 0:00 Show Introduction and RCDD Updates
• 3:52 Wall Space Planning for Termination Blocks
• 6:54 Temperature Effects on UPS Battery Life
• 9:48 Speaker Coverage for Speech Intelligibility
• 11:33 Patch Cord Issues in High-Performance Systems
• 14:38 Work Breakdown Structures for Project Management
• 19:12 Right-of-Way Rules for Outside Plant Cabling
• 22:09 Ladder Safety and Fall Protection Guidelines

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to let's Talk Cabling, the award-winning podcast where knowledge is power and the low-voltage industry connects. Hosted by Chuck Bowser, rcdd. We're here to empower installers, designers and industry pros with the tips, stories and best practices you need to stay ahead. From copper to fiber standards to innovation, this is the show that keeps you plugged into success. So grab your tools, turn up the volume and let's talk cabling wednesday night, 6 pm, eastern standard time.

Speaker 2: 0:43

That can only mean one thing Live after hours with Chuck Bowser RCDD your, your favorite RCDD. You know I am Don't even try to pretend like I'm not. Don't even try to pretend like I'm not. It's been a great week so far. This week I've had three people three people tell me today from previous RCDD study groups that they just got their RCDDD. How cool is that? They just got their RCDD. I'm not going to say they only got it because they were in the study group, but study groups do help. They certainly help, and the fact that they got their RCD just is super, super great news, Super great news. Let me change that. There we go. That's actually a little better.

Speaker 2: 1:31

So, acronym challenge let's pull up an acronym. Let's pull up an acronym. Let's pull up an acronym. Put on my safety glasses so the words don't jump off the pages and injure my eyes. Let's see what is a good acronym for today's show.

Speaker 2: 1:45

A good acronym for today's show is let's do this one PBB, pbb. Somebody tell me in the chat box what does PBB stand for? No, actually, I think you did PBB last week. Let's skip it. Let's do a different one. I'm pretty sure I did PBB last week. Let's skip it. Let's do a different one. I'm pretty sure he did PBB last week. Let's do HC. What does HC mean? There we go. That's what I want to do HC. Somebody tell me in the chat box what does HC mean?

Speaker 2: 2:18

You know me. I'm the acronym challenge guy. I do acronym challenges. I do them every day, monday through friday, on linkedin and instagram, and then I put up the answers on saturday. So far, nobody has given me an answer yet. Hold on, I got with chetwin here. Definitely helped me, lol. Yep, yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 2: 2:36

Shotzi is another one. Shotzi is another person. There's a way I can do this. Hold on show on stream. Boom, there we go.

Speaker 2: 2:43

Shotzi is definitely another person who is attending my RCD study group. But let's be honest, shotzi, you didn't get your RCDD because of me. You got it because of you, because of the hard work that you put in and that you got it. So don't sell yourself short, my friend. Don't sell yourself short. So HC, not AC. Hc horizontal cross connect is what that stands for.

Speaker 2: 3:09

So did you catch last Monday's episode, did you? I did an episode on installing a grounding electrode for the podcast studio. Yes, yes, I'm going to try to put up some walls this weekend, maybe even mount the primary bonding bus bar, maybe even attach that. Maybe that would be the next thing to do. So I've got lots of great stuff lined up for future content, but I'm always looking for content. So if you have a suggestion for a show or topic you want me to cover, absolutely, absolutely, give me a shout out. Okay, so let's go ahead and start answering the questions. This one comes from Ben from TikTok, and Ben says we're trying to plan out a space on plywood to mount termination blocks.

Speaker 2: 4:02

Is there general guidelines I can follow, similar to the 100 square foot rule, to determine the number of work area outlets? Well, first let me explain the 100 square foot rule. It's a rule that you can figure out roughly how many work area outlets you need to have on a floor. It's pretty simple. You take the usable square footage of the floor, the usable square footage of the floor, and you divide it by 100. The theory is most office spaces they have a every work area. An office of me cut my differential cubicle or something like that, is going to be about 100 square feet. So if you have a floor plan that's 10,000 square feet, you can take your calculator, take 10,000, divide it by 100, and you'll find out how many work area outlets you're supposed to have for that floor and based on that information you can calculate how much cable, how much connectors, how much jacks, how many patch panels, all that stuff again. Good, general guy, that's the hundred square foot rule.

Speaker 2: 5:11

So, but the question was not that. The question was how is there general guideline for determining how much wall space I need when I'm trying to figure out? So yes, there's a for every. You need to dedicate four square inches for every four pair circuit that's going to be cross-connected or patched. Four square inches for every four-pair circuits. And then you may want to add additional 20% to include spacing for cable routing, cross-connect jumpers, equipment cords, patch cords, stuff like that.

Speaker 2: 5:46

So let's apply this rule. Let's say you're putting in a 110, 100 pair block. 110, 100 pair block. A 110 100 can handle up to 24, 4 pair cables because give me to do 6 to row there's 4 rows. 6 times 4 is 24. So 24 4 pair cables multiplied by 4 square inches is going to be 96 square inches. So I need to dedicate 96 square inches. Is going to be 96 square inches, so I need to dedicate 96 square inches of wallboard space, now in reality a 110-100,. The dimensions are roughly 11 inches wide by four inches tall. Give or take, that's only 44 square inches. So if you follow the general guideline, you'll have enough in there for your cross-connect. So that's that rule Four square inches for every four-pair cable.

Speaker 2: 6:37

Next question comes from Tony from Instagram. He says hey, chuck, we've got a job coming up where the battery room temperature might get pretty warm, like close to 90 degrees. Someone said that that could kill battery life. How much does temperature really affect a UPS battery performance and what can we do to keep the room at 77 degrees? You know, I remember this from being a little kid. The colder a battery is, the more capacity it has, right. As a matter of fact, I remember putting batteries in the freezer and trying to get them to last a little bit has, right. As a matter of fact, I remember putting batteries in the freezer, trying to get them to last a little bit longer, right? So battery capacity and life are definitely affected by temperature. The optimum temperature is going to be 77 degrees. That's why Tony mentioned 77 degrees.

Speaker 2: 7:25

When you get below 77 degrees you have longer battery life but less capacity. Okay, so below 77, less capacity, longer battery life. Above 77 degrees you're going to have more capacity short term, but the battery life gets shorter, gets shorter and you know that's actually a perfect thing because everybody knows me, knows I live in, I got the hiccups down west central florida, west central florida, about an hour north of tampa, and I tell you what it gets hot here in the summer times. I've gone through more batteries for my vehicles living in florida than any other state that I've been in and I've lived in m Pennsylvania, virginia, mississippi, texas.

Speaker 2: 8:16

So, you know a lot of the temperature. You know the short of your battery life. In fact, there's a general rule for every increase, for every 10 degree increase, I'm sorry for every 10 degree Celsius increase, which is 18 degrees Fahrenheit above 25 degrees, the battery life expectancy is reduced by half, reduced by half. Hey, somebody get their calculator out and find out how many degrees of temperature is 25 Celsius. Oh no, I already know that it's 77 degrees. Yes. Now, if you can't control the temperature of the room, there are some things that you can do. Number one factor in temperature compensation in your battery sizing, okay. Also, maybe use rectifiers that auto-adjust charging based on the temperature. That way they can sense the temperature of the room, they can charge it correctly. And then you know, your best resource here is going to be reach out to your manufacturers. I guarantee you they're going to have a specialist that's going to help tailor a setup perfect for you for batteries. I am not a battery expert, I just know some general guidelines for them when it comes to putting them in.

Speaker 2: 9:22

Next question, this comes from Jamie from Facebook, says Chuck, I'm working on a room where we need ceiling speakers and the client wants to make sure that everybody can hear it clearly, even the people in the back. In the back, can you hear me? Yes, especially in the back. You've got to make sure they hear you right. How do you figure out the speaker's coverage angle to make sure that they're getting full speech intelligibility? You know, loudness doesn't automatically equate to being able to be to understand what is being said. That just doesn't rock concert. This is a perfect example. It gets really loud and sometimes I can't remember, I can't even, I can't even tell you what the heck they're singing. Oh, what are you drinking, by the way? Cola zevia here. Cola zevia and and a little bit of dog hair.

Speaker 1: 10:14

Evidently I love my dogs, but man, I tell you, there's dog hair everywhere.

Speaker 2: 10:21

So here's a couple of answers for you. Right, there's this thing called a polar plot loudspeaker polar plot. So what you can do is you can use that to determine what is the coverage angle where the sound drops below minus 6 dB from the center of that axis, because once you get outside of that, the volume is not going to be usable For speech. Make sure that you check that polar plot at 2 kHz at the center of the speech band to make sure that you have key understandability for whatever you're saying. If the negative six-degree drop happens at 40 degrees off-axis, that gives you a total 80-degree coverage. But you also might want to consider the listener angle. The listener angle and here's what I'm talking about the listener height is going to be different in a movie theater as opposed to a room where people are standing, and you need to design that height. As a matter of fact, when you are choosing to determine the coverage area of speakers, you got to determine what's that room being used for and what's the height, because that's going to really affect all that. Next question comes from Alex and it came to me via LinkedIn. It says hey, chuck, we're getting a lot of intermittent failures on our patch cords, especially when they get moved around. Someone mentioned something about impedance swings and stranded cable being the issue. What should we be watching out for when it comes to patch cords in high-performance cabling systems? So again, we are not talking about voice patch cords, okay, high-performance Cat 5E, cat 6, cat 6A, cat 8. Now, stranded patch cords have more attenuation than solid conductor cabling. It can have up to see if I can remember the numbers 25% more attenuation, and then there's a 50% number too, but I can't remember what the 50% is. And that's why we don't use stranded paths or stranded cabling for all of our runs. We use stranded patch cordage for patch cords because we can bend them easily to go through desks and route around things and often the patch cord is going to be the weakest link. We can bend them easily to go through desks and route around things, and often the patch cord is going to be the weakest link, the weakest link of the structure cable plan. So always make sure that you handle patch cords with care. I got a picture that Kalen had sent me. I didn't see him on here on tonight's show. He usually doesn't miss these. He sent me a picture of a patch cord that a teacher had cooled up. I mean it was literally like, yay, big, you know what that's going to affect the performance of the cable. So here's something you might want to do you might want to check the return loss on the patch cord before and after flexing. That way you can document that impact for the impedance. Now, if you get any deviation above or below 5 ohms from that 100 ohm circuit, the structure cable plant can cause you to have test failures. So 100 ohms Structure cable plant, the characteristic impedance is 100 ohms. You put it on there and you flex. If you get more than 5 ohms deviance you know you've got problems. And Category 5 cable basically uses, like I said, stranded patch cords and they're known to swing wildly, especially when they get flexed, and get flexed a lot. So make sure you use a patch cord that's designed for stable return loss.

Speaker 2: 13:50

Stay away from cheap patch cords. Stay away from making your own patch cords. Yes, I said it. I said it. There was actually a post on Little Voltage Nation's Facebook group this week. Somebody said why can't I make patch cords in the field? There's lots of reasons why you shouldn't. Lots of reasons. Take another sip of my zevia cola.

Speaker 2: 14:16

Next question comes from Maria came to me in one of my threads. It says Chuck, I keep hearing that every project manager should build a WBS work breakdown structure. In case you don't know, that is work break down structure before starting a job. Exactly that is work breakdown structure before starting a job. Exactly what is a work breakdown structure and how do I use it to keep the project on track. Okay, so the only time a project manager should be creating a work breakdown structure is if they're also the person who estimated the job. The estimator should be creating the work breakdown structure. A good project manager because then it makes their job easier, because they can take that work breakdown structure from the estimator should be creating the work breakdown structure. A good project manager because then it makes their job easier can take that work breakdown structure from the estimator, easily, turn it into trackable units for the project and they can rock on. If the project manager has to create a work breakdown structure, you're creating more work for the project manager right out of the gate. Right out of the gate. So what is a work breakdown structure? Out of the gate, right out of the gate. So what is this work breakdown structure? It's just a way to break projects down into smaller, manageable activity groups that align with major phases in the project. So I'll give you an example. I'll use my podcast studio as an example If I were to create a work breakdown structure for it.

Speaker 2: 15:29

I know that I've got to put in the bonding ground electrode. I know I got to put in the conduit. I got to put up the walls. I got to put up all those blocks and stuff. I'm going to have 66 blocks, 110 blocks, bix blocks. I'm going to have a rack in there. I'm going to have a wall mount cabinet. It's going to be like a miniature Big C training room. I'm so excited. So I got to mount all that stuff and then I got to pull all the cable, terminate, test it. So each one of those would be their own phases. So, for example, the cable that's actually for pulling the cable in the podcast studio. There would be one line for actually pulling the cable, another one for terminating it, another one for testing it right.

Speaker 2: 16:10

So a good work breakdown structure is going to include four things. Four things. Count them with me Ready. Four things. It's going to include four things. Four things, count them with me Ready. Four things. It's going to include planning and design. It's going to include a project approval and or kickoff. Every project should have a kickoff meeting, by the way, every project, the actual work.

Speaker 2: 16:31

And then the one that most project managers miss how to close out the project. You don't close out the project just because you just finished doing all the tasks, you terminated a cable and you label it. No, you've got to close out the project. There's project documentation you've got to create as-built red lines, submit for maybe a manufacturer warranty, do the final walkthrough with the customer, maybe get the local authority-having jurisdiction to come out and do the final inspection on it. So there's close-up stuff that has to happen.

Speaker 2: 17:04

So work breakdown structures they're really good at defining the project schedule and giving you a critical path. That way you know that each and every element has been included in a timeline so that nothing gets missed. Nothing gets missed. I did a project one time I won't say where. It was a pretty large project two buildings, four stories per building, four floors per building, I mean and I totally missed all the fiber that was supposed to connect the two buildings together. I had the main stuff going underneath the floor, but there was also something at the upper level, basically creating a ring and I totally missed that.

Speaker 1: 17:42

Oops. I hate that. I hate, when that happens.

Speaker 2: 17:45

So the best diagram for a work breakdown structure is going to work like a tree and outline. Each branch is going to represent its own responsibility or work package. So I might talk about my podcast studio, right, the build out of the walls, that would be one major task. The cables, that would be another major task. But underneath that major task of pulling cables, like I said, I'd have a line item for pulling the cable, a line item for terminating the cable, a line item for dressing the cable, a line item for testing the cable, addressing the cable, a line item for testing the cable, testing the cable and each task is going to be specific and have weighted, be weighted so that way you can make sure that you assign the right team member for that. Now, the podcast studio I'm the team member, I'm the one doing everything, and there's lots of tools out there, lots of tools out there to make your job easier, like MS Project, and you can even do it with a simple Gantt chart. And here's the thing, good news for you. I did an entire episode on work breakdown structures. The name of that show was Estimating in the Low-Voltage Industry with Work Breakdown Structures, and that posted out on the audio and YouTube on January 13th of 2025. So if you want to learn more about doing that, just go check out that YouTube video. It's about 45 minutes long.

Speaker 2: 19:05

Next question comes from Tyler on YouTube. Chuck, we're planning outside plant run and I'm trying to wrap my head around the right-of-way rules. What are the different types of right-of-way rules that we might run into when installing cable and what should we be looking out for? So this person must not be doing a lot of outside plant, because a right-of-way means you're running the cable either under the ground or over the ground on somebody else's property. That's a right-of-way.

Speaker 2: 19:40

There's three types of right-of-ways. First is called a public right-of-way. Now, a public right-of-way means that that land is owned by the state, maybe the county, maybe the federal government. It's owned by some type of governmental agency. Then you have private right-of-ways. Private right-of-ways is land that's legally owned and or controlled by individuals or companies. So like, for example, if you want to run a cable across my property, I would be the person giving you the right-of-way If you don't do it across. I remember gosh three years ago. Four years ago, the church I was going to. We had to run some cable, then had to get the right-of-way for that. So it was the church's property, okay, the church's property, so it could be anything, anything that's owned by a private individual or a private company.

Speaker 2: 20:34

The third type of right-of-way and this is probably this is one I have the least amount of experience with, but, from what I understand, is one of the hardest ones Railroad right-of-ways Railroad. So that means that land is typically owned by the railroad and you think about this, if you're running a fiber optic cable from, say, baltimore to Washington DC, the easiest way to run a fiber optic cable between those two large cities is alongside the railroad. It's already a clear path straight to it. Straight to it. And even though they are owned by private companies, they often have a lot of nuances to them, a lot of hurdles you've got to jump through. As a matter of fact, it's close to being like a government type of control. One thing to note that even though railroad right-of-ways can be tricky, they act like a private right-of-way, so just keep that in mind. They act like a private right-of-way, public right-of-ways. Always determine who owns the right-of-way. Before you start trenching or pulling any type of content. Make sure you get the proper permits and the easements ahead of time. Ahead of time. Okay. So the next question. This comes from TikTok.

Speaker 2: 21:51

Chuck, my general contractor, says we don't need fall protection when using a ladder, but I'm working around energized gear with heavy tools. What should I really be doing to stay safe on ladders and what does the AHJ really care about? Let's be honest here. The AHJ only cares about harassing you. When it comes to safety, they really just want to make sure that the products you put in that building won't cause a fire. If they catch on fire, they will produce minimum amounts of toxic off-gases so people can egress and get out of it. They really don't so much care about fall protection and ladder safety. Osha will, but your AHJ typically won't. So fall protection, even though it may not be required by the AHJ, tying off is always going to be a smart practice, especially if you're working overhead for long periods of time, because this might seem easy, but if you're doing something overhead for 10 minutes, 15 minutes, it throws off your balance and it could cause you to fall.

Speaker 2: 22:59

Handling tools Funny story my brother got hit in the head one time by something on top of a ladder and also high traffic areas. So if you're doing something like in a warehouse, right and there might be a forklift that might come by, hits out that ladder. You want to make sure you don't fall from the top of that ladder all the way down and get hurt. Secure your work area right. Secure your work area right Caution tape, combs, ladders, maybe even apprentices. So, choosing the right ladders Fiberglass is the best.

Speaker 2: 23:32

I think you can also use a wood ladder, but you've got to make sure that that wood ladder is dry. Do you know how many times I've seen a wooden ladder mounted to the top of a truck and it's out there in the rain and the snow and you bring it in. Well, guess what? If it's wet, it's conductive, it's conductive. So it's got to be a dry wood ladder, right. Especially if you're working near an electrical. So let's talk about setting up ladder safety right.

Speaker 2: 23:59

There are some things to do. Number one keep the ladder between you and the fall hazard. Avoid placing it in doorways or behind doorways or in heavy traffic areas. And again, like I said earlier, protect your work area caution tape, cones, ladders. Before you actually use a ladder, though, you might want to check the ladder to make sure that it's still in good shape. Still in good shape, right? Number one make sure that the spreaders are nice and tight. They're not bent and wobbly. That happens a lot when people wobble the ladders. It's called walking the ladder. My brother used to do it all the time.

Speaker 2: 24:34

Check the rubber boots on the bottom of the ladder. Make sure that they're all there, they're present, they're securely mounted Right. Make sure that the rungs on the ladder are clean. They don't have mud on them because you used them outside last time, because that could be slippery. Make sure that the rails on the ladder aren't cracked, aren't bent, and make sure that the ladder's rated for the height that you're trying to work to and the weight you're trying to work with.

Speaker 2: 25:02

Now, when people buy ladders, they go well, yeah, that ladder's rated at 275. I only weigh 250, so I'm good to go. Yeah, what about when you strap on your tools? Hmm, got to count those in too. Don't forget them. Right. Here's some other safety rules. Never use a damaged or modified ladder. I remember I worked for a company one time the safety inspector, when they come by, if they saw that the ladder had issues with it, he would literally take a circular saw and cut the ladder in half so you could not use it.

Speaker 2: 25:36

Don't paint over ladders. You see this a lot on construction sites. You know electricians, hvacs. They will paint the sides of the ladders and then they'll paint the names of the company on them. That's not a good thing to do because paint can hide cracks and damage. You really should be inspecting that ladder each and every time you use it, because literally it could crack in the middle of the day and only repair ladders if you are a qualified and certified individual and you're doing it within the manufacturer's guidance.

Speaker 2: 26:09

I would never Ladders. They're $300, $200, $150. My life's worth more than that. I would just go ahead and get a new one right. Make sure you read the labels on the ladders. Read the labels on the ladders and that's kind of a funny one too, because when you look at a ladder, it's got more stickers on the side of it for all the things you're not supposed to do. You can thank a lawyer for that. You can thank a lawyer for that. You can thank a lawyer for that, because each line on those stickers was probably because of a lawsuit.

Speaker 2: 26:47

Never allow more than one person on a ladder at a time. I'll say that again Never allow more than one person on a ladder at a time, unless that ladder is designed to have more than one person. When I was in the fire department, we used to have these extension ladders we used to use they were certified up to three people, but you had to be 10 feet apart, right so? But they were extremely heavy duty ladders. Most of the ladders that we use in the trades are designed for one person one person. Never stand on either the top two rungs or the very top of a ladder. They're not designed for you to be up there, easy to fall off and, as I said earlier, I'll say this one again pay attention to the weight on those ladders, because they're going to be kind of important.

Speaker 2: 27:38

I actually did a show on this too. Hold on, let me see if I can't find it real quick. Ladder safety. There it is. Ladder safety. When was this published? I want to say it was January of 2020. It's a 30-minute show on ladder safety and it covers why ladders can be dangerous top ladder safety tips, what happens if you use the wrong ladder and five mistakes everyone should make. So there's another show for you. It's 34 minutes long. So 34 minutes, it's a whole entire show on ladder safety. Make sure you watch it. Make sure you watch it. Alright, let me see.

Speaker 2: 28:14

Do I have any other questions, because I've covered all the questions that were submitted to me ahead of time. I do have a minute or two. I thought I saw one coming here on TikTok. Let me scroll back. Oh, this week, while I'm looking for it, last week I got to present at TechFest in Nashville Nashville what a great time. I did a presentation on bonding and grounding and great event, great event. So this question comes from Edward Stoneman on TikTok Question as a designer, what is your preferred software for system drawings and prints?

Speaker 2: 28:57

Okay, my preferred system is to have a person who does it for me. I usually didn't do the drawings. Somebody else usually did them, but there are some good ones out there. There are some good ones out there. All right, let me see. I think that was the only question I had there from TikTok. Yes, that is the last question from TikTok. Okay, we are at 628. Oh, here's another one. You should mirror your live stream so the viewers don't see everything backwards Just trying to help. I appreciate that. Classic Lord. Okay, I get it. I get it All right. So that really covers everything for tonight. So remember, send your questions in early. Until next time, remember knowledge is power.

Speaker 1: 29:50

Thanks for listening to let's Talk Cabling, the award-winning podcast where knowledge is power and the low voltage industry connects. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review and share it with your crew. Got questions or ideas for the show? Chuck wants to hear from you. Stay connected, stay informed and always aim for excellence. Until next time, keep those cables clean, your standards high and your future bright. Let's talk cabling empowering the industry, one connection at a time.