InfoPower

Bunkered deep inside Interpower’s testing facility in Ames, Iowa, is an array of testing apparatus for the testing of electrical cable and components to push both newly manufactured and warehoused cable, cords, and components (and prototypes) to extreme limits, often well beyond UL and IEC standards for product compliance.

In an InfoPower article posted on March 15, 2021, “Importers of Chinese Electrical Cord Sets and Components May Continue Experiencing Gridlock,” Interpower noted the rising costs of shipping containers, specifically that the rate of a container shipping from Asia to Europe in November of 2020 was $2,200. In February of 2021, three months later, that same container cost $7,900.

Stacks of shipping containers continue to rise skyward at many U.S. seaports, especially on the Pacific Coast. While COVID quarantines and lockdowns that began in early 2020 are responsible for much of the slowdown, some costal states remain cautious in opening up commerce in a safe but timely manner as many lockdown rules remain in place.

A socket strip is a stand-alone electrical product containing several power sources (sockets) to provide equipment electrical connectivity by way of a country-specific AC input cord. Socket strips allow one or several machines to receive power in one or multiple strips.

A module is a device that combines multiple functions into a single unit to control power entry. There are several reasons to choose a module over individual components that are installed piecemeal. When choosing a module in your design, the first step is deciding which functions or components your module should contain. Typically an Interpower module offers two to five functions: an inlet, outlet, switch, circuit protection, voltage selector, and a filter.