Quote:
Originally Posted by Civicsman
I understand the difference between an engineer and an electrician.
I too have worked with engineers who are more academic than real-world, but I've also known many electricians who are not capable of designing a system to do this.
In general, an electrical engineer is necessary to translate the customer's needs to an electrical design. An electrician takes the design and implements it.
The quality of both engineers and electricians varies. Some electricians are more knowledgeable than others and could surely do this.
From the liability perspective, you'll need an engineer to do the design work.
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I will agree, that some electricians couldn't handle this. But they SHOULD be able to.
The electrical issues here aren't covered in an electrical engineering program. They're covered in your freshman physics class, second semester.
If you take things to much higher power distribution levels, you get into power distribution systems, which is a EE specialty. Or if you want to design the equipment -- connectors and such, that's something you'll need to be a EE to do, with a strong background in materials.
And yes, the guy who designed the original vehicle electrical system was no doubt a EE as well.
But an electrician applies standards and off-the-shelf components to solve real-world problems. This falls somewhere between that, and Electrical Designer, at the low end of the spectrum, at that.
I think that if you take it in the direction of NEEDING an electrical engineer, you've already lost the liability issue. What's needed is NOT an electrical engineer, but a solid knowledge of the applicable STANDARDS, and designing the system to stay well within those standards.
That's what the National Electrical Code is all about. The NEMA standards.
Treating this as a general electrical engineering problem is a mistake, IMHO, from a liability standpoint.
That's why I've tried to draw a clear line in areas where I do not know the applicable standards, as the transportation aspect adds factors I have no specific knowledge of.