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A Box for All Occasions

Jul 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Michael Eby, Editor-in-Chief

Non-metallic outlet box takes top honors in EC&M's 2006 Product of the Year competition

Short on features, but long on practicality, the One-Box non-metallic outlet box from Arlington Industries garnered the most votes from EC&M readers, securing the Platinum Award in the magazine's 2006 Product of the Year competition.

The One-Box is designed for new construction or retrofits, and mounts securely to a wood or steel stud via its captive angled screws. If the box is set too far forward or too far back, you can easily back out the screws and reposition them for new work. In old work applications, the box mounts to the stud, not the drywall (as do boxes designed with wing brackets), which enhances the structural integrity of the overall unit upon final installation.

The box is actually constructed of two separate pieces, which are combined into a finished unit. The part of the box that holds the screws captive is snapped into place during the manufacturing process, thus creating one sidewall of the finished box. Although the cost of the One-Box is higher than a plastic box equipped with captive nails, its price point is competitive with plastic boxes equipped with wing brackets. In addition, the box features 22.5 cubic inches of capacity and is UL listed. Its versatility was also a hit with our initial judging panel and voters in this year's competition.

In speaking with Tom Stark, president of Arlington Industries, I learned that as with many new and innovative products introduced to the market, the idea originated out of discussions with the guys who install these products on a daily basis — electricians. In talking with contractors, Stark and his team knew that “electricians had been driving a screw through the side of a standard plastic box for years.” This practice, however, doesn't result in a listed installation — and if the screw head doesn't seat all the way against the side of the box it could end up cutting through the insulation of the wires. So the Arlington team developed the One-Box to eliminate this field retrofit and give the installers a listed device that better meets their needs.

So once again, we see that a product doesn't have to feature a lot of bells and whistles to take top honors in this prestigious competition — it just has to improve worker efficiency, simplify installation practices, and be cost competitive. We also see that it doesn't always pay to think outside the box when designing a new product.

An EC&M Tradition

Now in its six year, the EC&M Product of the Year competition was established to honor excellence in new product development for the electrical industry. The prestigious Platinum Award showcases the most innovative product of the past year and recognizes inventive products that allow electrical design professionals, installers, and maintenance personnel to do their jobs more efficiently and effectively.

This year's contest pulled in 114 submissions — the second largest total ever — representing every major product category offered to the electrical construction and maintenance markets. The quality level of this year's diverse selection of products made it difficult for voters to zero in on just a single item, which once again led to a close final vote tally — with just a few votes separating the top three products.

Gold Award: Weatherproof Wire Connectors

The first runner-up in this year's competition went to Ideal Industries for its weatherproof wire connectors, designed to connect wires in damp or wet locations. Pre-filled with a silicone-based sealant and UL listed to 486D, these connectors are designed to protect conductors from moisture, humidity, and other corrosive elements — and eliminate the need for heat-shrink, resin packs, or multi-corrosion kits. The complete line handles copper wire sized from No. 22 to No. 6 AWG, plus features color-coding to indicate applicable wire ranges.

Silver Award: Triplex Receptacle

The second runner-up in this year's competition was Leviton Manufacturing's triplex receptacle. Designed to eliminate the need for a power strip or adapter, the Acenti triplex receptacle accommodates three plugs simultaneously, including two transformer-style plugs. Its top and bottom outlets are reversed so that transformer-style plugs can be plugged in at the same time without blocking the third outlet. Its precision components are designed to ensure perfect alignment. Compatible with standard electrical boxes, the device requires no special tools for installation.

Voting Winners

EC&M would like to congratulate the following five readers who each won $100 for voting in this year's competition.

• Earl Izawa, electrical engineer, Kimthanh, Inc., Honolulu
• Mike Tovar, engineering manager, CH2M HILL, Sacramento, Calif.
• Donald Branesky, plant engineer, Boeing, Seattle
• Guy Mattusch, master electrician, RTL Electric Co., Inc., Chantilly, Va.
• Kevin Ameele, electrical engineer, CHI Engineering Services, Portsmouth, N.H.

The EC&M editorial team randomly selected these names from the list of voters who cast their vote via our online Web poll.

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2009 Winner

The 2009 platinum award winner confirms the adage that sometimes two are better than one. The Tamper-resistant nightlight/GFCI combination device from Syracuse, N.Y.-based Pass Seymour/Legrand (P&S) aimed at residential homeowners, the product incorporates an LED nightlight into a tamper-resistant duplex ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI), meeting 2008 NEC standards for child electrical safety in newly constructed single- and multi-family dwellings.
The 2009 Gold Award: The first runner-up in this year's Product of the Year competition came from the luminaires (indoor/LED) category and went to Juno Lighting for its LED downlight. This recessed LED downlight features 5-in. and 6-in. LED housings available in new construction and remodel styles.
The 2009 Silver Award: The second runner-up in this year's competition was Ideal Industries' TKO hole cutters in the tools (hand/accessory) category. TKO carbide tipped hole cutters are designed to cut sheet metal and stainless steel.
Read more about the 2009 category winners.

2008 Winner

People say change is hard, but EC&M’s 2008 Product of the Year winner is helping to dispel this common notion. EverLED TR from Randolph, Vt.-based LEDdynamics is a direct “drop-in” replacement for standard fluorescent tubes that uses the existing fluorescent ballast of a luminaire. According to the company, the product is compatible with most standard ballast-equipped fluorescent light fixtures, including lenses, reactive and electronic ballasts, and programmed/instant/rapid/trigger start.
The 2008 Gold Award: Adjustable Mud Ring. The first runner-up in this year’s Product of the Year competition came from the boxes category and went to Thomas & Betts for its Steel City adjustable mud ring. The product ensures that stud-mounted outlet boxes fit flush with any thickness of finished drywall, plaster, or ceramic tile, according to the company.
The Silver Award: LED Linear Lighting. The second runner-up in this year’s competition was Juno Lighting Group’s Trac 12 LED in the lighting fixture category. Juno Trac 12 TL201LED low-power LEDs consume less than 15% of the power of conventional 5W low-voltage xenon lamps, according to the company.
Read more about the 2008 category winners.

2007 Winner

The KO Stamp from Deviser won EC&M’s 2007 contest by a knockout. This marking device for conduits helps electricians find the center points and conduit sizes to be installed in an electrical enclosure. According to the company, the device cuts layout time by 98%. To use, place the stamps into the electrical conduits, ink the tops of them, and then place the box on top of the stamps to accurately imprint center point and conduit size.
The 2007 gold award went to Carlon/Lamsom & Sessions for its Metal Adjust-A -Box. This product allows the installer to adjust the box to any wall thickness with the turn of a screw. Clip onto the stud, and then turn the screw to adjust the box in or out to make it flush with the finished wall.
The second runner-up in this year's competition was Fluke's 117 Digital Multimeter in the portable test & measurement equipment category. This device includes integrated VoltAlert non-contact voltage detection, which quickly senses the presence of AC voltage and provides a visual indicator to determine proper grounding.
Read more about the 2007 category winners.

2006 Winner

Short on features, but long on practicality, the One-Box non-metallic outlet box from Arlington Industries garnered the most votes from EC&M readers, securing the Platinum Award in the magazine's 2006 Product of the Year competition.
The One-Box is designed for new construction or retrofits and mounts securely to a wood or steel stud via its captive angled screws. If the box is set too far forward or too far back, you can easily back out the screws and reposition them for new work. In old work applications, the box mounts to the stud — not the drywall (as do boxes designed with wing brackets) — which enhances the structural integrity of the overall unit upon final installation.
Read more about the top three products. View the 2006 category winners.

2005 Winner

Proving the age-old adage that good things come in small packages, the Space Saver EMT Set Screw and Compression Connector from Cooper Crouse-Hinds garnered the most votes from EC&M readers to secure the Platinum Award in the magazine's 2005 Product of the Year competition.
The first runner-up was the 700 series of 600A and 1,000A industrial clamp meters with TightSight display from Ideal Industries.
The second runner-up was Southwire Co.'s Romex SIMpull tear-resistant, reduced friction nonmetallic Type NM-B cable.
Read more about the 2005 award winners.

2004 Winner

EC&M awarded Pass and Seymour/Legrand the 2004 Product of the Year Platinum Award for its Trademaster Decorator Combination Devices. The second and third place runners-up are MGE UPS Systems' Evolution Nexa RM Fuel Cell UPS and KO Instruments' CBA1000 Circuit Breaker Analyzer. View the list of the 2004 category winners.

2003 Winner

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2002 Winner

Encore's Color-Coded Cable

Encore Wire Ltd., McKinney, Texas, expanded its line of color-coded wire and cable to NM-B, THHN and XHHW-2 building wire. Each wire size now comes in a different color. Encore Wire introduced its colored wire and cable for the commercial market in 1999 to help contractors with installation and inspection, simplify inventory management and provide a safer, more efficient work environment.
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2001 Winner

Generac's Power Player

Powered by natural gas and offering remote control and monitoring, the DG 50 generator offers small retail and commercial users a one-two punch -- 50kW of backup power during blackouts or power interruptions and an on-site power source that can help them slash their electrical bills by managing their power consumption and feeding excess power to the utility grid.
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