DC Power Hour

Hosted by Eagle Eye Power Solutions

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Feb 2026

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About the show

Welcome to “DC Power Hour”– the show where we will discuss everything related to – you guessed it – critical DC power solutions. Twice a month, we will get together and have a little fun talking with experts about the issues that are important to us and our industry. At Eagle Eye, we are huge on sharing knowledge, and our goal is to both educate and entertain our audience with this podcast. So, charge up, power on, or do whatever it is you have to do to get yourself excited for “DC Power Hour”!

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59 recent

February 17, 202647 min

The Legacy of J. Allen Byrne

Special tribute episode, featuring longtime friends, respected colleagues and Hall of Fame contributors reflecting on the profound impact of J. Allen Byrne—a pioneering expert, educator, Battcon founder, IEEE Senior Member, and International Battery Hall of Fame inductee—whose decades of leadership in stationary battery systems, DC power solutions, and industry education shaped modern practices and inspired generations.Episode Highlights5:45 – We convinced Allen to leave Marconi Space and Defense, and he came and joined us in Saudi.15:14 – He was the titan. They called Gauss the titan of electricity. But Allen Byrne was the titan of energy storage, and you could always bet on him. Having an answer to whatever question you asked him.22:26 – He was always trying to look out for everybody else and make sure everybody else felt comfortable. But he was definitely, as I said before, a force to be reckoned with in the industry.28:05 – We both agreed that once the last of the old guard is gone, also going to be gone is hundreds of years of experiences and knowledge and the willingness to share that, to stand up alone when needed to help the industry be better.45:04 – Allen's interest went way beyond just batteries and he, he has a lasting impact.

August 26, 202554 min

Battcon 2025 Recap with Industry Legends

Join Allen for an engaging episode of DC Power Hour, where he moderates a dynamic panel discussion featuring Battcon Hall of Fame members Tom Carpenter and Pete DeMar, alongside industry experts Ryan Wallace and Lucas Berndt. Together, they dive into the highlights of Battcon 2025, sharing key takeaways, memorable moments, and insights from the premier battery technology conference.Episode Highlights11:02 – Was there any real concerns at, Battcon about lithium ion respect to safety? 29:34 – What did you think of the panel session sessions?44:25 – It was a fantastic Battcon. It, the venue, the subjects were great. They were diversified and every single paper teaches me something.52:44 – Building those relationships, getting to know those people, that's the true value of being involved in coming to events like Battcon.

June 26, 202551 min

Special Episode: HOPPECKE Battery Experts Charge Up DC Power Hour

Listen, in this episode of DC Power Hour, Allen is joined by Nick Fortune and Mike Vest of HOPPECKE Batteries Inc. as they discuss power outages, threats to the grid, and more with Ryan Wallace and Lucas Berndt from Eagle Eye Power Solutions.Episode Highlights5:09 – My feeling is that the grid is overextended. It's under-built at the moment, and there's more and more power being placed on the grid every day, especially with the advent of artificial intelligence and data centers.8:48 – Can we take things below ground and get the wires underneath so they don't get crunched by trees and limbs that come down.11:01 – We recycle over 99.9% of our lead. We've won awards in many of those type of situations, we're very green.33:42 – What do you guys think of bringing small nuclear reactors closer to the need for power? Microgirds?

May 13, 202553 min

Aging DC Power Infrastructure, Skill Shortages, & Maintenance Challenges

In this episode of DC Power Hour, host Allen Byrne is joined by DC power experts Lucas Berndt, and Ryan Wallace, discusses aging DC power infrastructure, focusing on under-funding, skill shortages, and maintenance challenges. They explore real-world outages and the urgent need for infrastructure upgrades and skilled tradespeople.Episode Highlights5:33 – They couldn’t get their SCADA system online. They essentially had to declare a state of emergency.8:48 – Recently, we’ve had a massive power outage in the country of Chile, followed by another on the entire Iberian Peninsula two weeks later.13:01 – I’ve gone into nuclear facilities, and they had a plan for their plan, and then another plan for that plan.14:36 – I’ve noticed over the last 20 years or so of my career that we’re losing the skills.24:27 – We have an aging infrastructure and a workforce that’s retiring and taking their knowledge with them.

February 21, 202559 min

Allen and Guests Discuss Battery Room Safety

In this episode Allen hosts Pete DeMar, who has over 40 years of experience in the stationary battery industry, and Ryan Wallace, Market Development Manager for Eagle Eye Power Solutions. They explore the critical topic of battery room safety, covering key precautions and best practices to prevent hazards. The expert panel discusses essential safety measures, including proper signage, ventilation, PPE requirements, and emergency protocols for thermal runaway and hazardous gas exposure. Tune in to learn how to create a safer battery environment and mitigate risks before they become serious threats.Episode Highlights5:05 – More and more batteries are being moved into occupied spaces, either rightly or wrongly, safely or not safely. So, let's start with battery location.13:52 – You should have two people both trained on the hazard that they're going to be working with. The person that goes in there has to be trained. And that's in a several OSHA and IEEE documents.17:53 – I've been lucky. I've only had one battery blow up in front of me.30:10 – We want to install that hydrogen detection sensor on the highest peak or the highest part of the ceiling.39:06 – Your ventilation could actually fail and your recombiner, by recombining that 90 some percent of that gas, will prevent air from being a buildup in the battery room.

November 21, 20241 hr 5 min

Battery Maintenance Expert Panel Discussion

In this episode Allen hosts Pete DeMar, who has over 50 years of experience in the stationary battery industry, shared his background and expertise in battery failure analysis. Al Warner, with a history of involvement in batteries since his time on the farm, shared his experiences in the military and the UPS industry, highlighting his learning journey and continued interest in battery maintenance.Episode Highlights4:53 – I was, I guess, the whistleblower for VRLA batteries. I had, the main manufacturer at the time come to my location and had a battery assembled for them. I showed them every problem that they have with them. So IEEE came out with a document called IEEE 1188, and that became the standard for maintenance of VRLA batteries.11:56 – UPS batteries are the heart of the UPS system. If you don't have a battery, it's not uninterruptible so battery maintenance is critical.22:28 – Control algorithms that monitor the batteries kind of put the customer to sleep believing that the UPS is going to give them a warning before it fails, but that doesn't always happen.22:28 – A brownout is where the utility lowers the voltage so they can provide for a few more customers and then there's of course the famous blackout and rolling blackouts.29:24 – A totally separate problem that we have not actually discussed is, there are two things and one of those is, with large UPSs and DC battery systems, the arc flash calculations, they are way off.49:35 – They're relying on the electronics to Safely take care of their batteries. Same thing is true with UPSs. They rely on the electronics and no inspection It's out of mind, out of sight.

October 3, 202451 min

Power Outages: Causes and Industry Insights

In this episode of DC Power Hour, Allen along with special guests Al Warner and Fran Losey discuss how AI growth, along with data center growth and the required electrification, affect the powering infrastructure.Episode Highlights6:03 – Do you agree with me when I say that the politicians are those that try to enforce these laws or make the suggestions?3:57 – It's critical that people who have our level of experience speak out when we see a need for the younger generation to understand what we've went through. We've learned a lot of lessons. In the power industry and being able to communicate those. And today's topic is probably near and dear to my heart.10:32 – The number one lesson that I took away from the National Power Lapse study was that before the actual outage, where the power just goes to zero, there's usually a voltage sag and power supplies traditionally are designed to withstand a certain amount of voltage sag and outage.16:06 – A brownout is where the utility lowers the voltage so they can provide for a few more customers and then there's of course the famous blackout and rolling blackouts.19:51 – The reality of today's grid, which needs a massive upgrade, as we've said before, is it needs to be redesigned because the whole backbone of the US grid is the problem.31:46 – We had a crew come to our, our property and they were trimming the limbs. I said take these down because they're going to be a problem and the guy said, no they don't pay me to do that. The next year we had limbs from those trees hanging on our power line and we had an outage.

August 15, 202455 min

AI, Data Center Growth and Future Power Demands

June 4, 202447 min

BATTCON Recap by the Battery Blarney Duo

In the latest episode of DC Power Hour, Dave Neubert recaps the BATTCON conference in Miami with the Battery Blarney duo, George and Allen. Allen, a founder and Hall of Fame member, discusses the history of BATTCON, which began to address negative press around VRLA batteries by fostering dialogue among industry stakeholders. Despite Allen's absence this year, George highlights key presentations and international participation, underscoring BATTCON's importance as a leading stationary battery conference.Episode Highlights3:28 – It started off with the presentation by Curtis Ashton, the current chair of the committee, the job you held for many, many years Allen.11:30 – There was a lot of focus from the floor on battery safety.31:04 – In some of the very large telecommunications applications, particularly places like the cable companies, they were seeing instability on the 48 volt bus, and I mean real instability.37:27 – I know from my own training requirements here, a basic standard like PRC 005, there is a lack of understanding at the level with the people who are doing it.

May 9, 202456 min

Unlocking Battery Insights: Navigating Load Testing Challenges

In this episode of DC Power Hour, the Battery Blarney duo of George and Allen, along with our resident load bank technician and engineer Josh Fox, delve into the intricacies of load testing and load banks. They emphasize the critical importance of load testing in assessing battery capacity and highlight challenges faced by utilities in allocating manpower for comprehensive testing. The conversation explores IEEE and NERC standards for load testing, including acceptance tests and modified performance tests, and offers practical insights from field experiences. The hosts conclude by discussing strategies like cell jumping and the necessity of adjusting charger voltages, providing valuable tips for professionals in battery maintenance.Episode Highlights:4:59 – A common question I get is "why do we have to do a test for eight hours?"9:41 – When you're recharging the battery, you're shoving maximum current in into it. Depending on the design of the power system, you could be shoving two or three hundred amps into that battery.20:23 – There's also a couple of excellent papers on load testing itself. One by, I'll give a plug here, one by an old friend of mine and yours, Rick Tresler. And Another one by I believe it was Steve Clark on rate adjusted method.22:11 – You're putting yourself at risk because you're working on 120 volts with a lot of current around, and you're putting the system at risk if you get it wrong.49:14 – Are there certain pitfalls or certain things that people need to worry about in order to do a discharge test correctly?