Compare arc flash events at different incident energy levels

People in the business of working with electrical systems have experience working with typical system parameters. System voltage, current capacity, interrupt ratings and the like are common. If someone says they are working on a 480V 65kAIC system, most people have a frame of reference to understand exactly what that means. But how about calories?
If someone says they are working on a system rated at 8 calories/cm2 of incident energy, what exactly does that mean? Eight seems low. It is less than 20. It’s even a single-digit number, so it must be relatively minimal, right? We conducted three tests with different incident energy levels to compare the impact. Watch the video and see for yourself.