Number One problem in power quality

Transients, spikes, surges… these disturbances are the most destructive, costly and common power quality events in industry today. These events represent billions of Rands a month in maintains and production costs. Over the years as virtually all equipment has become increasingly microprocessor based, such failures are more recurrent and costlier. Other events such as fluctuation, blackouts and harmonics cause significant problems that are without a doubt disruptive, however as compared to transients, are much lower in actual damages.

Transients are able to stop equipment and plants for extended periods of time, causing disruptions in the processes, delays in deliveries and loss of credibility to clientele . Often, the repair costs are minimal compared to the cost of lost profits or deferred production. Equipment downtime prevents delivery of product demand and services that customers require.

Transient Environment
What is a Transient?

Transient surges are defined as momentary bursts of energy that are induced upon power, data, or communication lines. They are characterized by extremely high voltages that can drive tremendous amounts of current into an electrical circuit for a few millionths, up to a few thousandths of a second. They can climb as high as 100,000 volts during extreme events such as lightning, as high as 10,00 volts due to utility substation switching, as high as 6,000 volts for switching inductive loads, and as small yet disruptive as 2,000 volts created internally. These internal causes can account for more than a million events per hour in heavy industrial environments. Remember that these damages can occur at any time and in various ways: during a thunderstorm, a failure in the electrical system, in a blackout or even by a curious squirrel stumbling into an electrical transformer.

Critical Systems,  always in danger

Electronic control systems can be found at: water treatment facilities, traffic control systems, point of sales terminals, automated industrial process plants, air traffic control systems, data processing centres, communication systems, radio base stations of cellular phone companies, clinics and hospitals, laboratories, financial centres, UPS’s and all manner of military defence systems. The consequences resulting from failures in these delicate circuits can, in many cases, be devastating.

External reasons – 20% Dramatic and catastrophic lightning or electrical system failures represent 20% of the transient problems.

Internal reasons – 80% Switching of internal loads can produce up to 1,000,000 non-catastrophic yet disruptive transients per hour in very active industrial environments. This constant bombardment causes severe cumulative damage (electronic rust) and eventually serious failures.

The Solution

Cascaded Protection Network Approach

The Optimal SineTamer® Protection Network consists of installing various types of protection units, strategically located at specific points where the critical equipment is located. These are known as levels 1 and 2, where an equipment failure can be lethal to profitability! The type, number and location of the specific SineTamer® units are determined by an on-site-survey by a trained BlitzTek Representative.

This should be done on all of the panels, conducting a requirement analysis based on the critical nature of the connected loads. This cascade system will best cover all paths where transients are deemed to occur, reducing and eliminating the destructive effects of both types of transients. Even in the most severe conditions your system will survive, and your equipment will continue operating.