By Ray Urbanic, P.E., VP of Engineering
Your facility is adding new equipment this year, and you are tasked with upgrading, installing, and maintaining the existing substation with minimal downtime and a very limited budget. How do you do it?
Apply these 5 recommendations to your new substation upgrade and deliver on-time and within budget, while keeping your workforce safe and your boss happy.
1 – Order a Fully-Integrated Substation
Instead of purchasing separate primary and secondary equipment and protection from different suppliers and being left with a complicated puzzle to put together, consider ordering the entire substation (primary disconnect and protection, transformer, secondary disconnect and protection) as a fully designed, tested, integrated unit. The integrated equipment should save the most footprint space, greatly limit field modifications, and reduce overall installation time significantly. Supplier costs for integration in their own factory is usually a small fraction of that same work performed in the field. Plus, installing as a single unit generally saves overall downtime.
2 – Customize Equipment to Match Existing Conduits.
Nothing blows up a substation upgrade budget faster than discovering the new substation won’t match the existing cable conduits and must be moved remotely. That usually means a new electrical house, long cable runs, additional protection, more difficulty for personnel to operate and maintain, and of course, more money. Instead, consider primary and secondary equipment designed to match up with existing conduit locations, and only upgrade the cables themselves. This will greatly minimize the interruption to regular production as you prep for the new substation to arrive.
3 – Consider “Life-Cycle” Cost as well as Initial Cost
Just as with your vehicle, house, or any engineered equipment, you’ve discovered that compromising on quality initially often leads to significantly higher costs later on. These costs may manifest as increased maintenance for repairs, earlier-than-anticipated replacements, or lost productivity. Save yourself time and headache by selecting a manufacture reputation for reliable product, backed by a warranty and service crews, as well as engaged customer service with a vested interest in your company to make things right.
4 – Package Equipment and Preventative Maintenance Together
If you know you will need to service this equipment for the next 30+ years, you could reduce your overall cost by having the same supplier package both the product and the maintenance contract together, as a “volume discount.” They should be able to provide DGA analysis of the transformer, clean and lubricate the switchgear, test the protective relays, and provide routine IR scans and partial-discharge testing. As a bonus, the supplier that designed and built the equipment would be the best one to maintain it.
5 – Keep Arc Flash Safety in Mind!
Most substations that step down medium voltage (13.8 kV or 4.16 kV) to 480/277V often end up having some of the highest arc flash incident energy levels on the low-voltage bus. Medium-voltage fuses protect most substation transformers, sized to handle maximum fault currents.
During an arc flash event on a low-voltage bus, the resulting arcing currents remain 50-70% lower than the fuses’ clearing capacity, enabling the arcing event to persist and exponentially increase incident energy levels. This issue frequently occurs in numerous substations and often repeats in newly designed substations today, posing an high risk to personnel, equipment, and productivity. Ensuring that the medium-voltage protection in the substation detects lower arcing currents and provides rapid clearing times can mitigate this risk. Additionally, it reduces arc flash energy and associated hazards, while also necessitating more manageable levels of personal protective equipment (PPE).
If you’re looking for a supplier that can provide all of these cost-saving benefits, contact Southwest Electric. Our engineering staff dedicates themselves to designing customized solutions for specific applications, our manufacturing facilities uphold rigorous quality procedures and meticulous attention to detail, and our trained service crews excel in issue analysis and solution provision. We truly are your one-stop, integrated package for all your transformer, switchgear, motor, and substation upgrade needs. Give us a call or email, and we’ll be happy to discuss your needs.
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