Photos courtesy Schneider Electric
by James K. Stacy
In generations past, companies and facilities depended on a single, traditional source to generate electricity—normally, a power plant. Today, industrial power comes from distributed energy resources as end-users push to adopt systems and strategies optimizing the safety, efficiency, and reliability of electricity. This distribution of power from multiple sources leverages connectivity, ensuring one outage does not cause irreparable damage to mission-critical systems. It also enables greater energy efficiency and, most importantly, places stronger emphasis on safety, reducing electrical failures caused by significant events like arc flash.
As the electricity industry has progressed, switchgear has come to the forefront as the technological innovation most effectively quelling safety concerns associated with arc flash. Medium-voltage switchgear technologies are particularly well-suited to reduce (or even eliminate) instances of this hazard through implementation of various safety innovations such as grounding switches, which effectively reduce the potential risk and variability of human error. Companies and organizations are viewing switchgear as a method of cost-effectively modernizing electrical systems while mitigating safety concerns associated with current electrical demands.
Fortunately, switchgear is evolving fast enough to keep pace with the growing electrical demands of contemporary facilities. One of the main safety and cost advantages for companies utilizing the latest switchgear innovations is these technologies are able to operate virtually maintenance-free—new switchgear increases uptime and lowers the cost of maintenance throughout a system’s lifetime. On top of savings from this reduced maintenance, low- and medium-voltage switchgear technologies have prevent critical failures caused by human error, which add cost for companies in the form of damages, repairs, and outages.
In addition to incremental advancements in switchgear safety and reliability, there has been disruptive innovation. Switchgear has built electrical systems into these long-lasting, reduced-maintenance entities due in no small part to the introduction of shielded solid insulation technology—a new class of switchgear created to improve upon the existing air-insulated switchgear (AIS) and gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) models.
The technology involves adding a layer of solid insulation material to switchgear conductors. The insulation is then covered by a conductive grounded coating (i.e. a shield) protecting the main circuit components, which greatly reduces the potential for internal arcing. An additional benefit of grounded shielded conductors is the conductors actually become accidentally touch-safe in the unlikely event human error occurs—the additional insulation material ensures workers assume no risk of electrocution if they have to manually come into contact with wiring or other circuit components.
