COMMENT
INDUSTRY 4.0 + IIOT
It’s time to pay attention to energy supply on site
O nce again we have a jam-packed edition for you to enjoy – whether you read it online or in hard copy – to keep up to date with what is going on in our industry. All the areas covered this month are important, but I’d like to focus here on transformers and substations. As we move towards a more sustainable energy future there is little doubt that shifting electrical energy about will become more – not less – important than it is now. Emphasis on the reliability and efficiency of each component in the system will become more critical. There are several reasons for this: first is the traditional one of trying to minimise losses between the source and the load; and second is ensuring that what precious energy we have (think alternative source over 350 km away) reaches our plant effectively. We are also moving to a time when the way we control our systems simply will not be the same as in the past; in the past we just burnt the coal, and somewhere we used the energy as and when we wanted it. Now there are many applications where energy really is needed on a ‘when and where’ basis – and our new control philosophies will need to allow for that, given our base may be significantly reduced from what it was in the past. But even on the plant site, where the substation was typically just ‘the building over there’ – and it had ‘stuff in and around’ it, we need to relook
For the design of radiometric measure- ments, a choice must be made to use a point source with a rod detector, or a rod source with a point detector. The rod source/point detector arrangement offers decisive advantages. (Read more on page 3.)
energy performance, efficiencies and costs. The cost of energy is now a crucial consideration in the life cycle costing and planning of any plant. Considering this, the route often taken of neglecting the stuff in the building over there ‘because it just worked’ is no longer an option. We need to be measuring and monitoring everything we can in the substation; we need to be reviewing the condition of our energy supply network – on our side; not just from the Eskom side (which we all have a feeling for). And this is the time to delve into the condition of the transformers and associated equipment. This is the time to see why (and this is not made up) we are spending quite a bit on transformer oil – even though we are not manufacturers of transformers; it is the time to check that the circuit breakers and protection networks have sailed through the various stages of load shedding unscathed. They may have, but it’s important to check. As with all things, out of sight and out of mind is simply not an option. Be proactive and review the condition of the plant. Let’s make a commitment to ensure that our energy supply network – much of it hidden, sometimes even buried – is cared for, and that we regularly consider its condition and performance. We’ll miss it the day it fails.
Editor: Leigh Darroll Design & Layout: Darryl James Advertising Manager: Heidi Jandrell Circulation: Karen Smith Editorial Technical Director: Ian Jandrell Publisher: Karen Grant Deputy Publisher: Wilhelm du Plessis
Audited circulation Quarter 4 (October-December) 2021 Total print and e-editions 11 338
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Electricity+Control is supported by
Ian Jandrell PrEng IntPE(SA), BSc(Eng) GDE PhD, FSAAE FSAIEE SMIEEE
The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, the editor, SAAEs, SAEE, CESA or the Copper Development Association Africa
MARCH 2022 Electricity + Control
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