Latin America. The energy sector has evolved in recent years, so it requires technology that adapts to new market conditions and the needs of the future.
The twenty-first century has brought us too many innovations and one of the main ones has been the arrival of the Internet of Things (IoT). It was difficult to imagine that we could control the light in our house or open the garage door through our cell phone, but today it is a reality.
The electricity industry has undoubtedly been one of the most conservative when it comes to implementing new technologies, where medium voltage substations must be included. Not surprisingly, these can last up to 40 years or more being supervised under the typical phrase "if it fails, it is better not to modify it". This has a great relevance, considering that the main function of the operators of the substations is to keep the network in operation and in optimal conditions.
For this reason, Schneider Electric, a leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, explains why it is important to install new technologies that make it necessary to stop the work of substations, in addition to training and supporting the operators of these infrastructures. It must be said that it is something as simple as necessary in any industry, it is about achieving progress and bringing a better electrical service for processes and customers.
Innovation is the way
One of the trends in recent years is the decentralization of activities within the administration of the services of a building or a medium industrial plant. This is because it is more expensive to have a specialist monitoring each of the services such as water consumption, electricity, internet, access and security, among others. The question here is how to ensure that the facility manager has the tools to take care of these services without having to be attached 24 hours a day to each of them, being more efficient.
Traditional protection, control and measurement systems have also been evolving towards a better service, however, their functionality has been limited to protecting equipment in case of a failure. But how can we prevent a failure within the equipment and how to ensure that the component in charge of releasing the fault is in a position to operate? and not least, how do we do it in real time?
With this in mind, Schneider Electric presents the SM6 Connected medium voltage substation, which is a fundamental part of EcoStruxure™, the platform that works with the Internet of Things. SM6 connectivity means you can now have greater visibility into facilities and more control over operational health. It also offers high controllability, so the right decisions can be made at the right time to ensure uptime and operational efficiency. Not to mention, it's possible to maximize the value of data into clear, future-oriented plans.
Increased efficiency with preventive maintenance
By adding sensors and monitoring tools to the SM6 substation, the control and maintenance capabilities of facility managers have been greatly improved. Also, thanks to the monitoring of 24/7 hot spot conditions, users can detect problems in advance and take preventive measures. Alarms and warnings are delivered locally or remotely, as preferred.
Real-time monitoring of switch performance provides up-to-date information on their "health" status, backed by alarms and warnings in the event of an event. Thus, performance data can be used to create better long-term maintenance plans.
It's important to think ahead. The energy business has been changing as it faces major challenges such as increased demand and a larger push towards decarbonisation. The current trend shows us that this situation will continue and it is time to consider if your service or business has the right technology to meet the goals of the future.
