Circuit breakers and control systems are resilient yet dated. Renewable energy professionals must tend to antiquated machines to make them function amid clean power expansion. Additionally, technicians must know how to salvage older tech as the grid modernizes and deals with unprecedented consumer demand. What should operators do to get the most out of circuit breakers at the end of their lives?
Condition-Based Maintenance
Advanced, remote observation technologies like supervisory control and data acquisition systems or remote terminal units are critical for learning behaviors in old breakers. Monitoring and assessment devices like vibration analyzers let workers learn priceless data about maintenance and operational efficiency that would otherwise require hours of manual labor, including but not limited to:
- Historical data logging
- Comparative performance visualizations
- Current measurements
- Insulation resistance
- Temperatures
- Trip status
- Phase imbalances
For example, old breakers are slow to close circuits, causing electrical arcs, among other problems. Operators need to know the frequency and severity of these instances.
Leveraging this data allows companies to operate on a condition-based schedule instead of a standardized time-based template. Maintenance intervals, audits and testing must be specific to each unit. Circuit breakers worldwide come in countless styles and makes, so repairs are not one size fits all.
Breakers in one neighborhood may need more frequent lubrication than another because of humidity shifts. Operators should not replace the relay if fault detection is still precise. It is more sensible to have curated data and proactive maintenance schedules compared to timelines that assume each machine’s health is equal.
Diverse Inspection Technologies
Visual inspections are crucial, but they may only catch some nuances of an antiquated circuit breaker. This is especially applicable to younger industry workers who may need to become more familiar with the peculiarities of older tech. However, conventional inspections should happen alongside modern methods. Offering supplementary training to employees will mend knowledge gaps.
Instead, workers could use options like thermal imaging and infrared thermography to get more detailed insights. Thermal equipment is perfect for finding hot spots and electrical concerns, like loose connections or if its components can no longer handle operational pressures. They are noninvasive, keeping delicate pieces intact until techs have more information. They also reduce the downtime of traditional methods.
Other testing methods include:
- Ultrasonic testing: Measures high frequencies from corona discharge or arcing to find insulation and connectivity concerns
- Power factor testing: Finds dielectric losses by comparing active and apparent power
- Partial discharge measurement: Notices failures in insulation systems, especially for high-voltage equipment
- Insulation resistance testing: Discovers electrical leaks caused by moisture or degradation in insulation to protect against electric shocks
- Contact resistance testing: Ensures connections have low resistance and contain no visible mechanical wear and tear
- High-potential testing: Tests circuit breaker insulation with high-voltage outputs
Component Retrofits and Replacements
Planned obsolescence — alongside wear and tear — will inevitably lead to device failures. It may be due to a single component, and workforces can save an older circuit breaker with a parts replacement. Homes in Minnesota are experimenting with smart panels as part of a service upgrade program, helping buildings carry their loads more gracefully.
Researchers are also applying varied signal processing methods like the Savitzky-Golay filter to test a circuit breaker’s life span. Neural networks smoothed data to predict how fast AC circuit breakers would deteriorate, and forecasts had a 97.4% accuracy, which could be invaluable when allocating resources to retrofits and repairs.
Everything from contacts to insulation is upgradeable, and novel designs make them easier to plug and play. Modern installments could bring these additional benefits, including:
- Greater resilience to deterioration.
- Inclusion of climate-resilient materials and defenses.
- Lower price compared to OEM parts.
- Higher safety profile with adherence to modern recommendations.
- Improved reliability, such as better current ratings.
This could extend the life span of ancient equipment by years. For example, solid-state trips are replacing defunct electromechanical versions because of their improved performance and durability. It is a resourceful way to prevent waste, build upon available resources and keep devices alive without disrupting societal operations with service outages.
Documentation and Diagnostics
Operators must know what each device is capable of based on its specs. How old are technologies, and how are they operating based on their materials, geography and electrical load? Record-keeping simultaneously informs maintenance workers and researchers crafting next-generation circuit breakers. The analytics reveal what works under live circumstances and the most common failure signatures.
The data is invaluable for training sessions, helping workforces of all ages and backgrounds become more familiar with the qualities of old circuit breakers. Contractors can use asset management databases to keep transparent, clarified records over breakers with oversight. Knowledge-sharing makes troubleshooting straightforward, reduces mean time to repair, and encourages greater collaboration and consistent safety.
Energy workers also have the option to visualize the data points to pinpoint trends over time, such as risk assessment matrices for the most vulnerable circuit breakers. Here are a few metrics professionals may want to consider recording:
- Amps to determine how much electricity circuits are handling
- Regular trip timesÂ
- Operating conditions and peak behavior
- Moisture content
- Cybersecurity breaches
Operators must compare their reports and data regularly against regulatory frameworks and standard operating procedures. Third-party guidelines like ISO, OSHA and NFPA are the most pertinent resources for circuit breaker technicians.
Amping Up Circuit Breaker Attentiveness
The world must use viable, operating circuit breakers to prevent supply chain overloads during the grid’s transition. Adapting to renewable energy will require countless dollars and raw materials to forge the generating tech. So, the industry must take advantage of the circuit breakers it has by tending to the old and reimagining them in a new way.