Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | MAY 2021 | 39 Operational Excellence Sponsored content brought to you by For more details: https:// www.sandc.com/en/products- -services/products/fault- tamer-fuse-limiter/ for resilience than just those on the line where the problem occurs. Traditionally, fault currents put a great deal of stress on network equipment and because they take a lot of current, it means that other customers on di erent lines will see their voltage drop. In turn this reduction could be enough to stop some equipment from working. Installing a Fault Tamer can therefore potentially protect not just the people directly using the a ected line but also those in the wider area. Another key bene• t of the Fault Tamer is that it could extend the equipment life of other components, such as that of a transformer. Every time a fault current is put through a transformer, it causes a mechanical and electrical force, which ages the transformer. Indeed, as fault currents rise, it may mean companies facing further faults as increasingly it exposes weak points on the network. There are alternative solutions, says S&C Electric, but the company claims these are considerably more expensive, by as much as a factor of 12, and come with substantially higher maintenance costs. "Alternative options would be to install a recloser, or reconductor a whole spur with larger diameter wire, but both these options would be signi• cantly more costly and time The Fault Tamer Fuse Limiter is an energy- limiting fault-interrupting device that provides tighter coordination with upstream lateral fuses (see diagram). It ts into existing mountings with no additional hardware or expensive modi cations required), allowing it to be added to any overhead distribution network. For example, a 20K fuse link will not coordinate with a 65K fuse link above 2,400 amps ( gure 1). The fast-clearing characteristics of the Fault Tamer provide coordination with fuses even at high levels of available fault current. The Fault Tamer even coordinates with fuses having ampere ratings as low as 40K ( gure 2). Key points The rapid pace of change needed in the energy network to reach net zero will accelerate the adoption of renewables and distributed energy systems and put stress on the network. Maintaining reliability will become increasingly challenging. S&C's Fault Tamer o• ers a means for networks to boost their resilience in a cost-e• ective way. The bene• ts of the Fault Tamer include: • Signi• cantly reducing sparking and associated • re risk. • Minimising equipment damage. • Improving service continuity. • Enhancing power quality. • Improving transformer protection. • Being easy to apply and install. consuming," says Nathan Hollins, senior applications manager at S&C. "The Fault Tamer is a more cost- e‡ cient solution to meet the challenges posed by rising fault currents and thereby to support the UK distribution networks in the transition to net zero." DROPOUT MECHANISM FUSE TUBE FUSE TUBE CAP SPRING AND CABLE ASSEMBLY FUSE CARTRIDGE BACKUP LIMITER TRUNNION

• Cover