Electricity and Control October 2022

ENERGY MANAGEMENT + THE INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENT : PRODUCTS + SERVICES

Engineered solutions for power efficiency and quality

system from the source and thus reduce harmonic voltage distortion in the system.

Diesel Electric Services (Pty) Ltd has been active in the power industry for more than 29 years. Over this time it has seen a shift in the industry, with growing emphasis now on power efficiency and quality. In support of this focus, the company implements in-house development on an ongoing basis to enhance product delivery that meets clients’ specific site require ments. Diesel Electric Services’ range of products and ser vices specifically supporting power efficiency and qual ity includes power factor correction, harmonic filters and voltage stabilisers. Power factor correction Clients often pay more for electricity than necessary, due to a bad power factor. Diesel Electric Services assists clients to improve this, first by monitoring the load on site using a network analyser. From the data obtained, it determines the load power factor and then designs a suitable solution – offering the client real savings. Diesel Electric Services’ automatic power factor correction systems are modular and expandable. Its solutions include rugged capacitor racks as well as de tuned anti-harmonic reactors and filters. Harmonic filters Harmonic filters are series or parallel resonant circuits designed to shunt or block harmonic currents. They reduce the harmonic currents flowing in the power While Cummins has traditionally focused on diesel technology, it continually incorporates innovative solutions. This makes it a valuable partner for independent power producers (IPPs) focusing on renewable energy but still relying on diesel power. Warrick Gibbens, Power Generation Leader, Cummins Southern Africa, says: “We supply fully fledged hybrid systems integrated with our diesel gensets, which work with other power sources in the energy mix to ensure reliable backup power. Our holistic solutions help customers to minimise downtime and optimise reliability.” Cummins can provide a complete power ecosystem. Gibbens adds, “Our ‘emissionised’ gensets offer green energy solutions. For example, while solar power and battery backup can offset carbon emissions to a certain extent, Cummins has developed emissionised genset technology to reduce gas emissions, enabling its customers to reduce their carbon footprints and work towards cleaner solutions. “Cummins’ sophisticated technologies can also sup port integrated microgrid solutions, from off-grid and re mote locations to urban and mission-critical applications. A power ecosystem for IPPs

Voltage stabilisers In voltage stabilisation solutions, the power supply is connected to an input protection circuit breaker and onto a delta-wound primary coil of an isolation transformer. The primary winding of the transformer is screened from the secondary winding of the transformer. This screen is earthed to the main incoming earth. From the star-connected secondary side, each phase is passed through a ‘buck/boost’ transformer and then out to a load protection circuit breaker. The buck/boost transformer has a pair of primary windings wound over the main winding. When applying voltage to these windings, the output of the unit can be controlled: if the input voltage is high, the voltage is reduced; if the input voltage is low, the voltage is amplified. Each phase is monitored and adjusted independently, with adjustments made at a rate of one every 300 mS and carried out by a PIC16 microprocessor. The units are manufactured such that if any of the electronic control cards fail, that unit will revert to zero effect – that is – input is equal to output. For more information contact Diesel Electric Services. Tel: +27 (0)11 493 7079 Visit: www.dieselelectricservices.co.za Our solutions can integrate all components of a micro grid, including diesel and natural gas gensets, hydrogen technologies, renewable energy sources, battery stor age systems, system level controls, transfer switches, and remote monitoring capabilities.” Gibbens describes microgrids as locally controlled power sources that can integrate multiple energy re sources such as diesel, gas, wind, or solar power. They provide independent power so that when the traditional power supply fails, or when load shedding is implement ed, a microgrid can immediately switch to backup gen erators and batteries. The microgrid control allows the components to func tion as a seamlessly integrated power source so that weather, utility prices, and performance data can be monitored – to enable well-informed decisions, assist in keeping costs low, and keep the power on. The advantages of microgrids are: resilience, decar bonisation, efficiency, and flexibility. For more information contact Cummins Southern Africa. Tel: +27 (0)11 451 3400 E-mail: warrick.gibbens@cummins.com Visit: www.cummins.com

Warrick Gibbens, Power Generation Leader, Cummins Southern Africa.

18 Electricity + Control OCTOBER 2022