The Challenge
Safety, efficiency and long term reliability are the primary concerns of electricity grid operators and large oil cooled transformers sit at their heart.
The customer’s primary goal was to improve safety and reduce the risk of catastrophic failure due to undetected oil contamination.
Solution
OQSx sensors filled a critical missing element in the existing monitoring system by providing a constant feed of highly accurate, real time oil quality data back to the central maintenance department.
During the evaluation phase of the rollout the sensor detected a sudden, but marginal, change in oil quality. This enabled maintenance crews to attend the transformer unit and discover that water ingress was occurring. This source was traced and repaired with minimal disruption and no damage to the equipment, potentially saving the operator millions of Euros.
The ability to monitor real time oil condition on transformers of all sizes has provided the final piece of the monitoring jigsaw and is helping the customer to further reduce long term operating costs.
Benefits
The sensor proved able to detect any change in oil quality in real time thus providing an early warning system for any potential problems. It was deemed that the benefits were significant and included: