Digital switchgear integrates the latest digital technologies within ABB’s well-known and established medium-voltage switchgear. Utilizing these new concepts is revolutionizing power distribution.
ABB today announced the latest addition to its digital switchgear offering, SafeGear® Digital, which integrates innovative, yet proven, technologies, enabling customers to meet higher performance requirements while adapting to the growing sophistication of power distribution systems.
Digital switchgear, as part of the ABB Ability™ portfolio of connected solutions, is based on the optimized integration of current and voltage sensors into medium-voltage switchgear, combined with the latest Relion® protection and control relays, and the capability of the IEC 61850 standard for communication. This new technology for protection, control, and automation, when applied to conventional switchgear, results in a solution that is continuously self-supervising, with maximum error detection within a system.
Digitalization creates efficiency gains, including 25 percent footprint reductions and weight optimization. Installation and commissioning times are decreased up to 25 percent and delivery capabilities are up to 30 percent faster compared with conventional switchgear.
With digital switchgear, modifications are easy to implement when electrical loads are changed or added or a need for adaptation is identified late in the switchgear project. This new generation of switchgear allows for flexibility and expansion of the equipment without the need for complex additional wiring. Digital switchgear is easily adapted, as changes can be made using software logic in the protection relays, using the concept of interoperability in the IEC 61850 standard for communication, bringing with it both operational efficiency and unprecedented flexibility.
This new offering creates a simpler and more reliable system to provide consistent power distribution, as well as cost savings through reduction of maintenance requirements. It is a perfect fit for environments where a reliable power supply must be ensured and personnel are limited, such as oil refineries, utility substations, and data centers.
“Reliability and simplicity breed safety, our utmost concern in providing solutions to our customers,” said Ken Alloway, General Manager of ABB Electrification Products, Distribution Solutions – ANSI Switchgear. “Simplification of the control system to make it more reliable and safe and by providing these benefits through digitalization, we are taking the next dramatic leap forward in advancing the technology of switchgear solutions.”
ABB was the first to offer digital switchgear to the global market, launching its first MV digital switchgear in 2014 with UniGear Digital. ABB will be demonstrating the SafeGear Digital advanced switchgear solution at the OTC Show’s celebrated 50th annual event in Houston, TX at ABB booth #3415.
ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a pioneering technology leader in electrification products, robotics and motion, industrial automation and power grids, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally. Continuing a history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalization with two clear value propositions: bringing electricity from any power plant to any plug and automating industries from natural resources to finished products. As title partner of Formula E, the fully electric international FIA motorsport class, ABB is pushing the boundaries of e-mobility to contribute to a sustainable future. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 135,000 employees. www.abb.com
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