EXTENDING LIFESPAN OF OIL TRANSFORMERS PART 2

The following article on diagnostic online monitoring solutions being crucial to extending the lifespan of oil transformers and preventing costly downtime, is written by Sarika Andee, marketing leader: field service at Schneider Electric. It is part two of a two-part series.

Additionally, by providing an overview of each transformer’s lifespan, condition monitoring can help owners prepare and plan their capex spending accordingly, prioritising the replacement of transformers that are near the end of their life. Another benefit of condition monitoring is that it can be done remotely, while a traditional maintenance approach requires a technician to physically be on site to take an oil sample.

Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Transformer Expert is a leading diagnostic online monitoring tool that is brand-agnostic and designed to provide oil transformer owners with real-time analytics that will alert them as soon as anything is out of range so that remedial action can be taken.

The solution consists of a hardware component, a probe or sensor, which is fitted to a transformer and connects via a SIM to Schneider Electric’s cloud based EcoStruxure Transformer Expert platform. This provides the customer with real-time information about their transformers.

By harnessing an online condition monitoring tool, such as EcoStruxure Transformer Expert, customers can not only improve their decision-making with automated data collection, analysis and recommendations but also optimise aged transformer fleet management and replacement programmes.

Transformers are high-value capital investments – they should be adequately protected.