Understanding The Importance Of Proper Switchgear Maintenance
Electrical power systems, often referred to as grids, are created using a combination of electrical components. The combination of disconnects, fuses and circuit breakers, known as a switchgear provide a way in which power equipment can be de-energized and faults can be cleared. You often see large electrical lockers within manufacturing factories. This is where the switchgear is located. The switchgear, using circuit breakers and fuses help to isolate each piece of electrical equipment. This is helpful because it allows plant managers to de-energize and repair issues to the electrical system before a breakdown occurs.
There are two main types of switchgears: high and low voltage. High voltage switchgears are used for electrical supplies such as motors and large capacity electrical equipment requiring upwards of 35,000 volts. Low voltage switchgear run electrical equipment under 1,000 volts. Electrical switchgear can be found on the inside or outside of buildings. When switchgear is located on the outside it is contained within a weatherproof metal locker.
As is the case with any equipment utilized by your company it is important to take care in preventing issues before they arise. When it comes to care and preventative maintenance for switchgears a plant supervisor is in charge to oversee that the equipment is kept in working condition. When the power is shut off to your plant nothing is accomplished. Work is shut down completely and money is being lost. When a machine breaks because a malfunction in the electrical circuit it is important to understand that maintenance could most likely have prevented the issue.
Switchgears help to protect electrical machines. What occurs is that a breaker is tripped causing an electrical surge which indicates a fault. With switchgear the power can be re-directed from another source on the circuit until the issue is fixed to help keep machines online. It is always better to prevent issues with normal maintenance to your switchgear and electrical equipment then to react to the challenges that occur when power outages occur and machines are unable to function.
There are companies throughout the area that are hired specifically to maintain switchgears and other valuable electrical components to ensure they are properly maintained. One of the methods they use is thermal imaging. When a hot spot is detected by the thermal imaging equipment it allows for the issue to be fixed before it becomes a problem. Discover a fault and fixing it before any down time occurs saves manufacturing plants valuable resources including time and money.
J&P Electrical is a full service electrical equipment company. At J&P, we supply contractors, end users and supply houses with new surplus, quality reconditioned and obsolete electrical equipment. Contact us today at https://jpelectricalcompany.com for all of your bus plug, circuit breaker, switchboard, fuses, disconnects and more.
