Technical Journal

October 2012

Innovations in LV Final Distribution System

With increased awareness on energy conservation in power distribution network, it is more and more a requirement coming up for measurement of power consumption. It is very clear that communication is becoming part of electrical power distribution starting from main distribution to final distribution. Some of the issues which have to be taken into consideration during design of final distribution network are as below. System flexibility( For eg Load balancing at site with pluggable MCB design provides excellent flexibility to customer) Compliance of Distribution bus bars systems in accordance to IEC 60439 Ease of maintenance Proven communication interfaces Complete basket of solution from single vendor for better coordination. The development of solutions complying with above requirement has been continuous with in ABB and today we are able to offer state of the art technical solutions for this application. Following are the area of application where these solutions suit the most.

Innovations in LV Final Distribution System

In a manufacturing industry, it is necessary to measure and monitor power consumption machine-wise. This enables easy analysis of productivity of each machine against their power consumption. This also helps in identifying the problem area and corrective measures can be taken. The similar application can also be seen in IT/Data centers, Hospitals, Commercial buildings and Renewable energy segment like solar PV. The block diagram below provides area application which is very important from perspective energy monitoring.

The system comprising various components and each of these components is very important for reliable and efficient performance of the system. We will analyze each of the system component and their benefits for the user.

Innovations in LV Final Distribution System

BUS BAR system One of the key components for critical installation is bus bar system. It is necessary that customer demands type test certification of these bus bar system from a third party laboratory. A manufacturer is required comply with the IEC 60439 regulations. The system is required to be touch proof for the safety of the people. The system is required to be pluggable type. This provides excellent flexibility to customer in ensuring continuous power supply and any replacement of circuit breakers is always possible when bus is live. This type of bus bar system will provide high degree of reliability and safety in critical areas. Optionally for non-critical areas, fixed bus bar system which is type tested can be considered. Circuit Breakers. The circuit breaker selection becomes very important when measurement is required to be included in final circuits. It becomes even more important to establish proper load balancing among 3-phases when majority of loads are single-phase. The best possible solution which is required to be adopted in this scenario is MCBs with site settable phase selection (R, Y, B selection at site). For quick replacement MCBs selected are required to be of pluggable type. This ensures safe and speedy restoration of power. The Miniature circuit breakers selected are required to have complete protection co-ordination with upstream devices.
Co-ordination chart

Pluggable option with slider for phase selection

Innovations in LV Final Distribution System

Measurement and Monitoring. Most critical aspect of final distribution circuit is branch circuit monitoring. This concept provides Branch Circuit Monitoring and Protection (BCPM).This forms the heart of complete system in measuring parameters and transferring the data to upstream SCADA or BMS system. Be it application is for AC or DC network, single type measurement is recommended. The typical technological solution is as shown in the configuration below.

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Modbus Contact us

Modbus

24V DC

The benefit of this system is neither additional space requirement nor two different systems for AC and DC networks. This enables even retrofitting of existing distribution boards. Auto Reclosing Units In critical installations, there is always expected nuisance tripping. With the use of Auto recloser, the device is reset (with pre-defined number resets). If the tripping continues, maintenance intervention will be necessity to trouble shoot the fault.

Innovations in LV Final Distribution System

ABB offers complete end to end solutions in branch circuit monitoring applications. The offering includes Plug in Bus bar system Din-Rail mounting system Current monitoring system Auto reclosing system Protection discrimination from upstream to downstream devices.

Measurement system

Bus bar systems

versatile protection devices

Contact us for further information

ABB Limited Design Institute 88/3, 88/6, Basavanahalli Village 562123, Bangalore North, Karnataka, INDIA email: Ramprasad.satyam@in.abb.com
Technical Journal 10/12