08.01.23

Record QualConnex Installation Time at Southwest Windfarm

Qualitrol installed the first production version of our new wireless Dissolved Gas Analysis sensor at a southern US wind farm in record time.

At Qualitrol we recently announced the launch of our latest online Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA) monitor. Based on our QualConnex secure cloud-based platform this product consists of three distinct components:

LT1

This is the DGA sensor itself. It monitors dissolved Hydrogen, dissolved moisture-in-oil and oil temperature four times per day. It is battery powered and that battery has a lifetime of 5 years or more.

QGateway:

This is the communications interface between LT1 and QualConnex. It relays encrypted data from LT1 to the Cloud, where that data can be viewed in QualConnex. QGateway can connect to multiple LT1s simultaneously (theoretically up to 100+ LT1s) with the limitation being the distance between individual LT1s and the Gateway.  In this case because the wind turbines were far apart, and the drain valve was in a secured enclosure the ratio was 1::1

QualConnex platform:

This is a web browser-based platform where users can configure and monitor DGA data from the sensor (LT1) and the Gateway. It is the window into the transformer.

What Makes this DGA monitor Different?

The unique feature of this next gen DGA solution is that installation is fully wireless and so takes only a matter of minutes for each transformer.

First Full Production Monitor Installation

Following the announcement of the release of this DGA solution, Qualitrol have commenced shipment to customers throughout North America and earlier in July we completed the first installation of a bank of sensors at a US wind farm.

The day started early with the unboxing of 10 gateways and 10 sensors.Each sensor feeds data back to the QualConnex platform. In QualConnex, which can be accessed anywhere via a web browser it is necessary to know which transformer an individual sensor is installed on. This configuration of the sensor to a  transformer is performed on the  QualConnex platform by assigning the LT1 serial number to a specific transformer. It can be done during installation by the user or prior to installation. In this case Qualitrol had already been provided with the transformer details and had preconfigured each sensor for the transformer it was going to be installed on.

Installation

As these units had been configured in the factory with the transformer details, installations was very rapid and straightforward.

• The transformer drain valve cap was removed
• The sensor was screwed into place on the drain valve
• The bleed valve was opened as was the transformer drain valve tap and the air was blead out of the drain valve and the sensor
• The bleed valve was closed and the LT1 was powered on
• This process took about 15-30 minutes each
• At the same time as the LT1 was powering up the gateway was set in place. Since the gateway is magnetically mounted all that is required is to place it on a suitable ferrous surface and power it on. This process takes just a moment to complete.

Since the gateway is solar powered with batter backup it is positioned facing south with the mounting stand configured to point towards the midday sun (the stand is configurable to set at 0^o, 30^o, 60^o and 90^o tilt)

And that was the installation complete. The Gateway links up with the LT1 using LoRa (Long Range Low Power) RF communications while at the same time the gateway connects to the cellular network over 3G or LTE to relay the measurements to Qualconnex.

Immediately after the installation the user can see the LT1 reporting in on QualConnex and 4 hours after powering up the LT1 commences reporting dissolved hydrogen, dissolved moisture and oil temperature.

Installation of 10 online wired DGA monitors would typically take  1 full week and required both cabling and IT support. Installation of 10 LT1s was completed in 1 day and required no additional support or infrastructure.

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