Today’s living and working environments cannot be imagined without continuous and steady power. If certain activities result in changes to the load, companies end up bearing huge losses because of failure of system or damage to expensive equipment. Therefore, the entire power system must be protected using a switchgear system.

What is a switchgear system? 

A switchgear system is designed to protect electrical components in a facility. It includes fuses, disconnect switches, or circuit breakers that prevent electrical hazards by protecting electrical equipment. Here are the main functions of a switchgear system:

• It interrupts the flow of current in circuits that may be experiencing power overload.
• It allows isolating or de-energizing some or all circuits in the power system.  
• It allows more than one source to share the load, and as a result, enhances the availability of the system.

The applications of a switchgear protection system can be seen in different areas, such as:

Buildings – In residential buildings and offices, many appliances and equipment may be connected to the same power source. And an electrical fault in one section can cause the entire system to shut down. While this may be manageable in residential buildings, downtime because of electrical faults in offices can result in huge losses. Therefore, an electrical switchgear protection system is used to segregate the faulty section from the rest of the circuit. Moreover, the faulty section of the circuit can be fixed without any effect on the healthy part of the system.  

Data Centers – Data centers have been reported to consume up to 50 times the energy consumed by office facilities. And a few ways to deal with it are equipment upgrades, changes to processes, and, most importantly, upgrading switchgear power systems. Smart switchgear solutions provide various benefits, such as increasing the density of data per unit space. They also allow consolidating power and cooling systems to make the operations more efficient.

Switchgear protection systems also allow reducing the cabling system. Moreover, with modernized protection solutions, the installation layout can be changed to maximize efficiency.

Power Stations – Lightening or power surges in power stations can result in huge losses to companies. Therefore, switchgear is used to provide power supply to equipment such as capacitors, reactors, motor control centers, panel boards, feed transformers, and other control equipment in order to conduct safe operations. For example, a switchgear manufacturer may form an assembly using metal-enclosed switchgear, which prevents ground faults and the non-directional phase.

A switchgear system may also consist of the remote breaker feature in which a push button can be pressed to rack out the breaker even from a distance of 50 feet.

Renewable Energy Plants – Energy power plants are associated with frequent switching operations. Hence, they use switchgear to place different demands on generators. For example, hydro generators rotate faster than those based on coal or gas. And this can place a heavier load on the circuit breaker. Moreover, hydropower is also associated with the risk of high direct current from a fault. To avoid risks, the circuit breakers must be able to switch loads as required. And this can be done using a switchgear protection system.

In modernized plants, the requirement of flexible retrofitting is also high. And with the use of switchgear, they can replace individual electrical components. Moreover, such replacement solutions allow easier and quicker installation.

Switchgear systems are used for various purposes, including industrial power distribution, load switching, residential power distribution, and fault and hazard prevention. And with their diverse advantages, it is safe to say that they are no more an option; they have become a necessity in many areas.

Author Bio: Jeson Pitt works with the marketing department of D & F Liquidators in Hayward, CA and regularly writes to share his knowledge while enlightening people about electrical products and solving their electrical dilemmas. He's got the industry insights that you can count on along with years of experience in the field. Jeson lives in Hayward, CA and loves to explore different cuisines that the food trucks in the Bay area have to offer.