2024 - Volume #48, Issue #6, Page #18
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Power Line Monitoring System Prevents Wildfires
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“I thought power lines were similar with their types of interference,” Wong says. “We knew so-called interference and noise were created by failing equipment like insulators cracking and dropping conductors. Whether overhead or underground, if we have a failing joint, it can explode catastrophically, start a wildfire, or injure and kill people.”
The EFD detects power line issues before they trip the circuit with an accuracy of plus or minus 30 ft. over 3 miles. Like a smoke alarm, the unit monitors the entire power system, identifying small symptoms like a tree limb growing close to a line.
“We can stop a fire as the system sees the problem well before a conductor fails,” Wong says. “Conductors have multiple tiny wires; if one breaks, we pinpoint it in real-time.”
EFDs include hardware and software components. A data collection unit features a sensor, like an antenna, that points at the conductor or underground cable. A powerful high-speed processor pushes information to the cloud.
“The cloud is where the magic happens, where the data is correlated,” Wong says. “We see outliers, locations and generating events.”
Sensors are spaced at 3-mile intervals and listen to everything traveling through the lines, precisely triangulating where issues originate.
“It picks up everything from AM and FM radio and farm machines,” Wong says. “We filter out 99 percent of the noise, and what’s left behind is the gold nugget. We locate the source, see it on Google Maps, and find the potential problem 24/7.”
IND Technology has about 20 primarily Investor-Owned Utility customers in North America, plus U.S. co-ops and smaller electrical asset owners. Wong says the components are simple to install as nothing touches the power lines. IND may supervise the initial placements, but with a little practice, utility companies can install six to 10 units daily.
The EFDs are manufactured in Melbourne, Australia, and exported to the U.S.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mark Bailey, IND Technology, 69 Crown St., Richmond 3121, Victoria, Australia (ph 817-771-6556; mark.bailey@ind-technology.com; www.ind-technology.com).
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