24x7 Low Load Protection

The Next Technology Step

Qhigroup.com/Exertherm
The Background... Exertherm LoadMap™ Features & Benefits...

> Compromised joints / terminations are recognized as the > This directly resolves two key issues with thermal imaging; firstly A new predictive tool (patent 320
most common cause of serious electrical outages / ARC flash IR sensors provide a direct and continuous (therefore more pending) that will dynamically detect Figure 1 310
incidents. The current method of attempting to detect these accurate) view of critical joints / terminations. Secondly, as it and identify compromised joints/ Based on Actual Load of 50% of Circuit Design 300
290
critical issues is periodic thermal imaging inspections. provides a Delta T measurement from INSIDE the enclosure, no terminations residing on circuits 200 280
temperature correlation is required. operating at low loads (typically below 190 270
> Thermal imaging inspections either require the opening 40% of maximum design load). 180 260
250
170
of electrical panels or external inspections which must be >  In addition, Exertherm™ 24 x 7 Thermal Monitoring features and 160 240
150 230
correlated to calculate the actual joint temperature inside the benefits also include:

Delta T
140 220
panel. In today’s high uptime industry, it is increasingly being 130 210
recognized that mission critical facilities must be continually • Real-time data easily integrates to BMS / SCADA 120 200
and can be viewed locally / remotely Predicts the maximum load that 110 190
monitored as a ‘best practice’ policy. can be safely applied to a circuit on 100 180
• Suitable for ‘New Build’ and retrofit facilities which a compromised joint has been 90
Delta 20 @ 50%
170
80 160
> New Exertherm™ IR technology provides ‘The Next Technology detected, irrespective of the load that 150
• Vendor Neutral 70

Delta T
Delta 15 @ 50%
Step’ by delivering the ability to place small, non-contact, is being applied to the circuit. 60 140
130
50
non-powered, lifetime calibrated IR sensors INSIDE electrical 40
40 C Alarm Threshold Delta 10 @ 50% 120
enclosures. 30
Delta 5 @ 50%
110
20 100
10 90
Delta 1 @ 50%
0 80
The Problem... Dynamically predicts the equivalent 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 70
Delta T alarm threshold applicable at Max Allowed Percentage Load
60
50
100% load for any lower load being 40
applied to the circuit. 30
20
10
> A compromised joint can be identified 0
by the excess heat generated (Newton’s Figure 2
Law of Cooling). However, if the circuit
on which the joint resides is at low load Will dynamically provide the 320 Based on Actual Load of 25% of Circuit Design
Delta 20 @ 25%
310
(typically below 40% of design load), Based on Actual Load of 50% of Circuitmaximum
Design load that can be safely 300
there is insufficient current to generate applied to a circuit at the ambient 290
200
excess heat, therefore making it very temperature in which the circuit 280
270
190
difficult for a fault180to be detected early resides. 260
170 250
via thermography. 160 240 Delta 15 @ 25%
150 230

Delta T
140 220
130 210
> As an example, if the Delta T
120 Will dynamically predict the ambient 200
temperature alarm threshold on
110
required to operate the circuit at any
190
100 180
a joint operating at 100% load is
90 load up to 100% (or beyond). 170
40˚C, the equivalent alarm threshold
80 Delta 20 @ 50% 160 Delta 10 @ 25%
150
when the circuit is operating at 30%
70

Delta T
60 Delta 15 @ 50% 140
is 3.6˚C. Clearly a generic
50 alarm
40 C Alarm Threshold 130
Delta 10 @ 50%
threshold does not have the ability to
40 120
110
30
mitigate risk at low operational loads.
20
LoadMap™ also accurately predicts
Delta 5 @ 50% 100
10 maximum redundancy capacity and 90
Delta 1 @ 50% Delta 5 @ 25%
0 24x7capability in N+1 /90N+2 facilities.
Low Load Protection 80
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 100 70
> In many cases the design load of 60
Max Allowed Percentage Load
a data centre will be 1.5 - 2x the 50
40
40 C Alarm Threshold

initial operational load estimates. 30

Consequently, generic alarm thresholds As equipment ages & degenerates it
20
Delta 1 @ 25%
10
based on 100% load will fail to identify often has to be de-rated e.g. max 80%. 0
compromised joints/terminations at This can be avoided via predictive 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
low loads. thermal control of the ambient. Max Allowed Percentage Load

> In addition to the issue of detecting compromised joints/terminations at low loads, a further problem is knowing how
much load can be safely applied to a circuit at any given ambient temperature. Manufacturers provide maximum
operating temperatures for conductors, which must not be exceeded. These are dependent on specific ambient
temperature specifications.
24x7 Low Load Protection
> Figure 1 shows that operating at 50% load with a Delta T of e.g. 20˚C the temperature reaches the 40˚C alarm threshold as
> Thus the problem is knowing what load can be safely applied to a circuit if the ambient temperature is elevated beyond load is increased to 70%. The Delta T reaches 70˚C when operating at 100% load.
the ‘normal’ operating level. This can also be important as the power system ages and operating temperatures increase. > Figure 2 shows that operating at 25% load with a Delta T of e.g. 10˚C the temperature rapidly escalates past the 40˚C alarm
threshold when load exceeds 50%. Delta T rises to 150˚C when operating at 100% load.
24x7 Low Load Protection – Ideal for Critical & Redundant Systems
2N Capacity:
A B
FEED
35% LOAD
=70% LOAD
By combining continuous thermal monitoring temperature
data with circuit load data from metering, LoadMap™
applies algorithms to provide a unique level of dynamic
protection and verification of safe loading limits on
mission critical circuits.
LoadMap™ detects and identifies compromised joints /
terminations on circuits operating at low load to a level
which would be very difficult for thermal imaging to
detect (typically below 40% of design load).
LoadMap™ also verifies the maximum safe load that
can be applied to a circuit on which a compromised
joint resides.
Now N+1 / N+2 sites can verify that no “hidden”
compromised joints are present on circuits operating at
low loads. For the first time this enables verification that
load can be switched from one power feed to another with
knowledge that the circuits receiving the increased load do
not have compromised joints residing on them (which could
potentially fail if load is significantly increased).
LoadMap™ unique (patent pending) features provide a new
level of protection for all N+1 / N+2 data centers and other
organizations operating dual redundancy power systems.
USA: +1 646 512 5727 Global: +44 (0)1582 461123
E: info@Qhigroupusa.com W: www.QHigroup.com
FEED
35% LOAD
A further application is where a multi-sited organization
wishes to switch IT load from site A to site B &
consequently increase the power loading on site B circuits.
Now verification that additional load can be safely applied
to site B circuits can be obtained prior to switching load.
LoadMap™ also monitors the local ambient within
the panel. This enables verification that bus operating
temperatures remain below manufacturers recommended
maximum temperature ratings. This can be important in
locations where ambient is capable of elevating to high
levels. Normally this would result in a requirement to de-
rate the load capacity of the circuits. LoadMap™ provides
the opportunity to control / reduce the local ambient and
maintain maximum operating efficiency.
As switchgear equipment ages it often has to be de-rated
e.g. because it runs hotter the maximum load rating has
to be reduced. LoadMap™ advises the maximum safe
load that can be applied at any given ambient. This has
two advantages; firstly it can objectively indicate when
is the correct time to renew / upgrade equipment, and
secondly, as equipment ages, rather than just de-rate the
load capacity, it is now possible by control of the local
ambient to maintain maximum load capacity for
an extended period.
BR-341-1-US