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Distributed Electrical Sensing (DES) is a precision measurement technology that allows power system operators to protect and monitor their networks with unprecedented flexibility.
About
Synaptec is a leading innovator in power systems monitoring and protection. Since 2015 Synaptec has developed distributed electrical sensing (DES) applications to solve the industry's most challenging remote sensing applications. The company is a full-stack engineering firm, undertaking all R&D, application development, and manufacturing in-house in its facilities in central Glasgow. Synaptec has deployed systems with a wide range of notable customers including ScottishPower, SSE, RTE, DEWA, Swissgrid, TATA Power, Adani Power, Equinor, and Vattenfall and continues to develop new products and applications in support of a safe, resilient, and efficient power grid.
Key Benefits
Network constraints can be substantially alleviated through more precise and granular dynamic rating of primary infrastructure, allowing upgrades to be safely deferred or avoided. Distributed electrical sensing (DES) provides a convenient way to monitor key physical parameters such as current and temperature at specific known thermal bottlenecks on both overhead line and underground cable conductors and accessories (such as cable joints, bushings, junctions, and sealing ends).
Using existing optical fibres within or nerarby power networks, DES makes high-fidelity measurements of current, voltage, temperature, or vibration at many locations over distances of up to 60 km from a substation. The entire DES sensor array is completely passive, meaning no control power or auxiliary equipment is needed at sensing locations. This significantly reduces the cost of scaling out high-fidelity, synchronised monitoring on networks, and eliminates operational costs normally associated with maintaining active monitoring equipment.
DES deployments are:
- quick to install
- cyber secure, with no data exposed throughout the sensor network
- passive with no power or telecoms infrastructure requirements
- resilient to harsh environmental conditions
- fast (light speed) and synchronised to within one microsecond
- able to measure at distances of up to 60 km from a substation
Applications
Synaptec's DES-based Greenlight system is a cost-effective and flexible way to monitor HV power cables and joints for current and temperature. Greenlight unifies distributed electrical and distributed temperature sensing techniques to calculate the real-time thermal rating (RTTR) or capacity of a cable circuit. Working with National Grid, we believe the system can be refined to yield the most precise capacity calculations on the market, allowing safe operation closer to capacity limits, reducing network constraints.
For overhead line circuits, circuits can be fitted with Synaptec's DES-based overhead line monitoring solution which provides continuous, live, precision data on line sag, line temperature, and wind speed. These are the key data required to accurately calculate the dynamic line rating (DLR) and predict future capacity. It is the only DLR solution on the market that does not utilise electronics and batteries - it is fully passive with zero future maintenance requirements, significantly reducing the total cost of deployment compared with conventional electronic sensors that scavenge energy, use batteries, and transmit data wirelessly.