PrimeTS Energy by Pixyon
Modern society has energy as one of its pillars, and its availability is one of the factors of utmost importance for the growth and development of a nation.
In this context, energy losses represent a considerable portion of the cost matrix for electricity distribution and companies give special attention to the treatment of these losses on electricity distribution networks planning and operation.
In United States, the Energy Information Administration estimated 261,990 Million Kilowatthours on losses in 20102, representing over 6% of the total amount of electricity sales, with important reflections on tariff value, therefore impacting public policies and the country’s economic efficiency.
Solutions created by Pxyon team are unique and were developed by engineers with recognized expertise, uniting cutting edge technologies with real world experience in electricity distribution companies in Brazil. We consider that a good solution is the one that helps companies to improve efficiency allowing cost reductions on electricity distribution, also reducing energy consumption by making its use more effective.
TECHNICAL LOSSES
Technical losses are related to energy transportation in electrical cables, connections and equipment, due to energy dissipation as heat – the Joule effect. Losses’ magnitude depends on the physical characteristics of the various components in the infrastructure of the electric system and is inherent to the energy distribution process.
Losses reduction increases the availability of energy to be commercialized and improves the quality of the service offered to consumers. However, such losses have not been properly minimized due to the complexity of the optimization processes as well as the low financial return of the procedures usually utilized. Moreover, the amount of technical losses is not amenable to a precise direct measurement because of factors like the random nature of the charges, the continuous process of expansion and operation and the complexity of the network topology. Technical losses, as well as engineering processes involved in the reduction, typically are calculated by power flow numerical methods that require computational effort and time proportional to the complexity of the system.
To reduce technical losses, some methods can be listed as network reconfiguration, use of capacitors, power load balancing, investment in building new networks, proper maintenance and equipment and energy distribution processes improvement.
Aiming the reduction of technical losses in primary distribution networks (medium voltage), engineers at Pxyon developed new technologies that address network reconfiguration, inclusion of new switches and power cable replacement.
This technology is based in various multiobjective optimization algorithms, using several different heuristics and massive parallel processing, including a detailed financial analysis that can be easily adapted to any utility company or regulatory standards.
To produce improvements in the primary distribution network (medium voltage), the solution makes a detailed analysis of the distribution network and produces technical reports and their results for three interventions scenarios, as follows:
. Maneuvers in existing equipment in order to reduce technical losses in various sectors of the MV network;
. Installation of new power switches to better distribute the load in the circuit, increasing the possibility of maneuvers and to optimize the network and consequently reduce technical losses;
. Reconductoring of power cables considered critical, reducing losses where its incidence is higher in the MV network:
Advantages
These technologies present several advantages as exemplified below:
- Significant reduction of technical losses in the distribution systems of medium voltage, with significant improvements in the quality, control and operation of distribution networks;
- Increased availability of energy for direct commercialization;
- Reduced distribution costs and increase in revenue;
- Energy gain is independent of environmental regulations;
- The energy gain is aligned with the assumptions of sustainable development;
- The resulting energy is “cleaner” and perhaps the cheapest possible, resulting from the optimization of existing infrastructure;
- Low cost of implementation and excellent financial results;
- Immediate availability to use the technology, with immediate results.
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