Protecting Electrical Equipment is as Easy as HVAC
Electrical rooms house some of the key components of facilities’ operations such as switchgear, transformers, lighting panels, and UPS systems. These electrical rooms are typically unmanned spaces, tucked away from high traffic areas, and have restricted access, thus, causing these spaces to be neglected when it comes to maintenance and assessing environmental conditions. If electrical rooms are not properly conditioned, it can lead to equipment failure, electrical fires, and costly downtime for the equipment it’s powering. Proper HVAC design can protect electrical equipment from overheating, while also promoting maintenance activities to prolong the life of the equipment.
Importance of Safety
Safety is the number one priority when it comes to working in or around electrical equipment. When electrical equipment becomes overheated, it has a much higher risk of component failure, leading to arc-flash and fire hazard potential. Simple preventative measures such as proper conditioning could be the difference between a near miss and a fatal accident. Maintaining manufacturer-specified operating conditions, including stable temperatures, reduces thermal stress and can prevent loose connections of components which would otherwise lead to severe safety hazards.
Cost Implications
While it is impossible to put a price on a human life, you can put a price on electrical equipment and production downtime. Excessive heat causes insulation breakdown, component aging, and overall shortens equipment lifespan. All of this leads to breaker trips, unexpected shutdowns, and catastrophic and costly failures. One must also consider the cost of downtime that occurs due to these equipment failures. The equipment it was powering is no longer running, and may sit idle for days, if not several weeks, waiting for replacement electrical equipment to arrive and be installed. While it may seem like an extra cost at the beginning, investing it proper HVAC will undoubtedly pay itself off in the long run by preventing failures and prolong the life of electrical equipment.
Maintenance
While simply conditioning the space can help, a well-structured and detailed maintenance plan is also required to protect electrical equipment. However, cleaning and inspecting electrical equipment is made more difficult when employees must do so in dirty, hazardous, or uncomfortable conditions. Properly conditioning electrical rooms will promote maintenance activities, which will extend the life of equipment. Temperature and humidity sensors will help monitor and maintain ideal conditions within electrical rooms to prevent corrosion, moisture, and condensation on energized equipment. A stable environment can improve breaker calibration, relay accuracy, and reliability of sensitive electronics and controls systems.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, investing in proper HVAC systems for electrical rooms is undeniably the right thing to do. Not only does it show that you care about the equipment, but also your employees that are tasked with maintaining it. By providing a stable, comfortable, and safe environment, electrical equipment is less likely to fail and more likely to be maintained properly to ensure improved reliability, efficiency, and longevity.
