Variable speed genset power converters are vital during blackouts
Hurricane Sandy was the most destructive tropical cyclone of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, as well as the second-costliest hurricane in US history, making landfall on October 29. The storm caused massive electrical grid damages in New Jersey, New York and many New England areas, causing power outages for businesses, industrial sites, medical centers, and countless homes. It showed just how helpless we are when this kind of natural disaster happens in our own backyard. As a result, building management now aims to ensure that buildings do not lose electrical power during such a disaster because of a missing emergency power generation system.
Interest in emergency power systems increased significantly after the power outages lasted much longer than those after a “normal” thunderstorm. By using a natural gas-fired engine and generator to form a distributed power system that provides electrical energy to the building during the day, it can be easily used to supply emergency energy for selected loads, like lighting, elevators, heating and cooling.
Mid-Manhattan taken from the eastern side of the river. Only a few buildings have electricity after the storm.
How can this be achieved in a profitable way? And how is it possible to build a system that saves energy and provides power at the same time when a power outage happens? The answer is a combined heat and power (CHP) system with grid interconnection.
A CHP can save as much as 40% energy compared with conventional power and heat production methods. The CHP system with a grid-interconnected power converter not only saves energy, but also secures electrical power during the outage.
If high-quality power, emergency power and rapid grid interconnection are on the top of your list, then The Switch variable speed genset (VSG) power converter is the right way to go forward.
Risto Ahvo, General Manager, The Switch Controls and Converters Inc.
