Digitalising electrical earthing for a safer city

Smart Cities is a technologically modern urban area includes developing residential, commercial, and industrial space. Therefore, a well-built smart city needs a safe and reliable power supply for operation and management.

Smart cities use smart grids to address the modernisation of power systems, automation, remote monitoring, and control. However, designing the smart grid requires a systematic approach to eliminate the threat of power surges and transient events in the electrical network. Thus, the smart grid needs proper planning and implementation of electrical safety and reliability concepts to provide a stable reference for protection systems that ensure continuous power supply.

Today’s modern numerically controlled equipment installed in the smart grids are generally more susceptible to destructive surge events and power quality issues, than the traditional grid elements. Hence, it is essential to consider comprehensive and predictive electrical system protection to avoid incidents or accidents in the smart city. Such disruptions may potentially cause irreversible damage to lives, livestock, and assets.

Using the latest industrial internet of things (IIoT) concepts, Manav Energy has developed a unique IIoT product with a patented technology R-FERM (Remote-Fault Time Earth Resistance Monitor). This product monitors the health of grounding systems during normal and fault time conditions. It also automates the system’s health check process by eliminating the need for manual measurement that is very human-dependent and inaccurate. It also highlights earthing pits to the operation and maintenance team that can develop high voltages at electrical fault or lightning, resulting in fatal accidents. Such annunciation enables the O&M team to pre-emptively manage the earth pits.

The recent pandemic condition has pushed the need for safety systems that can be monitored remotely. Hence, R-FERM’s digitalised concept reduces the time and effort for maintenance teams to monitor and address the deterioration of critical earthing systems in time, thus making the electrical network safe and reliable in smart cities. 

Parts of R-FERM 

Fermtalk: Fermtalk is the hardware used for continuous monitoring and predictive maintenance of each earthing system. 

Fermsoft: Fermsoft is a web application that allows users to view data and take necessary action to maintain their earthing system.

What R-FERM offers?

• Real-time online health monitoring during normal and fault time
• Intelligent alert system
• Trend analysis
• Cloud-based data management

How R-FERM helps you? 

• Minimises downtime and malfunctioning of protection systems
• Saves lives and assets
• Saves production loss
• Prevent electrical accidents

Manav Energy expert engineers provide safe, reliable, and economical electrical safety and reliability solutions to all major sectors, including smart cities in India and Abroad. We are the OEM of the World’s best permanent Earth Enhancing Compound that adheres to IEEE 80 2013 clause 14.5(d) and conforms to IEC 62561 part 7. This compound is both electrically and thermally conductive. It not only provides permanency in earthing system resistance in areas with low soil resistivity but also provides stable earthing system in harsh areas such as deserts, rocky terrain, and terrains with sub-zero conditions. 

Having reliable and maintenance-free earthing systems along with smart IIoT product R-FERM will enhance the operations of smart cities and provide glitch-free electrical networks and continuous monitoring of other processes dependent on a safe power system.