Technical Services

Mains Conditioning

To operate your electrical network efficiently, the condition of your mains supply should be assessed and monitored. This can be carried out by a mains conditioning survey, which will identify deficiencies in your power supply. A detailed report will be issued by Aardvarc which will outline recommendations from the survey and include any necessary remedial works to help reduce running costs and prevent asset damage. Types of work are:

Power factor corrections

Your supply is most efficient when running at unity power factor. Aardvarc can supply, install and maintain the appropriate equipment to meet your specific needs.

Harmonic analysis

Harmonic distortion of the supply can be caused by the connection of nonlinear loads. As well as nuisance tripping of circuit breakers, it can also reduce the operating life of expensive assets such as transformers, induction motors, power factor correction equipment and printed circuit boards. By analysing the type of harmonics in your system, we can then recommend how to filter out this destructive, high frequency interference.

Aardvarc also offer:

Condition Monitoring

For a comprehensive and robust approach to asset management, condition monitoring is a must. Aardvarc offer three major diagnostic services - partial discharge testing, dissolved gas analysis and thermal imaging.

Partial Discharge Testing

Partial discharges of electricity can indicate a fault which, if not corrected, could lead to catastrophic failure of the asset. HV equipment is particularly vulnerable to this type of failure.

Aardvarc can address such problems before they become serious by accurately detecting the nature and location of damaging discharges.

Aardvarc detection techniques concentrate on the electromagnetic discharge and use transient earth voltage (TEV) detectors, partial discharge locators and partial discharge monitors. Customers under agreements can benefit from TEV checks as part of their regular substation inspections.

Dissolved Gas Analysis

Analysis of samples from oil-insulated apparatus can identify gases including hydrogen, carbon monoxide, acetylene, methane, ethylene, ethane and nitrogen. The existence of these gases can assist in identifying the condition of the equipment. A report will be produced which will identify any remedial action.

Thermal Imaging

High resistance terminations and connections - “hot spots“ - in electrical distribution equipment usually indicate a problem waiting to happen. Compared with the rest of the plant, they tend to have an unusually high thermal image.

Aardvarc can carry out a thermal imaging survey of your plant as part of a regular, noninvasive check or if you suspect you have a problem. A detailed report with temperature levels and captured images, together with recommendations for corrective action, will be provided.

Design Service

Aardvarc’s chartered engineers can provide full design services from LV to EHV and are also capable of providing consultancy services on any technical aspects that you may require.

Plug-in Connectors

Aardvarc offer a simple and cost-effective way of connecting a generator to low voltage networks. This facility is available to our customers.

Power Factor Correction

Reactive power is a charge on electricity bills which is directly targeted against companies which do not demonstrate clear energy efficiency use.

This charge can be reduced by the introduction of power factor correction capacitors. They cut electrical load and minimise wasted energy, improving plant efficiency and reducing electricity bills. A site survey is required to determine the type and size of system which will best meet your current and future needs.

Remote Control and Automation

Remote control and automation can bring significant benefits to HV networks by helping to isolate faults quicker and restore supplies. Aardvarc have the capability to carry out feasibility surveys to determine the optimum solution for your requirements.

Load Assessment

Monitoring of site loads to determine available capacity and any site overloads.

System Studies

The operating dynamics of your electrical system can be affected by various factors. These include DNO fault levels, network reconfiguration and the addition of embedded generation or certain types of load. Aardvarc can carry out a system study to analyse in detail the integrity of your system under fault conditions.

This can include:

We can provide a detailed report, which can include the following information: