Summary of 2021

As 2021 draws to a close we take a look back at some standout moments from the year.

Now on its 12th edition, the NFPA 70E Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace provides employers and workers with an OSHA recognised standard for working with, and addressing electrical hazards.

Details and a full list of changes can be found here.

As one of the few companies to achieve the coveted EcoXpert Master Partner status from Schneider Electric for our Critical Power systems and solutions, we are now part of a worldwide network of experts bringing the very best in energy and power monitoring solutions to our customers. Receiving this certification demonstrates our expertise in designing and deploying energy management systems, implementing advanced metering networks, power quality management and world-class software tools to assist large and critical sites manage energy costs, improve the reliability of their electrical systems and optimise equipment performance.

To learn more about what this means click here.

Over the past 12 months we have undertaken a variety of projects but one that stood out this year was a voltage study for one of our largest data centre clients. After noticing some unusual operational issues, specifically with their backup generators transfer sequence, the client reached out to us for help as this had the potential to impact the reliability of the system and increase downtime which for this particular client would result in losses of millions. After gathering months worth of data, our power systems team was able to build a real time simulation model of the site with an error margin of 0.25%. Following extensive testing of this model and over 102 scenarios, we were able to determine the root cause of the issues, identify other areas for improvements and regain reliability for the client. We received recognition for this project and were shortlisted in the Irish Construction Industry Awards under the categories ‘Consultancy of the Year’ and ‘Engineering Firm of the Year’. Unfortunately due to covid the awards ceremony had to be postponed, but we are still delighted to have made finalists.

Full details on this project can be found here.

The Delivering a Secure, Sustainable Electricity System (DS3) programme was introduced by EirGrid (ROI) and SONI (NI) to help Ireland meet its national and EU targets of increasing the amount of renewable energy on the Irish power system. It is essential for targets and expansion plans that EirGrid understands the capability and compliance of all renewable producers which requires participation from all connected plants and enhanced performance monitoring capabilities. Using our ION power meters and custom framework in PME we are able to assist renewable producers prove their compliance and provide EirGrid with the data they require.

To learn more about your DS3 requirements see here.

During this time we have expanded our team and welcomed nine new engineers in 2021 and an additional five more ready to join us  in January. The new engineers have become integral parts of our power systems team, electrical engineering team and power SCADA team. We will also be taking on 3 students in the new year in a bid to expose them to the complex world of power systems and hopefully spark their interest in the industry. Each new team member had to adapt to working from home and meeting with colleagues virtually, but thankfully when restrictions were slightly eased we were able to have a few get togethers and meals out which really helped the team bond.

This year we saw a rise in the use of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)  for industrial and utility applications. BESS are rechargeable battery systems that store energy from renewables or grid power that can be used as a reliable emergency power backup or for reducing demand charges on your utility bill. 

We’ve been commissioned to perform grid compliance studies for BESS in a number of European countries, as well as, helping clients to monitor the output of BESS to ensure power quality and short term response behaviors meet grid requirements.

Check out one of our case studies here.

After completion of a project we like to get feedback from our clients to ensure we exceed their expectations and gain insight into improvements we could make to our services or new services we could offer. It provides the team with great satisfaction to hear the impact we have made for our clients, these are just some of the highlights from this year.

With mounting pressure on our data centres, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing & utility industries, coupled with increased focus on CO2 reduction, solutions such as onsite generation, energy storage for backup, redundancy and carbon output management have made electrical systems more complex. In order to design, manage and maintain these electrical systems more informed decisions need to be made, and fast. 

One of the latest innovations that can help with this process is digital twin software. This is a modelling software that can be used to develop a simulation model of your electrical system which provides a real time platform to plan, design, visualise, analyse, predict, control, and provide insight on management and performance of your electrical power systems.

This video can explain it in more detail.