Modern manufacturing efficiencies and greater market demand has narrowed the price gap between dry-type transformers and traditional oil-filled units, giving customers around Africa the opportunity to benefit from the many advantages of tried and tested dry-type technology.
According to Trafo Power Solutions managing director David Claassen, these transformers are safer and more efficient than their oil-filled equivalents, factors that make them a cost effective and versatile choice in a range of applications and sectors.
“The high safety rating of dry-type transformers allows them to be installed indoors, avoiding the cost and inconvenience of the special structures normally required to accommodate the safety and environmental hazards related to oil-filled units,” says Claassen.
The rise in awareness of safety at work in all sectors of the economy has led to greater utilisation of safer technologies like these.
“Dry-cooled transformers are categorised as F1 in terms of international fire resistance ratings, making them low-risk as they are self-extinguishing and flame-retardant by nature,” he says.
The technology also serves a growing demand for more energy -efficient solutions, especially as the price of electricity has risen dramatically in South Africa and many economies on the continent.
“End-users will benefit from the reduced energy consumption of these transformers, which is another factor that has attracted attention to these units in new and existing markets,” he says. “The higher efficiency of the cast resin design means lower electricity bills, and also lowers heat losses. These units therefore require only a minimal movement of air across the windings to cool them down, although forced air options can also be employed where necessary if ambient temperatures are high.”
Less maintenance is another advantage; dry-type transformers are low in maintenance and could last for 25 years without significant attention, while oil-filled transformers require regular maintenance including oil sample analysis to ensure operational consistency and safety.
Claassen, an electrical engineer with broad ranging and high level experience in many sectors, recently established Trafo Power Solutions to distribute and service transformer products in Africa from Canada-based Hammond Power Solutions (HPS). His experience includes turnkey power installations, high voltage sub-stations, continuous and standby power generation, transformers, and control and instrumentation; he has worked in mining, infrastructure, renewable energy, and oil and gas.
In operation for 100 years, HPS is an acknowledged leader in this increasingly popular technology. The company also has state-of-the-art design and manufacturing facilities in Europe following its acquisition of Italian companies Euroelettro and Marnate Trasformatori.