Company upgrades Wits facultys generator capacity
Power equipment company Barloworld Power has replaced the University of the Witwatersrands Faculty of Health Sciences almost year-old generator which provides the school with its standby power with a much larger system.Consultant to the Wits property and infrastructure management division David Slater says the Faculty of Health Sciences ongoing expansion and the rapid advances in technology and information technology infrastructure have resulted in a shortfall in the facultys standby power requirement.
The situation was further exacerbated by random and extended grid power failures which sometimes lasted about hours compromising research projects and general information system integrity he adds.Barloworld Power was awarded the contract to upgrade the standby system which in line with the facultys research and academic programmes took about two years to complete.
The facultys VA unit was replaced with two Cat generators operating as one synchronised system. The first unit was installed in the universitys basement where the original Rolls Royce was housed and the second unit was installed as an external Cat containerised module.The Rolls Royce kVA unit was relocated to the Wits Education Campus. As an interim measure we installed the Cat containerised unit first and ran it simultaneously with the Rolls Royce to allow for the continuation of essential ser- vices says Barloworld Power specialised projects sales engineer Matthew Fredericks.
He adds that the company then removed the Rolls Royce unit and replaced it with the new Cat standalone unit The new switchgear installed in the generator is designed to cater for three transformer loads.Fredericks notes that the second phase of the project proved to be the most challenging,ed hardy hats, as all systems had to be disconnected briefly pending the installation of the changeovers and the main panel. During this period a Cat unit supplied by Barloworld Powers rental division provided a temporary backup power solution for the entire faculty.
Slater explains that this was undertaken over four days as they had to ensure that all the cables were in position and that the changeover contactors and motorised switches had been tested and commissioned.
