For several years our company has been designing and installing systems for the management of on-board power with insertion of sources in seamless transfer. Our system allows the control and monitoring of the various power sources. The standard system provides for the control of each generator and of the isolation transformer or converter as regards the earth connection.
Each source can be managed automatically, in semi-automatic or emergency mode.
Starting from the basic concept that the system will always look for a way to power the boat, below is a brief description of what are the differences between the methods mentioned above.
In automatic mode, in addition to the management of the selection of energy sources (closing of main busbar contactors), the system will have full control as regards the starting and stopping of the generators (obviously the original emergency stops remain unchanged), to optimize the operation of the 'plant. If, for example, in this mode the boat's consumption exceeds 80% of the generator nominal power, the system starts the second generator and puts it in parallel until the total load drops below the set threshold value (normally 65% of the generator in priority); at this point, the second generator will start to “unload”, release from the bars and finally shutdown at the end of the cooling phase.
In semi-automatic mode, the system will not be able to independently manage the starts and stops of the various generators (except in the anti-blackout function), and will not take into account the load thresholds set for any automatic parallel.
In this situation, the operator can still start the second generator manually and put it in parallel, an operation called semiautomatic because the closure of the power contactor (for safety) will still be managed by the system.
In emergency operation, however, all operations will be manual and, except for specific requests, it will not be possible to carry out parallels and passages without going through a blackout.
The one just described is just an example of the basic structure of the PMS, to all this we can also integrate any monitoring and automation systems that will increase the functionality of the entire system.
All our projects will be accompanied by electrical diagrams and user manuals.
