Sub station all packaged up for Eastern Europe

Arran Controls actively promotes the benefit of containerisation to the customer and used this technique successfully to meet an order from Eastern Europe for a containerised package sub station

Arran Controls is a leading electrical design and project engineering company and Authorised Cutler-Hammer System Builder.

Here, Barry Muncaster, Sales and Proposals Manager at Arran Controls, explains how the company was able to combine its intimate knowledge of the customer's needs with industry-leading technology to develop a fitting solution to a particularly challenging customer order.

Arran Controls recently received an order to supply an installation at a site in Eastern Europe with a containerised package sub station.

The required medium and low voltage switchgear would have to be fitted into a portable building capable of meeting the constraints of being transported by road across Europe.

By housing the switchgear within a portable building, Arran Controls was able to install, interconnect and fully test all the equipment before delivering it to the site.

This reduces the on-site installation, testing and commissioning times and costs for the switchgear, as well as eliminating the need to construct a conventional building to house it.

The dimensions of the original building design, however (4.4 x 16 x 3.8m) were large enough to necessitate lengthy diversions and the provision of a police escort by countries en route - raising the journey's duration and cost.

An oversized building would incur additional financial and time costs, negating the savings made in these areas in testing and installation.

Arran Controls therefore decided to design a purpose built building with a width reduced to the minimum required to accommodate and maintain the enclosed equipment.

Fitting more components into the same or less space can be a major issue for the designers of installations.

For example, the size of power switching components - from the minute 0.25A motor contactor up to Air Circuit Breakers - has been a significant factor in many project decisions.

Some suppliers are responding to market needs by manufacturing smaller products that match or exceed current specifications.

Cutler-Hammer fuse switches, for example, now include compact 20A and 32A devices that are more than 20 per cent smaller than previous 32A versions.

As an approved system builder for the Cutler-Hammer F660 MCC system, Arran Controls selected it to supply the LV MCC steelwork for the packaged substation.

Cutler-Hammer was also able to contribute a great deal of experience in MV switchgear, enabling Arran Controls to provide its customer with a complete system supported by a key supplier to the industry.

"The System Builder relationship means that we can build the technical quality of Cutler-Hammer equipment into our proposals," said Barry Muncaster, Sales and Proposals Manager at Arran Controls.

"In this instance, it was crucial to be able to specify Cutler-Hammer products - many of the new range of components available are smaller than other products with similar ratings." The Cutler-Hammer F660 LV switchgear incorporated the new Magnum ACBs and standard motor starter components from the Freedom range of contactor equipment.

All these components were chosen with the confidence that they met the requirements of the Low Voltage Directive.

By developing a packaged substation solution using Cutler-Hammer components, Arran Controls was able to reduce the size of the building required from 4.4 x 16 x 3.8m to 3.3 x 13 x 3.66m - a reduction in area of 41 per cent - without compromising the specification.

This ensured that transport limitations were removed from the equation, saving on all costs and reducing the commissioning time.

Using Cutler-Hammer assemblies provided a further benefit - faster installation when the packaged substation arrived on site.

Cutler-Hammer's F660 motor control centre is a Totally Type Tested Assembly, which reduced the time required to test the complete substation.

All of the links in the construction of a Totally Type Tested Assembly - from the incomers, right through to the outgoing motor terminals and cable boxes - have been designed, tested, rated and certified in accordance with the relevant IEC and BS EN standards.

"Using the Type Tested Assembly meant we could test and pre-commission the equipment prior to shipping and installation," continued Barry Muncaster.

"Being able to simulate the working environment of the actual switchgear to be used in Eastern Europe at our site in the UK also saved on the cost of transporting the required testing equipment." Arran Controls actively promotes the benefit of containerisation to the customer and is working with its clients on further orders, constantly providing better solutions to their needs.

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