VESDA system installed to monitor the air inside switchgear and MCCs?
VESDA system installed to monitor the air inside switchgear and MCCs?
(OP)
Anyone ever install a Vesda system to monitor the air within sections of a 4kV Switchgear & 600V MCC?
Vesda is an aspirating detector that monitors the air for smoke to provide the earliest warning of a potential fire. We shall install this system in our electrical rooms. However, our client wants us to air sample inside the MCCs and switchgear by installing Vesda capillary piping into each section. We have one MCC that is eighteen sections long. Going to be interesting.
I anticipate switchgear failing immediately if there is a problem. Intermittent smoke that eventually escalates to a fire, is that how switchgear typical fails? I'm curious to know if a sampling air inside MCCs and switchgear is worth the effort and cost to install the capillary piping.
Vesda is an aspirating detector that monitors the air for smoke to provide the earliest warning of a potential fire. We shall install this system in our electrical rooms. However, our client wants us to air sample inside the MCCs and switchgear by installing Vesda capillary piping into each section. We have one MCC that is eighteen sections long. Going to be interesting.
I anticipate switchgear failing immediately if there is a problem. Intermittent smoke that eventually escalates to a fire, is that how switchgear typical fails? I'm curious to know if a sampling air inside MCCs and switchgear is worth the effort and cost to install the capillary piping.






RE: VESDA system installed to monitor the air inside switchgear and MCCs?
A single detector with a pneumatic multiplexor sampled each section in sequence. (Don't remember the frequency, every 10 mintues?) The sniffer was supposed to detect combustion products prior to flames appearing. The demo worked great, alarming when the paper was charred brown but had not yet ignited.
After six months work and adjustments false alarms dropped to about one a week. Alarms did not appear to be related to breaker operation, motor starting. overloads or other electrical operations. The fie alarm contractor kept blaming dust. The electrical rooms were large but had full HVAC with positive pressure to keep out dust.
I'll never use it again.
RE: VESDA system installed to monitor the air inside switchgear and MCCs?
If there was no electricity there would be no internet. Good point, don´t you? :D
RE: VESDA system installed to monitor the air inside switchgear and MCCs?
I'd imagine that an internal fault, depending on the type of switchgear or MCC installed, would generate enough smoke and other byproducts to set off the VESDA within the switchroom regardless.
Setting a VESDA system up inside an arc tunnel might be an idea, though how effective it would be and how many false positives you'd get I'd not want to speculate on.
RE: VESDA system installed to monitor the air inside switchgear and MCCs?
Alan
"The engineer's first problem in any design situation is to discover what the problem really is." Unk.
RE: VESDA system installed to monitor the air inside switchgear and MCCs?
"If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six sharpening my axe." -- Abraham Lincoln
For the best use of Eng-Tips, please click here -> FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies