For power grid operation and maintenance units, the use of lightning impulse voltage generators is often not in bright and clean laboratories, but in remote mountainous substations, under transmission towers in the Gobi Desert, and even in field construction sites that have not yet been electrified. When the equipment arrives at the site, it is found that there is no mains power available, or the battery "strikes" overnight at low temperatures in winter - these power supply difficulties are becoming prominent pain points that restrict the efficiency of on-site testing of the power grid.
The UHV series lightning impulse voltage generator test device of Wuhan UHV Power Technology Co., Ltd. has fully considered the power supply dilemma of on-site power grid testing from the beginning of its design. With modular low-power design, flexible power supply scheme, and wide temperature range adaptability, it provides a practical and feasible solution for field operations.
Modular low-power design: enabling devices to eat less and run farther
Traditional impulse voltage generators have a large volume, high power consumption, and strict requirements for power supply conditions. Once entering a field without mains power, high-power generators are often required, which not only increases transportation burden but also raises fuel costs and noise interference for on-site operations.
The Wuhan UHV series lightning impulse voltage generator adopts a 4-stage tower modular design, and the whole machine is mostly mobile, supporting single-stage low-voltage testing and multi-stage parallel expansion. Modular design reduces the size of equipment by 40% compared to traditional devices, making it easier to transport and use in special scenarios. The reduction in size means a decrease in overall power consumption of the device - smaller energy storage units, shorter charging times, and less energy loss, allowing the device to support more charge and discharge tests with the same battery capacity.
In actual substation maintenance projects, the impulse voltage generator usually needs to work in conjunction with 3 to 5 devices such as high-voltage direct current generators and insulation resistance meters. If each device has strict requirements for power supply, the on-site power supply pressure will increase exponentially. The low-power design of the UHV series makes it possible for multiple devices to share a power supply solution, greatly reducing the burden of power supply guarantee for field operations.
Flexible on-site power supply solution: use mains power when there is mains power, use batteries when there is no mains power
It is common for outdoor construction sites to have no mains electricity. Wuhan UHV fully understands this reality, and the UHV series equipment supports flexible switching of multiple power supply modes - substations with mains power can be directly connected to the grid; In outdoor areas without mains power, the equipment can rely on built-in batteries or external mobile power sources to complete testing tasks.
According to the actual usage records of Wuhan UHV in multiple power supply companies and power construction units across the country, the impulse voltage generator can work continuously for about 4 to 6 hours when fully charged. This endurance is sufficient to support the entire process of impact testing for a conventional substation interval or a section of cable line. For large-scale maintenance projects that require continuous operation, backup batteries or external power adapters can be prepared on site to ensure that the test is not interrupted due to power outages.
In large-scale projects such as the Northwest Photovoltaic Base, Wuhan UHV equipment completed 20 kilometers of 35kV cable line testing in a single day, setting a new industry efficiency record. Behind this efficiency is the sufficient preparation of the equipment in terms of power supply guarantee - no need for frequent charging, no need for high-power generators to accompany, a set of backup batteries can support all day operations.
Wide temperature range operation: the battery does not "lie down" in severe cold
Winter low temperatures are another major "killer" for outdoor power supply. In outdoor tests at northern substations, winter temperatures can drop as low as minus 20-30 degrees Celsius, and lithium batteries often experience power shortages in such environments. The issues of no display on the screen, decreased charging efficiency, and significantly reduced battery life directly led to the inability to conduct the experiment.
The Wuhan UHV series equipment supports wide temperature operation from -30 ℃ to 50 ℃. In the power supply project of the Sichuan Tibet Railway, the equipment successfully completed the impact test at an altitude of 4500 meters, and the data consistency was certified by the expert group. In order to adapt to extreme environments, Wuhan UHV has also optimized the power management system of the equipment, ensuring that the battery can still output stably in low-temperature environments, the screen display does not show slow response, and the measurement accuracy is not affected by temperature.
For power grid operation and maintenance units, purchasing a lightning impulse voltage generator is not only a testing instrument that can output standard waveforms, but also a field operation tool that can operate in remote substations, in fields without mains power, and in extremely cold winters without losing its connection. The Wuhan UHV series uses modular low-power design to lower the power supply threshold, flexible battery and external power solutions to ensure field endurance, and wide temperature range technology to ensure stable power supply in extreme weather conditions.
