The Role of Smart Transformers in Building a Resilient Energy Infrastructure
By Jack Shaw, senior writer and editor at Modded
Power grids play a significant role in residential and commercial properties. They keep the lights on so you can operate your business, power your home and continue daily life without electricity outages. They’re also a key tool to advancing sustainable efforts. Learn how smart transformers can create a more resilient energy infrastructure for businesses in various industries to understand if it could make your property more eco-friendly.
What Are Smart Transformers?
USDA Photo by Lance Cheung
. Original public domain image from Flickr
Smart transformers are tech-equipped electricity distributors that better manage power use with internet-connected components. Traditional transformers handle voltage levels around the clock, but they don’t have internet connectivity. Replacing older models could reduce energy consumption by giving people more access to each transformer’s daily operations.
Businesses That Could Gain the Most From Them
Experts estimate that optimized transformers will save 3.83 kilojoules of electricity nationwide over the next 30 years, which may increase if more business owners use smart transformers. First, they need to know if the updated energy technology is a good fit for their professional field. Here are the primary businesses that could most benefit from installing smart transformers on their properties.
Manufacturing Facilities
Large manufacturing businesses require significant amounts of energy to power their operations. The electricity demand grows for facilities that don’t stop overnight, during weekends or on holidays. If each facility owner installed smart transformers, they could monitor their power usage and adjust it throughout each day to reduce their carbon footprint.
Health Care Businesses
Health care facilities and hospitals use 9% of U.S. commercial electricity each year, so smart transformers could benefit them. If you work in the medical industry, you know that a constant electrical supply is the difference between life and death for many patients. Managing power usage more efficiently would continue to meet each property’s electrical needs and care for people without having as much of a planetary impact.
Data Centers
Any business owner with a data center knows how vital and energy intensive they are. They store and process critical information. Smart transformers could regulate their necessary electricity consumption while protecting them from high voltage levels, making each facility greener than ever before.
Large Commercial Buildings
Hotels and office buildings consume significant amounts of electricity for daily operations. These commercial properties could also benefit from optimized transformers. Smart technology could enhance their power usage and manage the flow more efficiently because it gives business owners customized control.
Green Transportation Providers
While there are over 138,000 charging stations nationwide for electric vehicles (EVs), business owners with EV fleets utilize private chargers. The significant energy usage necessary to charge these vehicles puts more demand on traditional transformers. Optimized alternatives may handle the electricity demand better and support faster charging, depending on the smart technology within each new transformer.
Energy and Utility Businesses
Business owners operating utility or electricity companies can also benefit from smart transformers. They make it easier to provide precise data to customers inquiring about their bills and manage power usage effectively with internet connectivity. These commercial entities may be capable of operating more than one smart transformer compared to businesses in other industries due to their size and electricity-focused services.
Commercial Benefits of Using Smart Transformers
It’s important to understand the specific ways optimized transformers help industry experts become sustainable. They might be the next best upgrade for your commercial property.
Smart Transformers Provide Predictive Maintenance Suggestions
Maintenance on traditional transformers happens once or twice a year. They need oil replacements and machinery inspections, which you have to schedule manually. Smart transformers have software that alerts business owners when upkeep is required. The notifications can also suggest preventive strategies to make the equipment last longer, like running diagnostics more often or checking for sensor software updates.
Business Owners Can Monitor Properties Remotely
Intensified weather systems are becoming more common each year. Your commercial property may deal with frequent power outages during events like thunderstorms, tropical storms or hurricanes. A smart transformer provides instant access to energy usage within your business. You could tell when outages or surges happen in relation to weather events, speeding up your response time during emergencies.
Optimized Technology Regulates Energy Usage
Daily operations could also improve with a smart transformer. The technology can adjust voltage levels when energy flow from the local grid intensifies. You’ll always have a stable electricity connection and the ability to verify it remotely.
Advanced algorithms within optimized transformers can also distribute power equally throughout your company. If your business is expansive, this is a significant perk. Utilities on one side of your property won’t have to manage intense amounts of electricity while others pull from the grid to make up for lower power flow. A smart transformer can modify where it sends the electricity it channels so your business gets the power it needs, wherever and whenever it’s required.
IoT Sensors Actively Communicate With Local Grids
Internet of Things (IoT) devices within optimized transformers allow them to communicate with the local power grid. This is a significant advantage for commercial properties. IoT data gives your business a personal look into the energy flow and load balancing of grid operations at any given time. Your transformer can prepare for upcoming fluctuations because the sensors supply real-time data around the clock.
Ways They Could Save You Money
Improving business operations with reliable electricity flow is important, but saving money is another benefit of smart transformers. Once you know how you’ll reduce your utility costs, you may feel more confident about your decision to upgrade.
Reduced Daily Energy Consumption
Load management and improved power distribution mean your business won’t have an abnormally high energy demand. Smart transformers will adapt the electricity flow throughout your property based on typical daily usage. They can also reduce your power consumption during energy grid rush hours, which saves money when utility providers charge more due to higher local usage.
Less Electricity Loss Via Heat
Power cables deal with standard losses when the electricity turns into heat while running through energy lines to local buildings. Smart transformers have equipment that reduces heat loss by 15% through its own fuel cells, so your business’s power consumption will contribute less to overall waste in local cabling.
Controlled Power Channeling
Utility companies enact load shed measures when local demand for electricity nears peak production levels. The strategy temporarily reduces how much energy consumers can utilize so the plant doesn’t overheat.
If your business has an optimized transformer, the high-tech components can sense when load shedding occurs and manage your electricity usage more strategically until it stops. You won’t have electricity peaks in your utility bill during those dates because your transformer will prevent your property from increasing demand to deal with the limited power supply.
Challenges and Limitations Business Owners May Face
While adding a smart transformer to your commercial property may interest you, you should also know which challenges you could deal with after installation. It’s important to understand what you may encounter and how to prepare for potential complications.
New Cybersecurity Risks
Anything that connects to the internet could pose a cybersecurity risk. Optimized transformers are no different. They present opportunities for cybercriminals to breach your network and steal sensitive information. While the manufacturer of your smart transformer may provide built-in mechanisms to prevent this, you might need to install extra cybersecurity measures, like continuous monitoring.
Costly Installation Fees
Adding an optimized transformer to your business can create a financial challenge. Slow procurement processes are only one reason why the cost of a large transformer is between 20%-50% higher than in 2020, which means installing one may come with a higher price tag than you thought they’d pay. Although you’ll have some return on investment (ROI) with long-term electricity savings, the upfront fees can be an immediate financial challenge.
Specialized Training Is Necessary
While smart transformers are more operationally independent than traditional models, employees and business owners still need to learn how to use them. Software training must cover essential skills like how to analyze the data, run diagnostics and translate the information into actionable steps for daily operations.
Larger businesses may need to develop a training program specifically for employees who will have access to the optimized transformers. The effort takes time and money, which could complicate installation plans.
Legacy Infrastructure May Not Be Compatible
Experts installed most of the U.S. power grid in the 1960s and 1970s, so the legacy infrastructure from that period is outdated. Installing new transformers sometimes presents compatibility issues. Mismatched connecting equipment can complicate installations, and transformer communication protocols may require additional upgrades. The complications aren’t impossible to work around. Business owners only need to be aware that infrastructure challenges can occur, leading to more time and money spent on the project.
Make Your Commercial Property Greener While Saving Money
Adding a smart transformer to your business could be an excellent way to develop a more resilient energy infrastructure. The internal internet-connected equipment can save money, improve electricity usage and provide real-time information. Being aware of the potential challenges while considering your power upgrade will ensure you make the best decision for your company.