On standby
A constant source of power can be maintained by utility providers with back-up power units that use compressed air. Siobhan Wagner reports.
Back-up power from compressed air is now a cheap and simple option, claims
, a new energy specialist based in Chester.
The first commercial installation of its UK designed and manufactured power unit was for South African electricity utility Eskom Holdings, one of the 10 largest electricity producers in the world.
The Pnu Power TC1 compressed-air uninterruptible power supply device will be deployed to a live substation and provide more than 10 hours of standby power for relay-switching.
The key component of the device is its scroll, which has the same design as a car air-conditioning scroll except that it runs in the opposite direction.
The overall unit incorporates cylinders of compressed air stored at 300 bar. When the power trips, a signal to the control system opens the valves and the air is controlled through a regulator. The regulator acts as a power device so the more power that is needed, the wider the regulator opens. The air then goes into the scroll to drive the generator.
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