Unmanned monitoring system for a seaport power substation
| Industry | Power and Utilities |
| Products | VPort 2141 EDS-305/308 Series SoftDVR? Pro |
| In Brief | Keelung Harbor, the most important commercial seaport in Northern Taiwan, recently upgraded its power substation control system by adding a new SCADA system. The main reason for upgrading the system was to improve the level of service to customers through increased automation and monitoring of conditions at the 7 power substations located within 9 km of the harbor. A fiber-based system was chosen to cover longer transmission distances, and to provide the high-bandwidth transmission needed to centralize the management and control of all substations. Fiber also made it possible to implement remote video monitoring and communications. |
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Solution
Keelung Harbor, the most important commercial seaport in Northern Taiwan, recently upgraded its power substation control system by adding a new SCADA system. The main reason for upgrading the system was to improve the level of service to customers through increased automation and monitoring of conditions at the 7 power substations located within 9 km of the harbor. A fiber-based system was chosen to cover longer transmission distances, and to provide the high-bandwidth transmission needed to centralize the management and control of all substations. Fiber also made it possible to implement remote video monitoring and communications.
This particular application required hardened video servers and Ethernet switches that support extended operating temperatures, and that are immune to interference from the electromagnetic fields created by power lines. Ethernet with fiber is particularly well-suited for the harbor's seaside environment, since fiber offers reliable remote monitoring functionality and reduces the number of service calls needed. The end result is a more efficient and better managed system that makes Keelung Harbor a state-of-the-art, globally competitive port.
System Description
The KLHB (Keelung Harbor Bureau), which handles all of Keelung Harbor's operational and management concerns, wanted a reliable network with long distance transmission capability, easy to access remote video that can be used with the existing SCADA system, and alarm triggering for both security and network events. Fiber optic cables link network devices used at the docks. To monitor and efficiently control the 7 substations that supply power to the harbor, the KLHB uses PLCs to control hundreds of power meters, and a custom built SCADA system to manage operations. A physical fiber network, formed by Moxa's EDS-308-M-SC industrial Ethernet switches, transmits data to a central control station. In addition, to increase security and to monitor and record incidents, the KLHB decided to use Moxa's VPort 2140 video server and SoftDVR Pro to set up a video surveillance system for monitoring the unmanned power substations.
The KLHB uses 1 or 2 cameras at each substation to monitor power devices and entrance doors. To set up a traditional digital video recording solution would have required a 9 km long coaxial cable, which is troublesome and expensive, to transmit video signals back to the central control room. Moxa's video networking Solution, which uses VPort 2140 video servers, supports a remote video surveillance system based on the fiber network. In addition, since the central control room uses a SCADA system to monitor and control all substation power devices via PLCs, video streams from the surveillance cameras are also included in this system by using the web interface to access the web page of each Moxa VPort 2140. Users can monitor data and video at the same time for each substation, providing a better way to control all anomalous events and conditions.
Overall Benefits
- Remote access, control, and monitoring from anywhere, anytime
- Using an existing network reduces cabling and installation costs
- Surveillance systems are convenient for system integrators to maintain, repair, and upgrade
- Expansion on demand—add cameras, application/storage servers, and other surveillance devices
- Digital images are easy to edit, store, and transmit
- IP-based networks are easy to integrate with other systems and applications
Related Products
| VPort 2141 |
| EDS-305/308 Series |
| SoftDVR? Pro |
