EXCOUNT-II is an advanced surge arrester monitor for intelligent monitoring and recording of surges in high voltage networks.
Discharge operation counters have been available for use with surge arresters for many years, however these have lacked the ability of giving a direct indication of the true health of surge arresters. Even counters fitted with simple mA meters are of very limited use, as they are unable to differentiate between the internal and external leakage currents nor exclude harmonic effects.
More than just a counter
EXCOUNT-II is an entirely new monitoring system, as it can be used as an aid to assess the health of the entire substation by monitoring surges transmitted in and out of the network.The device is fitted to surge arresters within a substation similar to normal counters, but in addition to counting the number of discharges, EXCOUNT-II also records the amplitude of the surges, together with their date and time, plus measures the total leakage current and (optionally) resistive current through the arrester. The measurements are stored in the EXCOUNT-II sensor, and can be collected when convenient with the aid of a hand-held cordless transceiver.
Statistical analysis
The raw data from the transceiver is transferred over to a computer for statistical analysis. The detailed results obtained from EXCOUNT-II are not limited to a simple estimation of arrester stresses but instead give a true indication of the number and severity of surges and, when combined with data from event recorders, SCADA, etc, facilitates an effective analysis of the amount and degree of voltage stress all equipment in the substation has been subjected to.