Control Cabinets

Using a single supplier for custom transformer control cabinets eliminates the hassle of coordinating multiple vendors, reduces errors introduced when design intent passes between companies, and gives you single-point accountability that avoids project delays and excess installation costs.

As your control cabinet manufacturer, we would be responsible for:

• Monitoring and control logic
• Support at the transformer factory
• On-site commissioning of the system

Dynamic Ratings manufactures control cabinets with all instruments needed for factory testing, fully configured for the specific transformer prior to shipment, and provides direct support to the OEM throughout that process. If you consider the volume of cabinets placed across all transformer OEMs, it is cost justifiable to fully integrate the products, eliminate redundant components and make the system more cost efficient and reliable.

Transformer OEMs have their own standardized components and designs. It is often easier for them to utilize their own standards and add in additional customer specific components over the top of their standard design without truly integrating the equipment. If they are only building one transformer, this makes sense as the engineering cost outweighs the benefit of simplifying the design. But if you need more than one transformer, it is justifiable to standardize the system.

Since every transformer OEM uses its own standard design, utility engineers can spend significant time reviewing each new cabinet individually. With a dedicated control cabinet supplier, engineers instead review and approve one standard design, which all future transformers then follow supported by a Customer Requirements Document that tracks construction and instrument programming details with revision control.

Control cabinet instruments and sensors designs are tracked by Dynamic Ratings with reference to the serial number of the transformer. Once commissioned, the substation name is added to the records. If there is ever a need to locate “all control cabinets that have the following component or setting or logic or …” this detail can be easily retrieved.

Old transformers that are being updated to add monitoring or need new control cabinets installed due to aging wiring can utilize the same common control cabinet. Often it will be cheaper and easier to replace the complete control cabinet instead of adding new cabinets and interconnecting the new monitoring equipment. In place of complicated wiring diagrams that are redlined with all the changes, new drawings would provide better accuracy, while avoiding much of the consulting engineer cost.

Because there’s a window of vulnerability during transit and factory transformer testing, Dynamic Ratings builds and ships an identical, certified “clean” set of instruments to swap in once the transformer reaches the customer site — while the original instruments are cleaned and held ready to support the next order in sequence.