When choosing lighting for an offshore wind farm, a number of important factors must be considered, including maintenance, energy costs, and lighting quality to reduce downtime, explains Gordon Low of Glamox. Offshore wind projects usually require a five-year guarantee of buoyancy or even farm operation, so it is imperative to provide quality products that can withstand this time at sea, especially since the replacement costs in offshore wind farm projects are very high. Operation and maintenance activity accounts for about 25% of the lifetime cost of an offshore wind farm. Glamox marine lighting and lighting management systems are useful options for offshore wind farm operators, maintenance contractors, installers and consultants. Glamox has decades of experience designing and manufacturing lighting solutions for harsh operating environments. Offshore wind installations require the latest lighting products that meet regulations and are tested and approved to meet challenging conditions. Glamox lighting solutions are based on the best technology available on the market and are easy to plan, install, operate and use. Typical lighting applications include hallways, stairs, stairs, crew entry, control room, entrances, and turbine identification plate. Before deciding on lighting, a number of factors must be considered for each application, from the control room and turbine to the foundations. The niche and control room Secure access to the nacelle is required for most maintenance activities. Although stairs are always required, larger wind turbines have an elevator as well. To protect all nacelle components from corrosion, the nacelle is sealed. The nacelle cover provides weatherproof protection to the nacelle components, as well as support and access to external components. Reliable, high-quality lighting is required to facilitate the safe access of individuals in and out of the nacelle and the tower. In confined spaces, it pays to have low-rise luminaires, as space is a challenge when performing work tasks inside a control room. The lighting is usually installed in the ceiling or walls, with exit lights installed at the entrances. Emergency lighting is also required to maintain safety in the event of a grid power loss. Lighting must be quality certified and marine tested. Turbines and towers The design life of an offshore turbine is about 25 years. The trend towards a longer design life on all turbines is due to the industry’s maturity – asset owners now expect to operate wind farms for such periods without the technology becoming obsolete or unsupported by suppliers. Extreme loads due to storms, abnormal events, and malfunctions during operation can also be critical. Marine turbines are usually operated more than 90% of the time, so it is important to choose a lighting supplier with extensive experience in marine and offshore environments and lamps that will achieve the life expectancy of the turbines. The interior of the tower provides access, lighting and safety for maintenance and service personnel, in addition to a means of transporting hand tools and components to the nacelle. The lighting is usually installed on stairs, platforms, and handrails, with exit lights installed in doorways. Emergency lighting is also required to maintain safety and in the event of a grid power loss. Foundation and transition piece foundations provide floating or fixed foundations support for the wind turbine, transferring the loads from the turbine at the level of the tower façade to the sea floor where the loads interact. The Foundation also provides individual access from ships. Unregulated vibrations lead to excessive material wear, which in turn can (and do) cause component failure. So the lighting supplier should offer a vibration test for their light fixtures. Glamox, for example, performs three types of tests: sinus vibration, various shock / shock tests, and random testing. Lighting should be installed at the point of arrival of the crew to the establishment, as well as lighting for the escape to the sea. This area is located above the supporting hull and is accessed via a bridge from the crew transport ships. Therefore, safety requirements dictate the need for high-quality marine lighting to ensure these areas are well lit. Usually, linear lighting will be installed on the handrails, spotlights to illuminate the escape to the sea and to illuminate the turbine identification plate, as well as a part of the turbine. Roofs of AC and HVDC substations The substation is the most important structure in offshore wind farm. This is where all the energy produced by the wind turbines is gathered together and converted by the converters into a high voltage transmission. This is necessary to ensure that the least possible amount of power is lost during transmission over long distances to the next network node. In the event of a technical malfunction of the substation platform, all wind turbines on the offshore wind farm will fail to operate. This means that maintenance and repair services must meet very precise and high-quality standards. All electrical products, including lighting, are potential emitters of electromagnetic waves. This means that the lighting should be marine certified and tested according to both EN-55015 and EN-61547. At a substation, typical application areas for illumination include lines mounted on the handrail; Floodlights to escape to the sea; Spotlights to illuminate the substation identification panel and working / planning areas; And emergency lighting to maintain safety in the event of loss of network power. Illumination will also be required for the helicopter platform, battery rooms, switch rooms, crane platform, cabins, containers, Davit crane, and for crew access. Ideally, choose a supplier with significant experience in the marine and offshore industries who can also supply one set of all different types of lighting required for the substation. For more information on lighting for offshore wind energy applications, please visit Applications – Glamox Offshore Energy.
0 Comments