SignalFire Wireless Telemetry System Replaces Aging Wired Control System in Monitoring Hydroelectric Dam Levels
In determining the amount of available energy in hydroelectric dams, water level height at the reservoir must be continuously monitored. When the need arose to replace an aging hydrostatic water level sensing system at a dam, the SignalFire Remote Sensing System (SFRSS) offered a more cost efficient and reliable solution for the remote monitoring of hydroelectric dam levels.
The previous level sensing system connected to the power station via a hard-wired cable. In addition to having problems with ground faults, the cabling of the wired system was prone to lightning strikes that would damage the entire network. The installation of another wired level sensing system from the dam to the powerhouse posed physical challenges and was costly because meeting the requirement for “redundancy” would require a second system.
As a wireless system, the SRFSS does not require cabling, eliminating the risk of failure due to lightning strikes and ground faults. Consisting of a gateway and remote nodes, the wireless sensor control system operates on an adaptive radio network to seamlessly integrate with the hydrostatic transmitters and send level data to a remote programmable logic controller located at the power station.
With a range of approximately three miles, the network with redundant communications link is both self-installing and self-configuring, so it immediately starts once the settings, address and parameters for the individual components are entered.
For more detailed information, download the application note on the Wireless Monitoring of Hydroelectric Dam Levels.
