Synchromerger™ provides a convenient and cost-effective platform for providing high-quality data streams including IEC 61850, synchrophasors, and power quality (PQ) from many widely distributed locations.
Synchromerger™ is a wide-area instrumentation solution which measures, processes, and publishes 50 synchronised measurements per fiber from distances of up to 100 km – without requiring power supplies, digital communications, or GPS at any measurement location. This allows transmission and distribution system operators to increase network visibility at a fraction of the cost and complexity of conventional technologies.
The measurement instrumentation consists of Synaptec’s proven electrically passive distributed electro-mechanical sensing platform. The technology can be applied to existing fiber that is embedded within power network lines or cables. Each fiber can support up to 8 three-phase voltage and current measurement locations.
Applications
Synchromerger™ combines all the capabilities of Refase™, with the following additional features:
- Synchrophasors: System operators increasingly use synchrophasors to enhance the visibility and resilience of modern power systems. However, there is significant cost and complexity in networking large numbers of time-synchronised Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) reliably from widely distributed locations. By using distributed current and voltage sensing, Synchromerger™ radically simplifies real-time synchrophasor delivery. It readily supports the IEEE C37.118.2 output format for integration with other systems.
- Real-time PQ: This platform has the unprecedented ability to calculate and stream out wide-area PQ data, such as voltage and current harmonics. This greatly simplifies the acquisition and analysis of PQ data, avoids the need to network multiple dedicated PQ meters, and opens up new possibilities for real-time PQ monitoring.
- Continuous point on wave (CPOW) monitoring: Each Synchromerger™ samples data at least at 4 kHz, which means that it is already equipped to offer the next generation of CPOW-based measurements, which is critical for understanding and diagnosing some events which are “hidden” in relatively coarse synchrophasor or SCADA data.
Benefits
TSOs and DSOs face increasing network complexity and therefore need better tools for effective system management. Synchrophasor and PQ measurement infrastructure enables real-time and post event analysis, enhanced reliability of supply and network resilience, increased penetration of renewables and electric vehicles, and network model validation.
Synaptec’s Synchromerger™ product has the potential to deliver synchrophasors at a fraction of the cost of conventional solutions, leading to capex savings of approximately 80% per measurement location compared to conventional infrastructure. This is achieved primarily by eliminating the need for synchronised clocks, telecommunications infrastructure, construction of buildings, power supplies, and dedicated merging units at each measurement locations.
As up to 50 sensors can be deployed along a single fiber and measurements are acquired and securely transmitted over distances up to 100 km to a single substation-housed Synchromerger™ IED, this reduces spatial footprint, lead times, capex, and the carbon impact of deploying advanced measurement infrastructure.
Raw measurements can be streamed out using industry standards, such as IEC 61850-9-2 Sampled Values and IEC 61850-8-1 GOOSE, to directly interface with external equipment such as protection relays. This interoperability has been validated with a range of devices from several vendors.
The data produced by Synchromerger™ can be visualised, analysed, and archived using any compatible third-party system, or can be integrated with Synaptec’s Synthesis™ platform.
