November 23, 2009

Easy Up, Easy On: IntelliRupter^® Offers Unmatched Ease of Installation

IntelliRupter is totally self-contained. All major components — including sensors, control group, surge arresters, control power, and disconnect (on Disconnect Style models) — are included on the IntelliRupter base and go up in one easy, single-point lift. See Figure 1.

Just mount IntelliRupter on the utility pole and make a single ground connection to the base. Then screw the antenna for the wide-area network radio onto a connector on the base. Connect the high-voltage lines, and you’re done!

IntelliRupter features embedded current and voltage sensors that eliminate the cost, clutter, and complexity of separately mounted sensors. There’s no control enclosure or control cable to install, either. Since IntelliRupter is directly powered from the line, there’s no external potential transformer to install, no grounding issues to worry about.

IntelliRupter installation typically takes about two hours . . . or as little as one hour after your crews get experienced.

Compare the clean-looking IntelliRupter installation with that of a conventional recloser. See Figure 2. The photos really tell the story.

Control cables are vulnerable to damage from ice, rodents, and vandals. And sensor cables increase exposure to damage from lightning and power surges, and complicate grounding.

IntelliRupter eliminates these potential problems. It doesn’t have any external control or sensor cables!

Compare the cable-less IntelliRupter in Figure 3 with the many-cabled conventional recloser in Figure 4.