Revive Your Substation through an IEC 61850 Retrofit Initiative

If you’re a substation operator seeking ways to harness the advantages of IEC 61850 standardization without the need to replace your current system, you’ve reached a realm of fresh opportunities. Dedicated efforts to embrace the IEC 61850 standard and extensive exploration to enhance the functionalities of legacy equipment for seamless integration into ongoing smart grid advancements have yielded results. With the significant decrease in the cost of modern sensing devices and the simplicity of retrofitting smart automation features, including IEC 61850 compatibility, into existing substations, the time is ripe to embark on the journey towards full automation of your substation.

An retrofit initiative could be the solution to rejuvenate your substation and bring forth a host of benefits such as:

Variety of devices
Comprehensive system integration
Enhanced operational efficiency
Straightforward system upkeep

To delve deeper into these advantages, browse our IEC 61850 Substation Retrofit Guide.

Nevertheless, executing a retrofit project for your substation might pose more challenges than constructing everything from the ground up. Let’s explore the primary hurdles that engineers encounter during the process of retrofitting a substation and discuss potential remedies.

Integrating the Old with the Modern

Existing substations often utilize numerous legacy serial devices, some of which could be two to three decades old. A fundamental aspect of modernizing an existing substation involves disconnecting legacy devices from the serial network and migrating them to a modern TCP/IP network. The devices in a substation can be broadly categorized into the following types:

Devices using standard industrial protocols
Devices operating on proprietary protocols
Devices maximizing performance with tailor-made software applications

Furthermore, devices placed in different locations might utilize distinct time-synchronization protocols.

You need a solution that can cater to both protocol conversion and time-synchronization demands of your substation to ensure seamless real-time data transmission. Such a solution will significantly contribute to the success of your substation-retrofit undertaking.

Bridging the Information Silos with Comprehensive End-to-End Fusion

Engineers overseeing power substations earmarked for retrofitting may excel at their roles, but they might lack the communication domain expertise required to transition their substation into a fully-fledged IEC 61850 compliant system, or they could be constrained by time to connect devices for system integration. When determining the approach to take, including which products to invest in for the transition to IEC 61850 status, we recommend considering the following:

Straightforward protocol-conversion products and solutions
Compatibility with multiple operating systems (OS)
A software platform with built-in support for compiling customized applications

The chosen solution must offer the implementation team easy-to-configure serial-to-Ethernet protocol conversion for the devices in the substation. The solutions should also support both existing and new OS for legacy devices through driver software. A flexible hardware platform that supports a native compiler for handling the implementation of tool chains, source code, and binaries necessary for customized applications will simplify the process.

Ensuring Seamless Operations and Easy Maintenance

Once your IEC 61850-retrofitted substation is operational, challenges are likely to arise that demand your attention. Here are key areas to concentrate on for uninterrupted operations and efficient maintenance.