ABB extends eco switchgear range
ABB has extended its new range of eco switchgear with the launch of the ZX2 AirPlus for primary power distribution.
22nd June 2017 by Networks
The product is the same size as the firm’s existing ZX2 medium voltage switchgear but is insulated with a climate-friendly alternative to the traditional sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).
SF6 has a global warming potential of nearly 23,000 and an atmospheric lifetime of more than thee millennia.
By comparison, the fluoroketone-based Air Plus gas mixture, which ABB developed alongside 3M, has a global warming potential of one and usually remains in the atmosphere for less than fifteen days. The use of the gas for insulation means leaks have a much smaller impact on climate change.
Bruno Melles, managing director of ABB’s medium voltage business, said: “We are focused on adapting our core GIS [gas-insulated switchgear] range, so that customers have the option of using Air Plus within the same compact dimensions of our existing products.
“It’s in all our interests that we embrace and invest in greener technologies to safeguard our planet for future generations.”
The first ABB product to use the new insulating gas was the Safe Ring Air Plus – a secondary distribution ring main unit.
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