6/8/2015 Channel Chat: Protecting Singapore’s Changi Airport power with automatic transfer switches - ISA

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Home › ISA Publications › InTech Magazine › 2015 / May-Jun › Channel Chat: Protecting Singapore’s Changi Airport power with automatic transfer switches

Protecting Singapore’s Changi About the Author

Nam Paik is director of sales at

Airport power with automatic TSi Power with more than 20

years of experience in the power

transfer switches protection industry. He has

progressed from a designer of
UPS products to his present
By Nam Paik
position. After receiving BSEE
and MSEE degrees from Georgia
Singapore’s Changi Airport is the 18th busiest Tech, he started his career with
in the world. In 2014, it served more than 40 Nortel. TSi Power is a member of
million passengers and 1.8 million tons of air the Control System Integrators
freight. Airport systems are critical nerve Association, a not-for-profit,
centers of the global economy, and it is global trade association that
important that they keep running, regardless of seeks to advance the industry of
power outages or power disruptions. control system integration with
more than 400 members in 27
Airports rely on backup power systems to keep countries.
crucial processes working smoothly. Typically,
major airports are served by two or more
independent alternating current (AC) grids and More Channel Chat
backed up by several very large emergency Wisconsin cheese processor
generators or uninterruptible power supplies improves SQF standards
(UPS). However, Changi Airport’s power is Renewable energy research
also protected by automatic transfer switches. facility power monitor
South American steel
Thales Group, a French military and civilian manufacturer replaces legacy
aviation systems integrator, and ST energy management system
Electronics, a large Singapore-based
From golden batches to golden
contractor and systems integrator, work closely
results
with Changi Airport. Thales Group wanted to
provide fail-safe and redundant AC power for New communication system
Changi’s distributed control system cabinets, used for vital airport operations including baggage keeps Denver’s commuter trains
systems. rolling
Pediatric hospital works with
In 2008, Thales applied an automatic transfer switch, which is essentially a battery-less UPS CSIA member to develop unique
system with two autonomous input AC sources, to protect Changi’s systems. The switches are test chamber
highly energy efficient and reliable. The unit connects two protected power paths to the equipment, Project management is more
and it will switch in less than 8 milliseconds, which is fast enough to be invisible to the most than a disruption - it is real work

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6/8/2015 Channel Chat: Protecting Singapore’s Changi Airport power with automatic transfer switches - ISA
sensitive loads. Four key benefits of integrated
safety control networks
Before the system integrators would install the automatic transfer switches, they required a lengthy See all Channel Chat Articles
evaluation to test the systems for performance and reliability. During 2008 and 2009, the systems
integrators installed several units for a trial period. After 12 months, the units performed flawlessly.
Based on test results, three hundred additional units were installed by 2010. Reader Feedback
We want to hear from you! Please
The performance and reliability of automatic transfer switches have been excellent. Less than one send us your comments and
percent of the units have required repair or replacement in the years of operation from early 2010 to questions about this topic to
early 2015. InTechmagazine@isa.org.

The technology
A UPS is commonly used to protect sensitive electronic and electrical equipment from unstable AC
mains voltage. However, a UPS is not always an optimal power protection solution due to its high
purchase price, low-power conversion efficiency (typically around 90 percent), and high costs due
to maintenance, repair, and battery replacement.

Automatic transfer switches are a redundant AC power source for protecting mission-critical
equipment. They are very fast automatic transfer switches, which can switch between both in-
phase and out-of-phase AC power sources in less than 8 milliseconds. The units are designed for
mission-critical equipment that must continue operating without interruption, even if one of the two
AC sources is interrupted from a few seconds to several days.

Advantages and benefits

An automatic transfer switch has several advantages over a traditional UPS with batteries.

Because the automatic transfer switch is a 100 percent solid-state device and does not
depend on a battery, it is inherently much more reliable than a traditional UPS system.
The typical length of time a battery-based UPS system can provide backup power is a few
minutes to a few hours. In comparison, automatic transfer switches with two autonomous
primary AC power sources (such as power from two independent power generating plants)
can power the critical load equipment for an infinite period—hours, days, or even weeks. It is
truly an “uninterrupted power supply,” because it does not depend on a few minutes of energy
stored in failure-prone batteries.
Automatic transfer switches are only a fraction of the size, weight, and cost of a UPS system.
Modern automatic transfer switches with relays are approximately 99.7 percent efficient, while
a typical double-conversion online UPS is about 90 percent efficient. This results in
substantial operating expense savings from less wasted electricity over the product’s lifetime.
Unlike a UPS, automatic transfer switches do not require periodic maintenance and battery
replacement, reducing operating expenses by 90–95 percent.
The higher reliability of automatic transfer switches means less system downtime for the
protected mission-critical equipment, substantially improving productivity, quality of service,

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and customer satisfaction and retention rates.

The system integrator now has a project to install and commission more than 100 automatic
transfer switches for a similar airport expansion and upgrade at Manila Airport in the Philippines.

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