By Jim McGee, Sales Manager
I was looking at new televisions recently and found that there are almost too many options to choose from. It was very difficult to decide between all the different features. I was a bit overwhelmed. And, of course, they were expensive.
For those who, like me, want the ultimate TV experience, there’s the 96” ultra-HD TV, with the integrated streaming options, the one with all the bells and whistles and all the right technologies that won’t be obsolete in a few years. Or for an extra few thousand dollars you can get the 98” screen that is the largest conventional TV on the market.
If you are buying just one TV for that special place in your home or office, it is a little easier to justify the high cost. Now, imagine if you needed to buy a TV for every room in your house. Does that change what you would be willing to spend or could afford?
Multi Gas DGA is Cost Effective for Generation Transformers
For years the power transformer industry has acknowledged the value of dissolved gas analysis (DGA) and has developed numerous multi-gas monitors to track the health of a transformer. These monitors, just like your ultimate, brand-new TV, have all of the bells and whistles, and they are some of the best in the business.
They also come at a cost, often averaging upwards of $40,000 per unit. When you put this on a $2.5 million generation step-up transformer this price is a small percentage of the overall cost. But what if we have multiple transformers? What about smaller distribution and network transformers, where $40,000 is a much larger percentage of the cost of the transformer and there are many more that need to be monitored?
Single Gas Monitors Deliver for Less Money
A single-gas, hydrogen sensor, does essentially the same job as the multi-gas unit, but at a fraction of the cost (~$6,000-8,000). Hydrogen is generated in a transformer at the same time as all other key gases. With a hydrogen sensor you are still able to monitor the health of your transformer, like a check engine light, and at a more budget friendly price point. Hydrogen monitors provide the ability to detect an issue before the failure of your transformer. It just makes sense.
H2scan is an industry leader in hydrogen specific sensors, offering a long lifetime, cost friendly, and maintenance free sensor that can easily be installed on nearly any transformer in minutes for accurate, constant hydrogen monitoring.