Most people who are casual users of cellular technology only have a basic understanding of how their calls are connected.  They understand that you must have a strong signal as a result of being somewhere in the vicinity of the cellular tower as well as have that signal be able to be received by the tower effectively.  In order to receive a stronger signal, people understand that they may need to move to a different place which would provide an unobstructed path from the device in their hand to the tower, or at least the best situation possible.  Connectivity issues are one of the biggest concerns for  cellular users, and dropped calls as a result of interrupted signal receipt is also one of the primary concerns.  With the ever-evolving consumption of data as a result of new features built into devices such as aps, streaming services and downloads of video, consumers demand even more from cellular providers in order to maintain high satisfaction rates.  Most consumers have little sympathy for their carrier of choice when it comes to the normal events that can potentially impact connectivity.  They only know that they can or cannot connect, or that their calls drop.  Dissatisfaction rates are one of the leading causes of cellular customer loss, and the protection of the customer base through the providing of uninterrupted signals is the primary concern of every cellular provider.  This is why most providers will factor in a significant amount of RF protection, even though it is something that almost no consumer has ever heard of.

“RF protection” is an industry term used to describe the sequences of protective devices which have been installed in order to protect radio frequencies.  The communication between the base station unit and the remote radio head within most cell towers is the nerve center that must be unfettered in order to maintain customer satisfaction.  These devices are connected through hybrid lines as well as standard power lines, and a lightning strike directly nearby any of these lines can cause a significant amount of damage to the equipment involved, trickling down to a lower customer satisfaction rate.  Because data lines are directly connected to the equipment which processes data, losses can go far beyond just the lack of service.  Data loss issues will cause significant customer unhappiness and can pose an almost insurmountable difficulty for cellular providers to deal with.  Through both standard damage to equipment as a result of a power surge by lightning strike as well as electromagnetic pulse disruptions, which create rises in electric fields, costs associated with a single lightning strike can be large.  These pulses can easily knock out critical communications capabilities within networks if antenna and radios are left unprotected. RF protection equipment installed at critical junctions within the cell tower systems can create both a happier customer base as well as a better competitive advantage for the provider.

Future-Proofing Your Remote Radio Head Networks

For mobile operators to remain competitive they must find ways to quickly deploy remote radio head networks to meet their service offering expansion targets before their competitors do.
To make ready for the explosion of mobile traffic, mobile operators are making infrastructure changes to support an ever-increasing consumer appetite for media-rich services. They are building new or retrofitting existing wireless networks that will accommodate the expanded capacity to support future growth and enable the deployment of next-generation networks. While operators are working to make these improvements, they must also manage capital expenditures and balance rising operational costs to ensure their competitiveness in a fast-changing, high-stakes industry. (more…)

Industrial Surge Protection Devices

Industrial installations and facilities rely upon unique combinations of equipment, geographic locations and protection systems in order to operate to their fullest extent. Weaknesses in protection systems can and will result in losses to the business realized as added operational costs and lost customers, as these things go hand in hand in many cases. The ongoing operations of the facility might create a specific number of products or services that are utilized by the public or private sector, and the pricing of these products and services is tied directly to the amounts that can be produced within a time frame.  Outages or stoppages within the facility can create situations where projections are missed or services are interrupted, resulting in higher costs or lost customers. When combined with the necessity to restore functionality, equipment repair costs and lost productivity hours, business margins typically shrink every year. The competitive landscape in nearly every business sector demands the reduction of operational costs as much as possible, and weakening of  any systems due to weather events are a major contributing factor that must be addressed. (more…)

Green energy production is an evolving industry. For many years, the methods used to produce electricity for public consumption remained relatively unchanged, extracting fossil fuels from the earth and burning them in order to move turbines. The movement within these turbines generates electricity which is able to be harnessed and stored, then supplied to individual consumers through a grid system.  While there have been technological improvements over the years to the power grids themselves, as well as to the storage and transport mechanisms, the method of creation has lagged technologically. Instead of moving towards alternative methods of moving the turbines themselves, industry has experimented with alternative fossil fuels, simply concentrating on getting the most energy produced by the burned fuel system. Even though it is common knowledge that there are methods that can move the turbines just as effectively without burning a fuel source, cost hindered the development and advancement of these industries. Due to the fact that the energy production industries are for-profit businesses, their interest is creating the product as cheaply as possible within any regulations that exist. Regulations will almost always center on the negative by-products of the process, so industries find that it is cheaper to lobby for removal of the regulations than it is to develop alternative processes. The green energy methods have existed for many years, but have never been fully adopted by the major players in the market simply because it was always cheaper to use fossil fuels, even though there are negative side effects. Technology will advance even if there is not widespread adoption, and although it has taken significantly longer than it would have with major support, we are finally entering a time period where the major industries will more fully support green technology simply because it makes good business sense. Green energy production is finally hitting a point where it is both cleaner and cheaper.

The major factors that were hindering the adoption of green technologies were costs due to necessary repairs to equipment. The technological processes used in wind and solar energy production rely upon computerized equipment that is continually in harm’s way, due to the fact that it is positioned in the field and exposed to hazards like lightning strikes. In wind turbines, the physical makeup of the structure that is necessary in order to achieve maximum efficiency also makes them a prime target for lightning. The wind turbines sit in remote and unobstructed areas where wind flow will be maximized, and they are generally the tallest structure in that vicinity. Lightning strikes to the blades are common as a result, and the surge of power that follows a lightning strike will produce damage to equipment that is connected to the structure. As a result, a lightning strike to a wind turbine not only destroys the blades, but also destroys the computer equipment attached to it. These costs are being reduced through the evolution of more technologically advanced surge protection devices, lowering the costs of production as a result. Surge protection devices are developed for the purpose of reducing surge related damage to equipment in all industries, so the technological evolution of the devices is not tied to adoption by one industry. The more advanced and efficient these surge protection devices become, the more they can be used to bring down the prices of green energy, ultimately forcing the fossil fuel production methods to be reconsidered in favor of the less expensive methods. Surge protection is a key to the future of the climate, and casual observers probably do not even realize it.

Photovoltaic Surge Protection

Solar panels need surge protection as well as overhead protection from lightning.  Photovoltaic systems that produce energy through the conversion of sunlight in both the residential and industrial markets are susceptible to damage as a result of lightning strikes.  These strikes can be both direct and indirect and still cause significant amount of damage to system components.  The main reason behind this susceptibility is physical makeup of the panels.  They are large and flat and have fully exposed surfaces, and additionally they are located geographically in unobstructed areas that are many times remote. (more…)

Read More: https://www.raycap.com/industrial-surge-protection/

You may think that the damage that is caused by lightning strike to an industrial business will be seen in the form of fire or explosion at the point where the lightning hits something. In reality, damage that is significant is rarely seen in this form due the fact that most businesses will provide overhead shielding or other forms of protection positioned above the structures.  These protection forms attract the lightning to strike them instead of the structures that they are positioned above.  This will allow for the effective mitigation of the surge is associated with a lightning strike, as well as draw the damage associated with the strike itself to be localized.  (more…)

So called “new” or “renewable” energy methods such as wind power and solar power have long been looked to as hopeful alternatives to the pollution of fossil fuels and representing a better the future for the planet. Even if you do not believe that climate change is manmade, it is undeniable that burning fossil fuels pollutes our environment. There are few that would ever try to argue that pollution is better than no pollution, and ultimately the discussion about fossil fuels vs alternatives like wind power come down to economics. Opponents of wind technology cite as their argument that wind turbines are a blight upon the landscape, and also that they cannot produce enough electricity on their  own to replace the fossil fuel systems that service our major cities, and other cities around the globe. They also often state that wind is a more expensive technology to run, that produces the same product, ultimately making the argument rest on the listener to decide  if a certain amount of pollution is worth the cost savings. Because fossil fuel systems produce power less expensively than wind does, those that are money-conscious will many times vote to support the system that will be cheapest, as long as they cannot readily see the consequences in front of them. Their opinion is often swayed by arguments against wind technology development that are being put forth by the fossil fuel companies themselves. If it is not harming you right now they think, then it is better to pay less money for the product. This entire argument would fall apart if wind power could fill all the existing demands and also be a cheaper way to produce the product. That day is coming soon. (more…)