[HN Gopher] "Magic Balls" installed by drones may revolutionize ...
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"Magic Balls" installed by drones may revolutionize US power grid
Author : foruhar
Score : 32 points
Date : 2024-01-13 19:38 UTC (3 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.thecooldown.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.thecooldown.com)
| FrankWilhoit wrote:
| There is already a lot of telemetry on North American
| transmission lines and even more on transmission substation
| equipment, because the utilities understand that these are their
| highest-replacement-cost assets. But in our regulatory
| environment, squeezing out the last increment of dynamic capacity
| is more of an RTO concern than a utility concern. The RTOs may be
| doing cost-benefit analysis on things like this, but that
| analysis will be very complicated.
| andrewflnr wrote:
| "Regional Transmission Organization"?
| hoerensagen wrote:
| Yes.according to Wikipedia:
|
| A RTO in the US is a TSO that coordinates, controls, and
| monitors a multi-state electric grid. The voluntary creation
| of RTOs was initiated by FERC Order No. 2000, issued on
| December 20, 1999. RTOs typically perform the same functions
| as ISOs but cover a larger geographic area.
| gnabgib wrote:
| This story references the electrek story (already posted [0]),
| although the Heimdall post from October[1] (also referenced)
| seems to have the best info.
|
| [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38983886 [1]:
| https://heimdallpower.com/us/arva-customer-story-magic-ball/
| NotYourLawyer wrote:
| Good lord, please don't do this to hyperlinks.
| ethagknight wrote:
| Magic Balls aka temperature sensors that allow transmission lines
| to be overloaded based on environmental conditions, meaning more
| capacity across existing lines when conditions are favorable.
| amelius wrote:
| +1 Thank you.
| nomel wrote:
| I can't find any information on how these are powered. Do they
| partly use current flow from coronal discharge? Or is it some
| long lasting battery?
| 127361 wrote:
| Likely from the magnetic field from the conductor. They even
| have street lights that are powered this way.
|
| https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3005516/1/TPEL2436702%...
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqbIhZO7SJc
| xnzakg wrote:
| Not sure how much I am allowed to go into detail here, but can
| confirm what 127361 wrote: the sensors harvest power from the
| electromagnetic field in normal use. However, considering
| "power outage detection" is a selling point, you can draw your
| own conclusions about there being some power storage onboard ;)
| salty_biscuits wrote:
| Just for a bit of background, transmission companies want to know
| the temperature of transmission lines because the dynamic
| clearance of the line to the ground as the current heats the wire
| limits the max current. Surprisingly complex to model accurately
| as it is quite dynamic (sometimes the conductor is pinned with
| the insulator and it swings, or sometimes it can slip through,
| etc, etc).
| abestic9 wrote:
| I'm not a fan of the manufacturer dubbing these "Magic Balls",
| when "sensor spheres" or even "Neuron" from the original article
| linked in this thread, is more than sufficient. We're not trying
| to appeal to home consumers here. Maybe it's for politicians...
|
| Cool project though, transmission costs account for a large
| proportion of energy delivery.
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