Schneider Electric reengineers Ringmaster RN2d for a decentralised energy future
07 August 2019
Schneider Electric has redeveloped its Ringmaster RN2d to be more customisable and to bring enhanced digitisation and connectivity to the distributed electrical network.
The improved RN2d has been built for indoor and outdoor use with reliability, safety, longevity and smart integration in mind. The new design offers greater flexibility with multiple applications and configurations and the resilience to operate in harsh environments and extreme climatic conditions, with gas-insulated MV components which are maintenance free.
The RN2d can now be adopted at every level of the energy network, from the distributed network or system operators to the growing movement of energy prosumers who both buy and consume their own energy. This is increasingly necessary as the one-way direction of power distribution gives way to a grid that is distributed and omnidirectional, with many businesses and consumers beginning to generate their own energy and sell excess power to the grid.
The new design of Schneider Electric’s RN2d offers maximum customisation, allowing customers the freedom to build the system they need from the ground up. The range of options open to customers include:
• Short or C Type bushing, dependent on your application and environment.
• 35 percent lighter low-voltage cable box meaning easier installations and maintenance for service engineers.
• Anti-theft pillar to ensure onsite security of equipment.
• A fully smart and connected range of software including; digital log books for O&M manuals and maintenance records, substation automation for the monitoring and control of your electrical network and Microgrid and Advanced Distribution Management Systems to manage growing grid complexity.
Customers may also select the option to have Schneider Electric’s Easergy T300 embedded into the RMU. The T300 is an innovative feeder automation (remote terminal unit) RTU for smart, advanced network management, which can be installed in the RN2d to create a truly connected solution.
The connected elements of the RN2d are vital to the multidirectional flow of power in today’s organisations. RN2d will be aware of whether the consumer is trying to access power from the grid or add to it, allowing the smart RMU to act accordingly.
They are also intended to tackle the ‘fit and forget’ culture operators are often prone to. With connected sensors installed in the RMU, operators can closely monitor device health at all times, allowing them to perform predictive maintenance rather than costly reactive or preventative repairs.
“In reengineering the RN2d we wanted to meet the needs of today’s distributed network and its energy prosumers,” said Seth Townsley, Power Systems Marketing Manager at Schneider Electric. “It’s also important to have a solution that is future-ready, able to adapt to the changes we’re witnessing in the utilities market. By offering a smart, connected solution we’re providing a path to the smart grid that isn’t restricted to the operators, but that welcomes private networks including industrial and commercial applications.’
More than 100,000 RN2d units have been installed in 18 countries worldwide so far. All RN2d units are manufactured in Schneider Electric’s Medium Voltage centre of excellence in Leeds, where the Ringmaster range was originally conceived in the 1980s.
For more information on RN2d, visit https://www.schneider-electric.co.uk/en/work/products/product-launch/rn2d/
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