NOJA Power Recloser App

NOJA Power has released an app that improves job safety for electrical utility linesmen. The NOJA Power Recloser App runs on Apple’s handheld devices and allows a linesman to check the status of the Automatic Circuit Recloser (ACR) and make changes to its operation without having to leave the ground.

The app is claimed to lower the risk of injury of death for a linesman by reducing the number of times a technician has to climb poles supporting medium-voltage electricity distribution cables to reach an ACR’s control cabinet. This is a hazardous undertaking when the climb is attempted in poor weather as the cabinet can be tens of metres off the ground and the cables carry thousands of volts.

Running on an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, the Recloser App communicates with the NOJA Power OSM ACR’s RC10 control and communication cubicle via a secure Wi-Fi link. The cabinet must be fitted with an optional Wi-Fi router accessory, which plugs into a USB port.

The wireless connectivity supports IEEE 802.11g and b Wi-Fi standards, provides PPPoE, Dynamic IP and Static IP Internet Access, NAT and DHCP server supporting static IP address distributing, and other capabilities.

As long as linesmen are within Wi-Fi’s operational range (typically 50 m) they will be able to read three-phase current and voltage (voltage on all six bushings), frequency, power, power factor, power flow direction and energy measurements. In addition, the app also allows the linesman to control ACR functionality such as trip/close, local/remote, active protection group, protection on/off, auto reclose on/off, live line on/off and earth fault on/off among others.