Locally developed industrial PSU and UPS

Power Electronics / Power Management

26 October 2011 Power Electronics / Power Management

Booyco Electronics’ intrinsically safe (IS) offering includes a 2 Amp, 12 V d.c. power supply unit (PSU) suitable for providing devices in hazardous areas with power. The IS PSU includes overload protection which isolates the load from the power supply when an overload occurs.

The use of alternative battery technology has been employed in the company’s IS uninterruptible power supply (UPS) which offers reliable performance under even the harshest operating conditions. The UPS is locally manufactured under stringent quality management systems and meets all the statutory regulations pertaining to IS equipment.

The UPS is able to deliver 2 A at 12 V for extended distances up to 2 km. To cater for individual application requirements, the units can be supplied with multiple outputs. The various models available deliver backup power up to 80 A per hour. The IS UPS is suitable for a spectrum of critical applications, including maintaining communications systems and gas detection systems.

Providing insight into the challenges in developing intrinsically safe electronics, Booyco’s Jaco du Plessis explains: “An important aspect of intrinsic safety is controlling abnormal small component temperatures. Under certain fault conditions — such as an internal short inside a semiconductor device — the temperature of a component case can rise to a much higher level than in normal use. Safeguards such as current limiting by resistors and fuses must be employed to ensure that under no circumstances can a component reach a temperature that could cause auto-ignition of a combustible atmosphere.

“No single field device or wiring is intrinsically safe by itself, except for hermetically sealed battery operated, self contained devices,” he points out, “but is intrinsically safe only when employed in a properly designed IS system. All items of equipment we manufacture for underground gas detection systems are compliant with SANAS regulations and we have batch approval certificates for all these products. And, since we produce the full range of IS equipment, at Booyco we are also able to conduct on-site IS loop certification for our customers.”

For more information contact Anton Lourens, Booyco Electronics, 0861 BOOYCO, www.booyco-electronics.co.za

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Power Electronics / Power Management

Locally developed industrial PSU and UPS

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