Energy design & system studies

The analytical work that decides whether a plant runs smoothly or trips on its own faults.

Consultancy · In short

Energy design and power system studies determine how an electrical network behaves under load and under fault. Enersys Engineers carries out fault level and fault MVA studies, relay coordination and protection grading, load flow and contingency analysis, earthing and step-and-touch potential design, and harmonic and power factor studies — producing the settings schedules and equipment ratings that the rest of the design depends on. These are design-stage studies; the operational counterpart, measuring a running plant to find savings, is covered under energy audit and energy management.

Fault MVARelay coordinationLoad flowEarthing designHarmonicsStep & touch potential

Fault level and short-circuit study

Calculates the maximum prospective short-circuit current at every bus. This is not an academic exercise — it sets the breaking capacity of every circuit breaker and the withstand rating of every cable, busbar and support insulator in the network.

Three-phase and single-line-to-ground fault currents, bus by bus
Peak make and symmetrical breaking duty for switchgear selection
Cable and busbar thermal and electrodynamic withstand verification
Contribution from motors and from embedded generation
Verification against installed equipment ratings on brownfield sites

Relay coordination and protection grading

Determines the setting of every protective relay so that the device nearest a fault clears it first and the rest of the network stays energised. Without proper grading, a single feeder fault trips the whole plant.

Time–current characteristic curves for the full protection chain
Relay settings schedule, ready to be applied at site
Discrimination check across every grading pair
Differential, distance, earth fault and back-up protection settings
Coordination with the utility’s upstream protection

Load flow, earthing and power quality

Load flow under normal and contingency conditions — bus voltages, line loadings and system losses
Reactive compensation and power factor improvement sizing
Motor starting and voltage dip study
Earthing grid design with step and touch potential checked against permissible limits
Harmonic analysis and filter sizing for drive-heavy installations
Energy audit and loss reduction assessment for operating plants

What you actually receive

A study is only useful if it changes a decision. Each of ours ends in a document an owner, a lender or an inspectorate can act on.

Fault level studyBus-wise three-phase and single-line-to-ground fault currents, with the switchgear breaking capacity and equipment withstand ratings they demand.

Relay coordinationTime-current grading curves, a relay settings schedule and a discrimination check, so the device nearest the fault clears first.

Load flow studyBus voltages, line loadings and losses under normal and contingency conditions, with reactive compensation recommendations.

Earthing designGrid layout, conductor sizing, and step and touch potential checked against permissible limits.

Harmonic studyDistortion assessment against permissible limits, with filter or reactor sizing where mitigation is required.

Energy auditMeasured loss breakdown for an operating plant, with a costed list of reduction opportunities.

Why we run the study and build the switchgear

Enersys is unusual in carrying out the fault study and manufacturing the panel that has to interrupt that fault. When the calculation and the equipment come from the same organisation, the specified rating is the installed rating — and a setting change discovered during commissioning is made the same week rather than negotiated across a contract boundary.

Questions

Frequently asked

What is a fault MVA study?

Fault MVA is the short-circuit power available at a point in the network, expressed in mega-volt-amperes. It is the basis for selecting switchgear breaking capacity and for verifying that cables, busbars and supports can survive the mechanical and thermal stress of a through-fault.

How often should relay coordination be revisited?

Whenever the network changes — a new incomer, an added transformer, embedded generation, or a change in utility fault level. Settings that were correct at commissioning become non-selective as the system grows, which is a common cause of nuisance plant trips.

What software do you use for system studies?

Studies are carried out on industry-standard power system analysis platforms and issued with the input data, assumptions and single-line model documented, so the results can be independently verified.

Do you provide studies for existing plants, not just new ones?

Yes. Brownfield fault level verification and relay re-coordination after a network change are among the most common assignments, particularly for industrial plants that have expanded incrementally.

What usually goes with this

These are the adjacent scopes clients most often need alongside it.

Operations

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