Energy

Energy leaders need effective and affordable ways of addressing increased demands brought on by rising temperatures and growing city populations.

Heatwaves put immense pressure on electrical systems through increased reliance on cooling systems. Higher temperatures also reduce the efficiency of electrical infrastructure, cause transmission lines to sag dangerously close to flammable material, and overheat critical transformers causing them to melt or explode.

Electrical Transformers

Large power transformers (LPT) are used to move energy from power plants to consumers, and thousands are deployed across the US energy grid. More frequent and intense heat waves that are expected by organisations such as the World Health Organization may decrease the operational lifetimes of LPTs by damaging their insulation and increasing the risk of catastrophic short circuits. Widespread LPT failure could lead to long-lasting grid disruption — with collateral impacts on financial markets and national security. Pirta’s passive cooling technology can protect the inner workings of transformers from overheating when applied to the outside of a transformer, thus extending the operational lifetime and preventing short circuits.

Transmission Lines

Power lines exposed to extreme heat expand, sag and can increase fire risk. According to a 2016 study, in as little as 20-40 years, rising air temperatures may reduce summertime transmission capacity by 1.9%-5.8%, relative to the 1990-2010 reference period (1). These changes could affect other equipment on the grid, leading to reduced efficiency and maybe even overheating. Pirta paint can counteract these heat challenges when applied directly to electrical infrastructure.

(1) Matthew Bartos et al 2016 Environ. Res. Lett. 11 114008

“Air conditioning currently makes up 10% of global electricity demand. When you consider the emissions associated with that it’s easy to see we cannot air condition ourselves out of a warming world.”

— Rob Atkin

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