Glass Energy Section. Faraday Short-Term Power Supply: Supercapacitor Technology Protecting Continuous Cycles

Dear Colleagues!

We present to you an article prepared by the Committee on Energy Efficient Technologies of the StekloSouz Association of Russia (SSR). This material is part of a series of publications devoted to the energy supply issues of glass industry enterprises.

In the previous article, we examined in detail why short-term voltage sags are a serious and unregulated threat to glass manufacturing enterprises. Today, we will examine a technically sound and effective solution: the Faraday Short-Term Power Support (STPS), whose key advantage is the use of supercapacitors.

As a reminder, traditional uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) using chemical batteries are not always optimal for dealing with frequent and short-term voltage sags. Their lifespan is wasted in this mode. The Faraday STPS is a specialized solution to this challenge, storing energy in supercapacitors rather than batteries.

A supercapacitor is an energy storage device that combines the properties of a capacitor and a chemical battery. It offers a number of critical advantages for voltage dip compensation applications:

Speed and power: Supercapacitors can deliver the enormous power needed to maintain equipment operation during the critical 0.5 to 5 seconds of a voltage dip, almost instantly. This is ideal for the nature of the threat.

Phenomenal service life: While the best batteries can withstand thousands of charge-discharge cycles, supercapacitors are designed for hundreds of thousands and even millions of cycles. This makes them virtually "eternal" for this application and guarantees a long service life for the system without replacement.

Reliability and stability: They are resistant to extreme temperatures (from -40°C to +65°C), require no complex maintenance, and do not degrade from frequent shallow discharges, which is typical for "blinker mode." Compactness: Supercapacitor batteries significantly outperform chemical batteries in terms of size and weight, expanding their application possibilities and allowing installation virtually anywhere.

Based on this technology, RiMtechenergo offers two main lines of ICPPs:

Faraday Line-Interactive (parallel connection): An economical and efficient solution. The device continuously monitors the grid and activates only when a power sags are detected, compensating for it using the energy stored in the supercapacitors. The switching time is no more than 5 ms, sufficient for most applications.

Faraday On-Line (double conversion): A premium solution. The load is continuously powered through an inverter, which receives power from the grid while simultaneously recharging the supercapacitors. This provides ideal protection not only from sags but also from any interference, distortion, and voltage surges, acting as a powerful stabilizer. The transition to power from the storage device occurs instantly and without any phase interruption.

Beyond its basic sag compensation function, Faraday offers unique capabilities for building a reliable and flexible power supply system for an entire workshop or enterprise. Here are the key benefits, summarized simply and clearly:

Advanced functionality: In addition to its core function, Faraday comprehensively improves power quality for loads through reactive power compensation, phase imbalance elimination, and active harmonic filter operation.

Modularity and hot swappability: The device consists of independent power units. If one unit fails, the others continue to operate, and the faulty one can be replaced without shutting down the equipment—similar to high-availability servers.

Dual power supply and "energy bridge": Faraday can be connected to two independent power sources (for example, from two different transformer substations). It not only switches to backup power during a power failure but can also transfer power from one input to the other, like a bridge. This allows for even network loading and avoids overloads.

Teamwork: Multiple Faraday devices can be combined into a single system, where they operate in concert as a single powerful source, automatically distributing the load. This is similar to the behavior of a large generator—the system automatically maintains stability.

Error protection and remote control: The design includes protection against incorrect connection, and built-in monitoring systems allow you to monitor the unit remotely via a computer or even receive SMS alerts.

If voltage fluctuations have become a regular headache for your company, leading to downtime and defects, the Faraday ICPP is a technically proven and cost-effective solution. The use of supercapacitors makes it ideal for combating this type of problem, offering unprecedented reliability, speed, and a long service life.

Publications on this topic:

✔ On the establishment of the Committee on Energy Efficient Technologies. StekloSouz Association of Russia (open).

✔ Glass Energy Section. Energy Infrastructure of a Glass Factory. Hidden Risks and Growth Points (open).

✔ Glass Energy Section. Short-term voltage sags—the invisible enemy of glass production (open).