What kind of special maintenance and storage facility is required for Composite Silicon Rubber Insulators?

Question

It is usually claimed by the manufacturers that Composite type insulators are maintenance free; in other words these insulators for HV & EHV overhead transmission lines once installed are there for the life of the transmission line without any requirements of regular maintenance. Usually for ceramic insulators like glass and porcelain, a definite regular maintenance schedule is required, which is not only time consuming but utilities have to spend millions of dollars on such maintenance. As our utility is in middle east, our transmission lines run through desert areas of high winds and very close to the coastal region. Because of this desert coastal environment, the pollution of the insulators takes place very fast as compared to European countries. We want to replace the ceramic type insulators with Composite type to counter the pollution factor.

Answer 1

Always refer to the manufacturers published literature and specifications for the applications and maintenence schedules of power generation, storage, and transmission equipment.

Doug