Don’t delay, monitor vibration today

According to research conducted for the Energy Institute, last year 43% of Britain’s homes were powered by wind energy – a new record for energy volumes produced by wind farms. The reported 7.315 GW (gigawatts) breaks the previous record of 7.234 GW. As environmental policy and climate change become increasingly important, sustainably produced wind energy is expected to continue to grow in significance.

With this in mind, it is essential that wind farm operators install, run and maintain equipment in the most effective and efficient way – for reasons of both safety and profit. Yet, there have been a number of examples recently that suggest wind farm operations can be improved. For example, take last month’s wind turbine collapse near Fintona in County Tyrone. Local people have stated that the rotor blades were spinning out of control on the evening the turbine buckled and the sound of metal grinding against metal could be heard. Although no official statement has been released as to the cause of machine failure, there is certainly an argument that with the right equipment in place this incident could have been avoided.

One such option – which is proving to be the solution of choice for many wind turbine operators – is the installation of industrial accelerometers for the purpose of monitoring the vibration of rotating components in machinery. Industrial accelerometers are ideal for monitoring the rotating parts of wind turbine generators, which experience bearing and component wear. Using these compact devices maintenance teams are able to quickly and easily determine potential problems before they occur so that remedial action can be taken.

As many wind farm operators will agree, installing accelerometers is a much more favourable and cheaper option compared with the failure and resulting lost revenue of wind turbines, which often cost hundreds of thousands of pounds in the first place.