As yachts have become increasingly sophisticated, it has placed even more emphasis on having a safe and reliable power management system. Today’s modern vessels have just about every amenity onboard that you would expect to have in your home such as security systems, air conditioning, and WiFi. All of these added components place additional burden onto your electrical systems which can overload your switchboards and cause service interruptions if your power management system isn’t optimized.
To avoid this, first you need a reliable company like Ward’s Marine Electric to engineer your vessel’s electrical system. Even further, you can leverage marine automation to help manage your power management systems hands free so you can avoid losing operational capacity. Here are a few ways Ward’s helps yacht owners automate their power management system.
Generator Automation
A major concern for many yacht owners is generator capacity. As more and more electrical devices are added to your vessel, it places additional strain on the generator that powers it all. If your generator is already running at 80% and your onboard air conditioning kicks on, you can run the risk of overloading your generator.
With generator automations such as those offered by DEIF and installed by us, you can automatically turn on your second generator when the primary generator reaches a certain load threshold. Even more, you can calibrate the two generators to run at a preset load capacity such as 50/50 or 60/40, depending on your yacht’s needs. It’s one more way to ensure you won’t overload your power system and keep everything running as it should.
Shore Power Automation
Converting to shore power is a concern for many owners when pulling into port. In many cases, an operator will have to blackout the vessel before connecting to shore power, which can cause inconvenient service disruptions for those onboard. To avoid this, boat owners can leverage shore power automation to seamlessly transition from their boat’s in-house system to shore power without cutting off the boat’s electrical power.
With shore power automation, your vessel can automatically convert to grid power as soon as you plug in your shore power cord. The moment you plug into the dockside pedestal, your vessel will automatically close the shore power circuit breaker and switch off the generator allowing your boat to operate off of shore power with no service interruption. Additionally, the shore power automation will automatically synchronize the grid power to the voltage and frequency needed on your yacht.
Power Management System Protection
With power management automation technology such as the PPM300 manufactured by DEIF and installed by Ward’s Marine Electric, operators can interface directly with the generator to control voltage and frequency onboard. It allows you to monitor and measure your yacht’s amperage and voltage and alert you when a concern exists.
Conclusion
So while today’s yachts are increasingly more complex in their power management needs, there are automation tools out there that can simplify your power management and help you avoid electrical problems. To see what these power management system automations can do for your vessel, contact the experts in marine automation, Ward’s Marine Electric.
