Reduce Downtime with Digital MV Circuit Breakers

Reduce Downtime with Digitized Medium-Voltage Switchgear and Circuit Breakers

"Downtime" — it’s a word no facility manager wants to hear, especially when it’s unplanned. Now, thanks to next-generation medium-voltage (MV) circuit breakers and switchgear, you can leverage digital solutions to maximize uptime and system reliability.

Modern MV switchgear and circuit breakers are equipped with embedded digital sensors that enable product-level equipment monitoring, providing real-time insights into the condition of critical components. This shift allows you to move from reactive to proactive, condition-based maintenance. These digital solutions are available as standalone units or can be seamlessly integrated with building management systems (BMS) or power monitoring platforms.

Traditionally, medium-voltage circuit breakers and metal-clad switchgear lacked built-in sensors for component-level monitoring — a key limitation when making data-driven, condition-based decisions to avoid downtime. While external sensors could be added and connected to specific software platforms, they often only provided general equipment health data during scheduled outages, not real-time, granular insights.

In this article, we’ll explore how these new digital MV circuit breakers and switchgear enable health monitoring at the product level to improve reliability and extend equipment life. We’ll also explain how integrated digital data supports analytical insights into electrical performance, forming the foundation of condition-based maintenance to increase operational uptime.

Capture Data Locally with Sensors in New MV Switchgear

The ability to quickly identify and resolve issues in circuit breakers and switchgear is key to minimizing unplanned facility downtime.

Integrated digital sensors provide real-time visibility into component health, helping ensure switchgear operates at peak performance. This enables faster intervention when anomalies are detected, putting you in a better position to eliminate pain points in your power distribution system more quickly and efficiently.

Digitally integrated switchgear continuously monitors temperature, speed, voltage, and current in critical components such as:

• Coils

• Motors

• Vacuum interrupters

Sensors automatically detect deviations and trigger warnings or real-time alerts when immediate action is needed to minimize downtime and prevent equipment damage.

With these condition-monitoring capabilities, your operators can better prioritize maintenance tasks and resolve potential issues before they become failures. For example, maintenance teams can access component data before an outage, prepare required repair or replacement parts in advance, and execute faster, smoother maintenance. Conversely, if all components are healthy, maintenance intervals can be safely extended.

Digital sensors also work together to provide a comprehensive view of equipment health, including:

• Thermal Monitoring: Measures temperature in breaker arms. Overheating may indicate increased resistance, poor contact, or overcurrent — risks that could lead to equipment damage, safety hazards, or even fire.

• Mechanical Monitoring: Tracks breaker speed at key points to detect deviations from initial mechanical performance.

• Vacuum Interrupter Monitoring: Measures Erosion Gap (E-gap) to track contact wear based on cumulative interrupting current over the device’s lifetime.

• Coil Monitoring: Assesses coil health, activation time, and electromagnetic performance.

• Spring Charging Motor Monitoring: Tracks motor run time and current consumption to detect wear in spring charging and racking mechanisms.

Operate at Peak Efficiency and Maximize Uptime

Now that we’ve seen how integrated digital sensors help prevent failures before they cause downtime, let’s explore how new digital MV circuit breakers can boost operational efficiency.

Digital sensors in modern breakers deliver data on key performance indicators such as:

• Operating time and speed

• Number of operations

• Overall breaker health status

With access to real-time data and actionable insights, you and your team can identify components operating under ideal conditions and analyze energy consumption patterns. This enables targeted optimizations — such as reducing energy waste and lowering carbon emissions. In some cases, maintenance intervals can be extended up to five times longer than traditional schedules.

Condition-Based Monitoring: Shift to Proactive Maintenance at the Product Level

Beyond the monitoring functions described above, product-level digital integration enables a more proactive maintenance strategy for your operations team.

Digitalization at the circuit breaker and switchgear level allows for continuous asset health monitoring, eliminating the need to wait for scheduled maintenance windows to identify repair needs. You can accelerate maintenance for components showing signs of wear or delay it for those performing optimally.

For example, an E-gap sensor monitors arc contact erosion. As contacts erode, contact resistance increases, leading to poor electrical performance and reduced system reliability. By tracking erosion in real time, maintenance personnel can assess contact condition and determine the optimal time for replacement — without unnecessary outages.

Without such sensors, technicians would need to de-energize the system, transfer load to a backup source, withdraw the breaker, and manually measure the erosion gap — a time-consuming and risky process.

This product-level, condition-based monitoring is a critical step toward predictive maintenance, enabling you to:

• Capture key performance data

• Establish performance baselines

• Identify long-term trends

• Make data-driven decisions

Remote Monitoring: Reduce Risk Through Digital Connectivity

Remote monitoring and control of power distribution systems is another major benefit of product-level digitalization.

With remote access, you can monitor breaker health from your preferred desktop or mobile device — without physical access to the equipment. This capability streamlines maintenance and reduces the need for on-site visits.

Technicians can monitor equipment located within switchgear rooms but outside the arc flash boundary, using local wireless communication to operate devices and collect performance data — all while maintaining a safe working distance.

Remote digital operation from outside the arc flash zone reduces risks to personnel and equipment, especially in high-voltage environments.

Key Benefits of Smart, Digital Circuit Breakers and Switchgear

With these intelligent, digitized solutions, you can:

• Gain actionable insights into your power distribution system through real-time performance data.

• Use condition-based monitoring to extend equipment life and prevent unplanned downtime.

• Remotely monitor your electrical system to reduce arc flash risks and diagnose/resolve issues from a safe distance.

• Proactively manage system performance to maximize uptime between maintenance cycles.