Equipment designed for high voltage capacity, such as transformers, can create hazards to human health, which is why it’s crucial to prioritize safety measures with its operation or maintenance.
When safety precautions are not met, system breakdown, emergency shutdown, and injury can result, each of which can place your operations in jeopardy. Keeping the design of your transformer in mind, along with proper installation, will help maintain a safe environment for all components of the equipment, regardless of the manufacturer or system type.
This blog post is Part 1 of the series "Safety Tips." Read Part 2 of the series, which discusses many caring tips for transformers.
10 Tips for Transformer Safety
These transformer safety tips can be followed for any model of an electrical transformer, regardless of the make or manufacturer:
- Inspect your transformer thoroughly to prevent or minimize breakdowns. Before installation, monitor your transformer by checking for any burnt odor, damaged power cords and connectors or any parts that are improperly installed.
- Use protective equipment and pay close attention to specific ratings for the transformer’s voltage output. Keep over current protection of conductors and circuits set to the manufacturer’s standards.
- Keep the power off when working on the transformer. Make sure there is zero electrical leakage or continuity between the current source and the system.
- Learn the maximum voltage requirements of your transformer. Be careful of system overload from a single transformer, with the understanding that multiple transformers help balance the impedance of each load.
- Transformer grounding should be in place at all times. It prevents the accumulation of static charges and protects the windings from coming in contact with the core or enclosures.
- Keep spare nuts, bolts and other objects away from your work so that they don’t touch or fall into the transformer.
- Always keep your transformer and all of its components dry and free from any moisture or water. To protect unskilled onlookers, set up caution signs that warn people to keep away from danger.
- If any irregularity or abnormality is observed in the functioning of the electrical transformer, it must be shut off, and all the cables and power cords must be unplugged before analyzing which part of the transformer is malfunctioning.
- Any maintenance work must only be undertaken after the equipment is de-energized and tagged out and the circuit is shut down. This is necessary to ensure that there is no leakage of current or continuity between the horse current and the system.
- Set up caution signage to prevent unqualified individuals from performing maintenance on your transformer.
The electrical transformer is a very powerful device and an essential source of energy in any industry that runs operations using the aid of power but, there are several risks associated with this device. So, it is very important to take all important safety measures to prevent any equipment damage, electrical fire or fatal injury and to ensure that operations remain up and running at all times.
