A 1000 kVA substation for the SPENS sports and business centre
SPENS is a sports and business centre in Novi Sad, run by the public enterprise JP Sportski centar Vojvodina. Buildings like this have a high and variable power demand, so they are supplied through their own transformer substation. ADD Projekt installed a 10 kV/0.4 kV substation with a rated power of 1000 kVA there.
The substation takes 10 kV from the medium-voltage distribution network and steps it down to 0.4 kV, the 400/230 V that the building's installations and equipment run on. Because this is medium-voltage work, Serbian rules allow only engineers with the matching contractor licence to carry it out.
Stages of a 10/0.4 kV substation installation
On every site the construction design (PZI) and the conditions on the ground set the exact scope. The general sequence looks like this:
- Reviewing the design and preparing the room or foundation for the equipment
- Delivering and placing the transformer and the medium- and low-voltage switchgear
- Laying and connecting the medium- and low-voltage cables
- Earthing and equipotential bonding
- Testing and commissioning in line with Serbian regulations
- Documentation for technical acceptance, including the as-built design (PIO)
When a building needs its own substation
A dedicated 10/0.4 kV substation is needed when a building uses more power than the low-voltage network can supply. Sports halls, shopping centres, hotels, hospitals, industrial plants and warehouses are typical cases. The question comes up when a new building is planned and also when an existing one needs a higher connected load.