How electrical utilities plan to use drones to check high voltage power lines

Reliable power supply also depends on line maintenance. In Haßfurt (Haßberge region), Bayernwerk, Siemens Energy and Schleswig-Holstein Netz have demonstrated for the first time the use of a new technology that can greatly simplify the maintenance of high voltage lines. A drone equipped with multiple sensors will be used for this purpose in the future.

Trees and bird nests can cause problems

In high voltage power lines, trees growing near the lines, bird’s nests, or even parts of fallen insulators can cause problems. To date, it has been necessary to conduct several helicopter flights to determine the damage. Some lines from the ground were also observed using binoculars. But this method is long, complicated, and not particularly accurate.

So electric and energy technology manufacturer Siemens Energy has developed a multi-sensor system with laser sensors, ultra-high-definition cameras, UV cameras and thermal sensors. It can be installed on a plane, and then fly along high-voltage power lines. During the flight, the system collects data and takes pictures from different points of view.

Better for the environment: Drones are replacing helicopters

To date, helicopters have been used to install devices. But that is set to change: “With the right legal framework, we can use long-range drones to dramatically improve the environmental footprint of flights,” says Tino Link of Siemens Energy. As an added benefit, officials call lower noise pollution, drones can also fly with greater accuracy.

But the approval process is still pending. This is what makes the drone display at Hassfort so special: for the first time, permission to fly a long-distance drone with a Wankel engine has been granted so far that it has been out of sight for display purposes. The task of the pilot on the ground is to intervene only if something goes wrong, because the drone flies in a completely automatically programmed path. Range up to 200 km.

The drone allows control of up to 500 kilometers of line per week

Several representatives of other energy companies were among the visitors to the demonstration at the Hasfurt Model Airport. At the same time, a drone and a helicopter flew over the line that leads north from Hassfort. The two flights can be tracked directly on the screen.

The drone can fly at speeds of up to 30 kilometers per hour. If it’s faster, the camera’s recordings of the lines become blurred. This can be used to inspect up to 500 kilometers of line network per week, says project manager Christian Walter of Bayernwerk. According to the estimates of developers and energy companies, such a survey will be necessary every two to four years.

AI helps evaluate data

Artificial intelligence is used to evaluate data. After all, a short section of the line alone accumulates several million photos that not one person will be able to view all of them.

For this reason, the evaluation computer program is programmed to identify problems in the images and to show employees only those areas that they should take a closer look at. A “virtual twin” is used, that is, a computer model of power lines. “The results are already obtained on the computer,” says Christian Walter. “So you only have to drive if there’s something to do.”