Tata Power-DDL Secures Patent for Self-Regenerating Breather

Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (Tata Power-DDL), a power utility supplying electricity to over 2 million customers in North Delhi, has been granted the patent for its unique Self-regenerating Transformer Breather for a term of 20 years.

The ‘Self-Regenerating Breather’ is a device that protects a transformer from moisture ingress and thus, increases the longevity of electric transformers. 

The patented technology, which is another feather in the cap of Tata Power DDL’s glorious journey of innovations, is also expected to reduce the maintenance man-days for replacement of Silica gel in a transformer's breather to protect it from moisture damage.

With the new technology, Silica gel will be required to be checked or replaced only during the transformer maintenance schedule, which is generally once in two years. In contrast, in the conventional design, Silica gel needs to be replaced 4-6 times before a maintenance schedule of 2 years.

Tata Power DDL’s Engineering team developed and successfully tested the ‘Self-Regenerating Breather’ in December 2015. The pilot installation of 20 breathers was done in 2016-17, which showed remarkable results. The company filed for a patent of ‘Self-Regenerating Breather’ technology in 2016.

The moisture in the air can cause outages and shorten the life of a transformer. The new technology utilizes waste heat from the top plate of the transformer to minimize moisture content in the air inlet to the Distribution Transformer (DT) Breather. The moisture absorbent Silica gel also gets recharged, thereby increasing the life of Silica gel by up to 3 years in outdoor applications.

Commenting upon this invention, Gajanan S Kale, Chief Executive Officer of Tata Power-DDL said, “At Tata Power-DDL, we keep striving for innovation to address existing challenges and leverage our strong R&D to develop new technologies to ensure uninterrupted power supply to our customers. This patent is yet another example of our tech edge, which will make our power supply infra ready for difficult weather conditions.”