General Cable has announced its E3X Technology, which enables utilities to optimize the power grid by adding more capacity and controlling losses. The technology is a thin, durable coating applied to the surface of any General Cable TransPowr overhead conductor to increase conductor emissivity and reduce absorptivity, improving heat dissipation and minimizing heat absorption. TransPowr with E3X Technology drives results — a reduced conductor size for a given ampacity rating, or increased ampacity rating and reduced operating temperature for a given conductor size, improving energy effectiveness and efficiency.
Specifically, E3X Technology delivers results — lower project costs by up to 20% by reducing conductor sag or size, which optimizes structures, hardware and labor for new lines. Alternatively, up to 25% lower reconductoring costs are achieved due to increased conductor ampacity, facilitating improved operation within the existing infrastructure without upgrades. By increasing emissivity and lowering absorptivity of overhead conductors, E3X Technology also reduces conductor line losses up to 25% via lower operating temperature—up to 30%—resulting in significant operational savings for the life of the transmission line. Easy to implement, TransPowr with E3X Technology is a highly adaptive innovation that can be applied without any modification to installation, termination or maintenance practices.
E3X Technology has been tested over several years by a General Cable-directed team of expert development partners; independent test laboratories including Kinectrics and Oak Ridge National Laboratory; and utilities with a focus on energy efficiency and reliability. This heat-dissipating coating has been tested to the most stringent protocols above and beyond what is required for standard overhead conductor, and it has been evaluated via extensive validation in field trials with installation and test reports available upon request.
