What prompted an independent Wi-Fi provider to choose a DC-UPS for its applications?
Progetto8 is a company founded by 3 technicians who, were able to understand the necessity for a reliable wireless network in remote and rural areas.
These remote or rural areas are not seen as financially attractive to the larger corporate players, but Pregetto8, based in Piacenza, just south of Milan Italy saw an opportunity to provide a service.
The challenge for Progetto8 is to provide wireless coverage in the so-called “forgotten by all” areas, places where it is difficult to find coverage for the cell phone.
The first plant was installed in 2007 in the furthest mountain municipality from the city of Piacenza, Ottone. The municipality has a population of around 500 and the new wireless network was their only hope for being connected to the increasingly globalised world.
Within a short time, the project gained momentum and soon most of the province of Piacenza and part of the province of Pavia were covered by the system.
Over the years the system has won awards and partnerships within Italy and across Europe.
The creation of Wi-Fi networks in urban areas is now a common concept, but the biggest challenges remain are in the rural and smaller towns and villages, in particular agricultural areas.
The development and implementation of Wi-Fi networks in these areas are entrusted to smaller companies which are address region and locality specific requirements to meet the National Digital Agenda.
For the construction of the facilities, is common practice to use public administration locations, such as sports facilities pylons for lighting, radio repeaters, cell phone repeaters or buildings up to 40 meters above the ground, which usually make up the highest point in the city or of the area to be connected.
The use of these structures for the installation of the Base Station offers the solution to three major problems:
1) Avoid the installation of new, very expensive trusses.
2) Bring the Base Station closer to the users, improving the received signal.
3) Operate without renting private facilities, avoiding increasing the risk of environmental impact.
The service offered by small providers such as Progetto8 must align with the larger providers in Italy: low latency, low jitter, high guaranteed throughput, high service availability, transparent management via web portal on one side and low cost to the consumer on the other, to allow access to the broadband connection even to small and medium-sized businesses in an area.
In this installation the Progetto8 radio routers is powered by DC Current but are equipped with isolation transformers. In the case of connection cable lengths greater than 15m, it is preferred to use 48V power supplies instead of 24V, to optimise the current voltage ratio. The Adel System CBI485A/S or CBI4810A/S are suitable for this sort of install
The AC power supply to these base stations are supported by an uninterruptible power supplies as the nature of rural AC supply is not as stable as in more populated areas. The DC UPS normally must hold the wireless network up for a few hours. The product chosen for this application is one of the Adel Systems DC UPS units, the CBI2410A.
Below is the schematic used for the installation of the CBI2410A in the base station cabinet.
The batteries installed in the cabinet, to take the load in the event of the mains failing, must be constantly monitored. They are the backup power source in the event of the AC failing. This critical function requires that the batteries be under constant supervision. The life cycle function in the Adel System CBI DC UPS monitors them every 2 hours when the AC is present, by running through a series of load tests and charging tests to battery health.
To limit the effects of network transients (lightning surges, industrial loads, etc.), the system mounts an isolation transformer, a system of surge arresters, a self-starting differential and a 16A and a 6A magnetothermal switch for two parts of the system which is also equipped with a fan heater to limit thermal problems.
Here the Battery Care philosophy of Adel System is strategic, increasing the duration of the 2 batteries, in this case from 100 Ah, thanks to the multiple types of recharging available in each CBI unit. Battery aging adaptability algorithms and battery testing function are essential for accurate diagnosis.
Each CBI detects the entire impedance of the battery, the element in short circuit and will disconnect from the battery to prevent deep discharged.
These are some of the functions that allow the system to be more reliable over time.
Thanks to the DC / DC converter it is always possible to realise different voltages on the 24V load output always supplied in the ADELSystem range
The CBI unit has a separate battery and DC load output. If the AC fails the CBI units switches seamlessly to the battery for the power source and the service to the consumer continues uninterrupted.
Progetto8 summarized the following points on why they chose the ADELSystem products:
- We supply the power to the load and manage the battery with a single device- simple installation
- With a single device the system has power back up
- Batteries are charged and supervised to optimse the service life of the batteries
- The battery diagnosis system, allows you to monitor them in Real Time and to be warned in advance if they are no longer able to be efficient
- With the new CBI2801224A product it is then possible to make a remote diagnosis via Modbus of all the system analysis parameters by monitoring the site remotely.
- Very high-performance application with very limited costs.
For more information on the ADELSystem range of DC UP a, Battery chargers, Powers and remote monitoring offered by TVR Instruments Limited please visit
https://www.tvri.co.uk/DPYandCBI.html or call 01206 575755 email sales@ tvri.co.uk
If you want to know more about Progetto8 go to their website (https://www.progetto8.net/)
