Testing & Commissioning
Professional testing and commissioning to confirm correct operation and protection coordination before a recloser system is handed over as live.
Commissioning is where you find out whether the protection scheme actually works. A recloser that is installed but not properly tested is an assumption, not a protected feeder, and the moment you discover the assumption was wrong is the moment a fault does not clear.
We specialise in testing and commissioning auto recloser systems, verifying both correct operation and protection coordination before anything is handed over as live.
What testing and commissioning covers
Included in a commissioning scope
- Pre-commissioning inspections
- Secondary injection testing
- Protection relay configuration and testing
- Functional testing
- Network integration verification
- Fault analysis and troubleshooting
- Final commissioning reports
How commissioning runs
Each step has to pass before the next one is worth doing.
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Pre-commissioning inspection
Physical check of the installation before anything is energised: terminations, earthing, mounting, cable condition and labelling.
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Protection relay configuration
Loading the protection settings for the feeder, including pickup values, curve selection and the reclose sequence.
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Secondary injection testing
Injecting test currents and voltages at the relay to confirm it picks up, times and trips exactly as the settings intend.
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Functional testing
Operating the equipment through its full sequence to confirm the mechanism, control and indication all behave correctly together.
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Network integration verification
Confirming the new device coordinates with the protection upstream and downstream, so a fault is cleared by the right device.
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Commissioning report
A written record of what was tested, the settings applied and the results, so the next person has the evidence rather than a verbal assurance.
Why coordination matters
The right device should clear the fault
Protection coordination means the device closest to a fault operates first. Get it wrong and a fault on a spur trips the main incomer, taking out a whole feeder instead of a few customers.
That is why network integration verification is a separate step from functional testing. A recloser can pass every test on its own and still be badly coordinated with what sits upstream of it.
Fault analysis
When protection has misoperated, the recloser's own fault records are usually the fastest route to the cause. We can interrogate the records, work out what the device saw and why it acted, and correct the settings.
This applies to equipment we did not supply as well.
Need commissioning done properly?
Tell us what has been installed and what protection scheme it has to fit into, and we will scope the testing and quote it.