Iona College

Becentia were engaged to review the impacts of recent changes to the electrical distribution network at Iona College, Lindum. After recent upgrades of the main switchboard and the removal of power factor correction equipment, the site was experiencing some issues with system including power quality.

The investigation demonstrated a number of maintenance and compliance issues which needed addressing. Becentia developed a plan, including co-ordinated shutdowns and installation of temporary supplies via generators to improve the installation and compliance of the main switchboard. The opportunity was taken to install data logging to generate a picture of the power quality being delivered over the network. During this period, the site experienced early equipment failure in the school theatre with a suspicion this was due to an electrical issue. The data logging demonstrated harmonics being generated in the system above the limits outlined in the relevant Australian Standards. Harmonics at these levels can be damaging, especially to sensitive equipment found in audio visual equipment and it was determined these were likely to be a significant contributing factor in the equipment failures. The solution was to install a harmonic filter in the local distribution board to counter the harmonics in the system.

Norths Kallangur

Norths Kallangur initiated a project to relocate their main switchboard which, located off the underground carpark, had come close to flooding on more than one occasion. At the same time, they decided to upgrade their onsite back-up generator arrangement as the existing generator was no longer sufficient to serve the growing club.



A number of challenges faced the team as current standards meant that it wasn’t simply a matter of installing a plinth in the current location for the new board, it need a new home, and minimizing down time was critical for a club that operates at a high capacity for near enough to 24/7. A new space was found and a plan to move over the existing circuits to minimize down time developed. Two new generators have been incorporated into the upgrade and now the club can be confident of continuous power delivery even when the mains is down.