United Electric Controls (UE) has announced a new program to help companies assess their industrial switching needs and evaluate upgrade opportunities. The program includes a guided assessment of needs for operational visibility, adjustability, safety, availability, energy conservation, economy and hazardous locations and helps determine the ideal combination of legacy and new digital switches that can meet them.
“A typical process plant might have anywhere from 100 to 1000 mechanical switches installed, some of which may be nearing the end of their useful lives or taking up operating space that might be filled by more productive contributors to plant control, process efficiency and safety. In addition to our robust line of electromechanical switches, UE offers temperature and pressure transmitters with built-in digital switching functionality to help customers determine where digital switching may fit into the plant automation schemes,” says Wil Chin, Director of Marketing for United Electric Controls.
Reliable switching is vital to plant operation performing functions ranging from controlling hard alarms, permissives, safety interlocks, blowers and fans to initiating an emergency shutdown. United Electric Controls has found that many companies are migrating to digital switches for the following reasons:
- Improved operational visibility via LCDs that display local process variables and diagnostics
- Easily adjustable set point and deadband to reduce setup time
- Certified for use in SIL 2 safety systems, capable of SIL 3
- Improved uptime to boost productivity
- Protection from hazardous conditions
- Lower total cost of ownership
- Plant modernisation
UE has also found, however, that some companies tend to prefer electromechanical switches to achieve the following objectives:
- Limited power availability at the source
- Faster reaction time
- Lower purchase price
In the new switch assessment program, UE application experts will meet with plant managers to help identify the mix of switches that will meet their needs, now and into the future.
Switch options
UE offers a unique line of digital and electromechanical switches, including hybrid transmitter-switches that offer functionality not possible with traditional switches or process transmitter, including the following:
- For companies that might want to augment their switching capability with built in temperature or pressure sensing capability, UE offers its One Series 1XTXSW hybrid transmitter-switch, which functions as a switch, a gauge, and a transmitter. This reduces costs and potential media leaks while increasing reliability. It is ideal for applications with high cycle rates and hazardous environments.
- For those that need SIL 2 or SIL 3 functionality, UE offers its One Series Safety Transmitter, a unique hybrid that integrates a switch, a transmitter and a logic solver in one unit. This enables deployment of a fully certified Safety Instrumented System (SIS) in the field while minimizing the number of safety components.
- For those who benefit from continuing to use mechanical switches, UE offers a complete line of electromechanical pressure, differential pressure, vacuum, temperature and general purpose switches, covering heavy, medium and light duty applications.
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