Understanding differences between GIS and AIS in five points

BY GAETAN DJENANE, Schneider Electric, Inc.

Many considerations must be taken into account before selecting the electrical medium-voltage (MV) switchgear that best meets a user’s needs. From a management perspective, considerations include the purchase price, the life expectancy of the switchgear, and the size of the equipment, the amount of time to install and commission the gear, worker safety, outage risk, maintenance, and reliability. From an operational standpoint, training time, accessibility of the equipment, operating costs, decommissioning costs, and support must all be factored.

The MV switchgear within every substation, especially in critical processes such as in oil and gas, mining and minerals, power generation, data centers, is highly important to maintaining the continuity of service. This issue’s Electrical Substations channel will examine the characteristics of gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) and metal-clad air insulated switchgear and outline the benefits and drawbacks of each in five points.