Case History

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Where: Melbourne, Australia

What:Cummins 2250 kVA generator set with 60-litre QSK60 diesel engine and Digital Master Controller

Purpose:Standby emergency power for TV and radio studio complex

Primary Choice Factors: ■ Prior experience with Cummins

■ Ability to meet stringent noise and vibration levels

■ Integration with Building Management System

■ Knowledgeable local support

Cummins fits the bill for broadcast centre

Cummins has played a significant role in a major development scheme recently completed and opened by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Australia’s state-owned, free-to-air broadcast service. The AU$176 million project allows radio and television studio facilities in Melbourne to co-locate for the first time, improving efficiency and reaffirming the corporation’s commitment to program production in the state of Victoria.

As a new centrepiece of the city’s established Arts Precinct, the four-floor facility will serve as a multi-purpose, multi-media complex, with five TV studios, 19 radio studios, 20 editing and production rooms and a sound and film archive. As well as 600 ABC staff, the building is also home to the city’s Symphony and Youth orchestras.

Standby Power

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Keeping all these activities alive in the event of a grid disturbance or complete grid failure requires a reliable and efficient standby power system, and that is being supplied by Cummins South Pacific’s local power generation team at Laverton, Victoria. Cummins had successfully installed the emergency power system at ABC’s previous television studio facility, a site that would now be decommissioned. Cummins was the natural choice to provide the critical back-up power to the new site as it came online.

The Laverton power generation team supplied a 2250 kVA Cummins generator set powered by a Cummins 60-litre QSK60 diesel engine. A Cummins Digital Master Controller (DMC), designed to interface directly with the generator set, automatic transfer switches and downstream switchgear, was linked directly into the site’s Building Management System (BMS). This not only allowed full system integration and failsafe performance, it also shortened the project implementation and commissioning time.

Two special challenges on the project were vibration and noise. The generator set was to be mounted at roof level, actually spanning the refurbished original building and the new building constructed at the rear of it. Both structures had to be protected from vibration, requiring special measures. The generator set itself had to be lowered onto seismic spring mounts. Specially designed plinths were installed to support the generator set enclosure. An insulated concrete slab completed the vibration solution.

The generator set itself had to be lowered onto seismic spring mounts. Specially designed plinths were installed to support the generator set enclosure.

The 2250 kVA enclosed generator set is lowered into place The DMC interfaces with the building management system

The generator set, enclosed and mounted on its span between the two buildings, was in close proximity to residential dwellings, so noise levels were a further issue. An air gap separates an acoustic enclosure from the insulated slab and these measures combine to ensure the generator set cannot be heard above the normal street-level background noise, not even when running at full load. In addition, to guarantee that the installation of the generator set and its exhaust system would meet the required specifications for vibration and noise, Cummins Laverton application engineers co-ordinated with an outside specialist, Exhaust Control Industries.

Commissioning of the new standby system, including black start and load testing, was carried out during the project’s full construction phase. The ABC’s new Melbourne facility now has a well performing solution, and thanks to the Cummins DMC and its BMS interface, the site’s building management team are kept informed of the standby system’s status around the clock.

For more information about standby power systems or other energy solutions, contact your local Cummins distributor or visit power.cummins.com

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