SF6 INSULATED SUBSTATIONS HAVE A BETTER LIFE CYCLE IMPACT THAN AIR INSULATED ONES

Having evaluated the Life Cycle Characteristics (cost, reliability, environmental impact) of electrical substations, a recent study concludes that SF6 insulated substations (GIS) perform better than air insulated ones (AIS). GIS have a higher investment costs, but have a better reliability, which leads to lower operating and maintenance costs due to their encapsulated design. On the contrary, AIS have lower installation costs, but they are more susceptible to disturbances and have therefore high maintenance and operating costs. Because of the dielectric strength of SF6, the space requirement for GIS is only 10–25% of what is required for AIS. Source: Science direct