In recent years, with the breakthrough and wide application of artificial intelligence technology, electric power has exerted an in-depth influence on the social energy supply and key security fields, making the stability and safety of power grid operation increasingly prominent. However, transformers, regarded as the heart of the power grid in the power system, are core equipment prone to failures. Explosion and combustion accidents caused by internal discharge, oil overheating and other faults of transformers pose a severe threat to the safe and stable operation of the power grid.

According to the standards of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the American Transformer Oil Committee (ASTM) as well as years of industrial practice, Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA) in transformer oil is quite effective and reliable for detecting latent internal faults of oil-immersed transformers. Since the mid-1960s, gas chromatography analysis technology has been applied to the operation monitoring and fault diagnosis of transformers. In recent years, benefiting from the breakthrough and industrial application of optical sensing technology, spectroscopic technology, which boasts advantages such as high detection accuracy, sensitive response, good environmental adaptability, simple operation and low operation and maintenance cost, has been innovatively applied in the field of transformer DGA monitoring and become a research and application hot-spot in the industry.

With the in-depth advancement of the national energy technology revolution and the explicit encouragement for development and application by the State Grid Corporation of China, a large number of DGA products claiming to adopt spectroscopic technology have emerged in the market. Nevertheless, feedback from industrial users and our investigations show that many products on the market are fake spectroscopic products under the guise of spectroscopy, and the difficulty in distinguishing genuine from fake has led to serious market disorder. How can users see through the fog to understand the real spectroscopic technology and identify genuine photoacoustic spectroscopy products represented by Hubei Infotech System Technology Co., Ltd.?

What Are the Advantages of the New-generation Spectroscopic Transformer DGA Technology?

Transformer DGA monitoring technology and its application have a history of 50 to 60 years, with gas chromatography as the traditional main analytical method. However, this method features extremely complex equipment and expensive components, along with limitations such as complicated operation and maintenance, the need for carrier gas and long detection cycles, making it difficult to meet the demands of large-scale real-time online monitoring. Later, a small number of products adopted infrared mechanical photoacoustic spectroscopy technology, but this technology adopts a mechanical chopping method for light source modulation, resulting in low modulation rate and frequency stability. The high-speed rotating mechanical modulation disc is also prone to failures, and the sophisticated mechanical system structure is highly susceptible to external vibration interference, making it basically inapplicable at the on-site of power plants and substations with harsh environmental conditions.

In recent years, benefiting from the development and breakthrough of optical sensing and high-performance semiconductor devices, the optical sensing industry has continuously expanded its application scenarios, and laser photoacoustic spectroscopy technology has been innovatively applied in the field of transformer DGA monitoring. Genuine spectroscopic technology (especially photoacoustic spectroscopy technology) utilizes the absorption characteristics of gas molecules to light of specific wavelengths and infers gas concentration by detecting acoustic signals.

(75% reduction in detection time; 50% reduction in operation and maintenance cost; Laser Photoacoustic Spectroscopy Terminal; Transformer Oil Dissolved Gas Monitoring and Early Warning Device; 50% improvement in usage convenience; 67% improvement in detection accuracy; iPDMD-3000; Hubei Infotech System Technology Co., Ltd.; 30% extension in service life; 100% optional gas modules)

The reason why photoacoustic spectroscopy technology has achieved technological iteration over chromatography technology and been recognized by the industry lies in its unique and prominent inherent advantages such as maintenance-free operation, no consumables, and real-time continuous monitoring. The two most important advantages are as follows: first, high sensitivity and anti-interference performance – the detection of photoacoustic signals is free from environmental interference and gas cross-interference, making it suitable for the complex oil environment of transformers; second, true maintenance-free operation – without consumable parts or the need for carrier gas, it greatly reduces the whole life cycle cost.

Market Disorder: Common Deceptive Tactics of Fake "Spectroscopic" Products

At present, some so-called "spectroscopic" devices actually adopt technologies that have nothing to do with genuine spectroscopy, and these products often have obvious shortcomings in detection accuracy, long-term stability and coverage of gas types. Even some products are essentially gas chromatography analysis products that still use chromatographic columns, carrier gas and other chromatographic detection consumables in application, operation and maintenance, yet they are directly labeled as spectroscopic technology products. Common deceptive tactics are as follows:

• Misleading with sensors: Ordinary semiconductor devices or catalytic combustion sensors are installed in the products, yet the products are labeled with the name of "optical sensing".
• Concept grafting: Non-spectroscopic detection methods are packaged as variants of infrared spectroscopy, or even as the new-generation laser photoacoustic spectroscopy, without the essence of spectroscopic analysis in practice.
• Technological patchwork: Simple optical components with no gas detection function are added to the system, and then the product is claimed to be an "application product of spectroscopic technology", while the core detection has nothing to do with spectroscopic detection at all.

Core Characteristics of Genuine Spectroscopic Technology Products

To distinguish whether a transformer oil dissolved gas analysis product is based on traditional chromatography, infrared mechanical spectroscopy, fiber optic spectroscopy or the latest laser photoacoustic spectroscopy, the core lies in examining its gas detection principle. We can identify genuine photoacoustic spectroscopy DGA products through several verifiable and perceptible technical characteristics.

1. Support from a cluster of spectroscopic technologies: Products applied in the market are not created out of thin air and must be supported by corresponding technologies. Therefore, for DGA products based on the latest spectroscopic technology, users can inquire about the relevant technologies from their R&D, production or authorized enterprises. The enterprises should possess a full-chain reserve of spectroscopic technologies including light source, optical path, photoacoustic cell and algorithm, as well as applied core technical patents.
2. Inspection by authoritative institutions and grid-connected trial operation: Transformer DGA detection is a technology-intensive field with high requirements for product performance. Technical indicators such as high precision, high sensitivity, fast response and online monitoring of H₂, CO, CH₄, C₂H₄, C₂H₂ need to be verified and recognized by industrial authoritative institutions, such as the China Electric Power Research Institute and electric power research institutes at all levels of the State Grid. Meanwhile, the State Grid will organize centralized product inspection and grid-connected trial operation regularly or on demand.
3. Long-term operational reliability and maintenance-free operation: Spectroscopic detection is a pure optical physical analysis method. Generally, there are no moving parts in gas detection, and no disposable consumables such as carrier gas, chromatographic columns and reagents are needed. Therefore, such consumables are not equipped in the operation and maintenance of the product, which requires no frequent maintenance and is suitable for long-term online monitoring.

How Can Users Distinguish Genuine from Fake Spectroscopic Products?

1. Check patents to verify the technological foundation

Genuine spectroscopic technology enterprises must have laid out relevant patents in the fields of optical design, laser modulation, acoustic detection, spectroscopic algorithm and so on. Take Hubei Infotech System Technology Co., Ltd. as an example, it has more than 40 authorized patents in the field of photoacoustic spectroscopy gas detection, covering core technical links such as degassing, light source modulation, resonant cavity design, photoacoustic cell design, photoacoustic spectroscopy identification, filtering algorithm and interference elimination, which is an inauthenticable hard technical strength. It is specially noted that all DGA products applied in the current market involve a degassing process, so the nature of spectroscopic technology cannot be judged by degassing technology alone.

2. Verify test reports to check authoritative certification

For transformer DGA products to be applied in the power grid, they must first pass the detection and assessment of authoritative institutions such as the China Electric Power Research Institute and electric power research institutes at all levels of the power grid, and then undergo grid-connected trial operation. Users can easily and clearly distinguish genuine from fake spectroscopic technology products by inquiring about product test reports and trial operation status, especially the product lists published by the State Grid Corporation of China. The Laser Photoacoustic Spectroscopy Transformer Oil and Gas Monitoring and Early Warning Device of Hubei Infotech System Technology Co., Ltd. has not only passed type tests and centralized inspections by the State Grid conducted by institutions such as the China Electric Power Research Institute, but also been put into grid-connected operation in the power grids of many provinces and cities, obtaining authoritative certification.

3. Investigate the market to check application performance

Genuine technology will ultimately stand the test of market application. For a long time before the application of spectroscopic technology, gas chromatography DGA products dominated the market. The technological iteration of photoacoustic spectroscopy over gas chromatography has created the need to distinguish genuine from fake spectroscopic products. Leading enterprises of laser photoacoustic spectroscopy products have gained market recognition and brand status by virtue of proven superior technology, excellent performance and leading market sales volume, and their spectroscopic products are authentic and reliable. In the niche field of non-gas chromatography technology-based transformer DGA products, the products of Hubei Infotech System Technology Co., Ltd. occupy a dominant market position and are widely applied in power generation enterprises and power grids. The reliability and brand trust of its products are the key factors for user repurchase.

4. Inspect products to check product operation and maintenance

Genuine spectroscopic products are easy to install and deploy and basically maintenance-free. Based on optical sensing and pure physical detection, genuine photoacoustic spectroscopy DGA products have no moving parts, no chromatographic columns, no need for carrier gas and no consumables. Such consumables are not equipped in the devices or in subsequent operation and maintenance. Products equipped with such consumables can be basically identified as fake spectroscopic products. Some enterprises earn profits from operation and maintenance consumables while promoting and selling their products as the new-generation spectroscopic technology products, and users must see through the true features of such products.

In the field of transformer condition monitoring, distinguishing and selecting genuine spectroscopic technology devices is not only a forward-looking technological layout, but also a responsibility for the long-term safe operation of the power grid. Users should attach importance to technological patent support, check detection and certification, verify application performance, and select genuine technology products that have stood the test of the market. As a leader in photoacoustic spectroscopy DGA technology, Hubei Infotech System Technology Co., Ltd. has demonstrated what genuine spectroscopic technology should be with its solid technological research layout, authoritative product detection and certification, and extensive market application – it is not only a label of innovation, but also a commitment to reliability and safety, guarding the safety of power grid equipment with genuine technology.