Understanding Lindsey Manufacturing’s TLM Conductor Monitor

The TLM Conductor monitor is a flagship of Lindsey Manufacturing that led to partnerships with Iridium and a national recognition of technological evolvement. It allows users to get a continuous and complete conductor behavior working picture. All this happens in real-time and includes conductor clearance-to-ground, line current, conductor temperature and even vibration monitoring.

TLM is really easy to install, self-communicating, self-powered and, more importantly, very affordable for those that use it. It can be installed in hot line installation that goes to 765 kV. Continuous behavior data is relayed, which is a necessity for regulatory compliance, dynamic line rating and facility rating. TLM Conductor Monitor is now included in the SMARTLINE-TCF capacity forecasting transmission system that Lindsey offers.

Why TLM Conductor Monitor?

To put things as simple as possible, TLM stands out as a really good option for those that use it because of 3 big reasons:

  • Electrical clearance compliance is guaranteed– This happens because distance from conductors to other line objects is continuously measured.
  • Users understand facility capacity rating for the line– This is done through monitoring conductor operating temperature.
  • Complete Integration With SMARTLINE– TLM data is easily integrated with SMARTLINE, a truly dynamic line rating software. This increases the capacity of the transmission, improve the resiliency of the grid and can defer investments.

TLM Conductor Monitor – How Does It Work?

Just as the name implies, TLM Conductor Monitor includes many different sensors. All is included in corona-free packages that are offered by the line current. Obviously, the way in which TLM works is something that many do not actually know. According to the Lindsey USA website, the basics that have to be understood about how TLM works are the following:

  • Conductor Clearance– There is a LiDAR sensor on-board. It offers line clearance measurements with a really high accuracy. The errors that are normally associated with the regular clearance estimates are basically avoided so conductor sag is no longer something of importance.
  • Line Current– All the measurements are made at the same time as clearance takes place. All critical information is relayed through multiple taps, all through many power lines.
  • Conductor Temperature– TLM uses sensors that track all the excessive temperatures that appear. These can lead to annealing of the conductor so when you are aware that excessive temperatures appear, actions can be taken.
  • Secured Communications – Communication is practically handled through secure satellite radio connections. This is really useful in remote locations because there is practically zero dependence to other infrastructures that could fail. Thanks to a partnership, the Iridium satellite network is utilized. This eliminates hardware needs on lines, except the necessary TLM devices. There is no need to configure something complicated or go through a setup that takes a lot of time, which is normally the case with RTU.

Conclusions

The TLM Conductor Monitor is really good for electric power distribution and it is expected that there will be an increase in the number of distribution companies that will use it. Lindsey Manufacturing managed to create a new technology that will make electricity cheaper for the regular user.