Background

The Talin thermal power plant is one of 14 thermal power production plants on Taiwan's main island and amongst Taipower's largest facilities. Its coal processing mills play a critical part in the power plant's operation as a whole. Virtually all of Taiwan's coal is imported, and therefore arrives by ship into Kaohsiung, one of the world's busiest ports. From there it travels directly by conveyor belt to the mills, where the coal is heated and broken down into small, fine pieces, allowing it to burn more efficiently in the power plant's furnices. Until 2008, the plant relied on traditional detection systems to detect fires, but had never managed to find a solution to the need for fire protection at the mills.

In 2008, Taipower decided to go ahead with a project to install two VFDS™ systems to cover two coal mill sites. The planning process, in close partnership with GKB, took just under one year, and the systems were installed over a three-month period from June to August 2009. 16 GKB bullet-type cameras – with built-in infra-red night video image detection – were installed, along with two servers connected directly to the central control room. Only three days were required to configure the servers, and Taipower's new systems went live on 2nd September 2009.

Why Taipower Chose VFDS™

VFDS™ provides a unique solution to fire protection problems normally impossible to solve using traditional methods. Tested and approved by FM Approvals, the system has been certified as safe and functions in accordance with all relevant international regulations.

as with most other systems. This, along with the fact that only it requires only one relay to the fire alarm, as opposed to three relays per camera under most systems, means that integrator has an unprecendented level of convenience during the installation.

Plans for the Future

As of September 2010, Taipower had already extended the original coverage from two coal mill sites to three, taking the total number of cameras employed from 16 to 24, and now plans to extend the system even further to cover other areas at the Talin plant.