Canada Power Supply System

[BarryEAS]

Hi all - Hope someone can help.

I have a system to be built for one of my customers in Canada.

I am having problems tying down the supply situation in the area of Montreal.

Here we use 3 phase, neutral & earth with 415 volts between phases and 230(?)volts phase to neutral.

Does anyone know the values in this configuration for Montreal or alternately where I might gather that info.

Looking forward to any help.

Also if anyone has phase identification colouring information I would appreciate it.

 

[waross]

The standard voltages given in the Canadian Electrical Code are:
120, 208, 240, 277, 347, 416, 480, or 600.
Most equipment is dual voltage, 120/240 (120/208) or 240/480 (240/416).
Much but not all equipment is compatible with both 208 and 240 volts, and 416 and 480 volts. Some equipment will accept either voltage without change, some equipment has internal taps for 208 or 240 volts.
if I were designing this I would call the customer and ask what his supply voltages are.
Western Canada is mostly wye but there are some delta systems. I don't know about Quebec specifically.
respectfully

 

[BarryEAS]

Thanx for the reply waross.

On this occassion they are saying they have 480 volt supply. With all these different configurations I was unsure as to what to really expect.

I have to be careful as the system utilizes servo control for very tight positioning requirements and I need to be aware of anything which may impact on the design.

 

[waross]

The overwhelmin probability is that it is a 277/480 volt wye system. Most smaller systems are solidly grounded. Some larger industrial installations may be resistance grounded or ungrounded. If this may have any impact on your systems, query the customer as to the grounding system.
respectfully

 

[BarryEAS]

Cool - will do - thanks again

 

[rbulsara]

Also watch out for frequency. 50 vs. 60 hz.

Ask each customer and get their answer in writing.

 

[tinfoil]

Montreal is in the province of Quebec.

Hydro Quebec's standard (60hz) secondary supply voltages are
120/240 (single phase)
120/208 (4-wire wye)
347/600 (4-wire-wye)

Any other voltage requirement will require that the customer takes supply at primary voltage, and furnish their own distribution transformer.

 

[waross]

Thanks for the local knowledge tinfoil;
Are there still legacy 480 volt installations in Quebec?Allthough B.C. Hydro prefers to supply 600 volts in the west, virtually all of the industrial plants more than 40 years old are still using 480 volts. Some newer plants have installed service equipment with integrated 600:480 volt autotransformers to maintain compatibility with sister plants or to reuse existing equipment.
respectfully

 

[tinfoil]

480V has never been a standard supply voltage in eastern Canada.

It can be found, here and there. It nearly every case, it was because some US company was setting up a Canadian subsiduary, and the extra expense of retooling all of their 'institutional inertia' to 600V was greater than paying for the dist'n transformers to get the 480V sec'y they were used to (despite the advantages that 600V offered over 480V for cable sizes and voltage drops).

 

[waross]

Thanks tinfoil;
BarryEAS; I suggest that it may be well to recontact your customer for confirmation of the voltage at the plant. It appears to be non standard for the area and and if it is a very old plant, it may even be an old 440 volt delta system. It would not be uncommon for a 440 volt system to be referred to as a 480 volt system in Canada. There seems to be a casualness about reporting the exact voltages.
I would query specifically;
Actual voltage?
Wye or Delta?
Grounmding method?
good luck
respectfully

 

[BarryEAS]

Thanks Guys

Am on the case - again - tis fun building for all these different countries - have to be real careful always.