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High Voltage Industry Blog

Five Dierences Between Air Insulated Substations
and Gas Insulated Substations

The dierences between air insulated substation engineering and gas insulated
substation engineering are vast. There are ve major considerations in the
dierences between the two high voltage substations: their construction,
installation, operation, ongoing maintenance and total cost of ownership.
Well look comparatively at each of those ve substation dierences below.

Construction
GIS high voltage substation (/gis) engineering uses the gas sulfur hexauoride
for insulation, whereas AIS uses air insulation in a metal-clad system. Sulfur
hexauoride is ve times heavier than air and oers excellent extinction
behavior. Another signicant construction-based dierence between the two
switchyards is that a metal-clad AIS uses three-position draw-out circuit breakers

(on, o and test). GIS systems use xed, mounted circuit breakers. The sealed
mounted breakers are a sealed-for-life technology, whereas the AIS breaker can
be removed for maintenance and troubleshooting.

Installation
Installing a GIS high voltage substation can be faster than installing its metal-clad
AIS counterpart. This is largely due to the fact that GIS systems are signicantly
smaller and weigh less (despite the gas weighing more than air). Provided the
technician doesnt need to handle the gas itself, GIS substations are quicker to
install. AIS systems need busbar connections and boots on the switchgear. The
average installation time is reduced by approximately 30% with a GIS installation
(when no gas-handling is required). GIS systems also take up less space than AIS.
The physical footprint of a GIS is about 35% less than AIS.

Operation
GIS systems are signicantly easier to care for on a regular basis as they oer
front instead of rear access. They also contain their own integrated testing
instruments.
Arc ashes are rare in GIS because all the interior elements are insulated, with
only the cable compartment being accessible. As the parts are fully insulated, no
cables or linkage can come in contact with the live parts.

Maintenance
As discussed in point one, GIS switchyards require signicantly less
maintenance. On average, GIS systems need only be visually inspected every
four years or more, depending on the specic manufacturer recommendation
for your device. GIS drives only need to be re-greased after about 20 years
(again, this varies between manufacturers).
AIS systems should be visually inspected every year to two years (again, based
on the specic manufacturer recommendation). When inspected, all
compartments must be checked, unlike GIS where the individual compartments
and elements are fully insulated and can be monitored. On average, an AIS
breaker will need about four hours of maintenance for each two-year period.
In terms of maintenance, AIS systems (/substations) require signicantly more
eort, especially due to the thoroughness of the inspections. Inspections include
having a technician torque, draw-out, clean, lubricate and vacuum the unit. They

also need to be checked for visual signs of copper corrosion, something that
doesnt occur in GIS due to the units being sealed. That sealing also protects the
components from environmental damage.

Total Cost of Ownership

On a high-level comparison of AIS and GIS switchgear, you need to weigh the
upfront costs against the required lifelong maintenance. These units generally
have a 30-year minimum life span. GIS units tend to cost between 10% to 40%
more than AIS.
In summary, AIS systems oer upfront cost savings, however they require more
man-hours over the long run. GIS high voltage substations advanced electrical
engineering (/electrical-engineering) requires a larger upfront investment, but
their sealed technology means lower installation and maintenance costs.

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