In an environment of rapidly changing industrial infrastructure, speed, safety, and spatial effectiveness are the major determinants of project success. E-House and Modular Building solutions continue to be used more and more often to replace traditional on-site construction of electrical rooms. These prefabricated buildings provide a plug-and-play method of power distribution, which radically shortens the labors on site and the time of commissioning.
At Sunmarine engineering, we offer customized electrical e-houses and industrial modular buildings that are designed to work in the most challenging locations of the world, whether in remote mining locations or in high salinity offshore facilities.
What Is an E-House & Modular Building?
An E-House (Electrical House) is a prefabricated e-house that is a walk-in power distribution center, which is self-contained. A modular electrical house, unlike other types of substations that are made out of bricks, is designed, built, and tested in a controlled manufacturing facility and then shipped to the location.
Key Differences: Traditional vs. Modular
- Factory-Built: Modular Construction. Modular construction is constructed with great attention to quality, unaffected by weather conditions on site.
- Containerized E-House: Using standard or tailor-made ISO shipping container frames, many of which are constructed in frames that can easily be transported anywhere worldwide.
- Skid-Mounted E-House: Prototypes: Skid-mounted E-House E-Houses are frequently manufactured on structural steel skids, so they can be placed upon a foundation or on trailers.
Components Inside an Electrical E-House
A high-performance power distribution e-house is not a mere shell and is an advanced combination of important electrical and control hardware:
- MV and LV Switchgear: The essence of the power distribution system.
- Motor Control Centers (MCC) & Power Control Centers (PCC): Centralized centers for controlling industry motors and the power flow.
- PLC and SCADA: What Integrated E-House? The brain of the building, which gives real-time monitoring of the building and automated control.
- Auxiliary Systems: HVAC integrated to control the temperature, fire, and gas detection systems, special earthing and grounding systems in order to ensure that the personnel are safeguarded.
Types of E-House & Modular Building Solutions
We can provide a number of configurations depending on the size of the project, and the environment:
Skid-Mounted & Containerized E-House
Perfect in the renewable energy industry or in fields where the installation is temporary. These are very mobile units, which do not need a lot of site preparation.
Modular Substation Buildings
These prefabricated modular buildings are cost-effective alternatives to permanent civil works and contain full grid-tie infrastructure and can be expanded easily as power requirements increase.
Blast-Resistant & Hazardous Area E-House
Safety is a foremost consideration in the refineries and chemical plants. Our products include blast-resistant modular buildings and hazardous area e-houses that ensure the security of sensitive electronics and people in relation to external explosions or gas intrusion.
Applications of E-House & Modular Buildings
Here are some of the global industries that are supported by our turnkey e-house solutions:
- Oil and Gas and Petrochemical, Refinery electrical houses are the products that are engineered to support the corrosive and volatile environment.
- Offshore E-House modules- Customized offshore e-housing to suit floating platforms and fixed platforms where space and weight are of the essence.
- Power Plants and Utilities: Modular buildings to be used for fast-track power plants at conventional or renewable energy locations.
- Data Centers: Data centers are constructed as modular buildings and can be scaled fast with server and cooling infrastructure.
Offshore & Oil & Gas E-House Challenges
Sea operations also come with special engineering challenges. An offshore modular e-house should be developed with:
- Marine Corrosion Protection: Special degradation-resistant (C5-M) coating.
- ATEX and IECCompliance: All the parts should be certified e-house compliant with ATEX in explosive atmospheres.
- FPSO Electrical House Integration: Operations of pitch and roll of a vessel, but without the integrity of the MV and LV switchgear.
- Weight Optimization: Deck-load limits on offshore platforms are very restrictive; the high-strength, low-weight alloys will enable such limits to be met.
Design, Fabrication & Installation Process
Sunmarine Engineering is a professional EPC e-house contractor and, as such, pursues a strict end-to-end lifecycle:
- Engineering & Layout Design: Special CAD modeling to maximize component placement and thermal flow.
- Fabrication & Assembly, Structural Welding, and panel integration in our specialization facilities.
- Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT): A vital step, before shipping the whole electrical building, which is prefabricated, it is energized, and testing is undertaken.
- Transportation & Installation Logistics management and site positioning.
- Site Acceptance Testing (SAT): The last test to make sure that the system fits in the local grid or plant.
Standards & Compliance We Follow
Our E-House and Modular Building solutions are up to the international standards:
- Technical Requirements: IEC, IEEE, and NEMA standards.
- Safety and Quality: ISO 9001 (Quality), ISO 14001(Environment), and ISO 45001 (HSE).
- Unsafe Areas: ATEX, IECEx, and NEC certifications to be used worldwide.
Benefits of E-House & Modular Building Solutions
A strategic selection of an electrical module ready-built in a factory can be of benefit in a number of ways:
- Rapid Commissioning- Site civil works can be done simultaneously as the E-House is being manufactured in the factory.
- Minimal Site Risk: Minimal on-site hot work and less people are needed in risky locations.
- Reduced Total project cost: Less logistical overhead and fewer on-site contractors.
- Scalability: Your facility can be expanded by adding scalable units.
Why Choose a Professional E-House Manufacturer?
In order to succeed with E-House and Modular Building projects, an EPC e-house contractor with profound industrial experience is needed. When you liaise with Sunmarine Engineering, you will be guaranteed of safe and compliant power infrastructure and project readiness.
Key Advantages:
- Turnkey Integration: We deal with the structural fabrication to MV / LV switchgear installation.
- Offshore Expertise: Special types of FPSO design of electrical houses to withstand vibrations and corrosive marine air.
- Plug-and-Play Reliability: Rigorous FAT ( Factory Acceptance testing ) will reduce on-site troubleshooting and delays.
- International Standards: Ensured compliance with ATEX, IECEx, and IEEE standards in order to be approved by the regulations quickly.
- Lower Site Risk: Prefabrication will lower on-site hot works and manpower needs in unsafe areas.
FAQs – E-House & Modular Building Solutions
Q1: What is an E-House in electrical engineering?
Ans: E-House is a standardized electrical structure comprising switchgear, MCC, PCC, and control systems in a factory-constructed module, which is to be connected quickly on site.
Q2: What is the difference between an E-House and a substation?
Ans: An E-House has a modular and transportable design, and is factory-tested, compared with the traditional substations, which are site-built civil structures.
Q3: Are E-Houses suitable for offshore projects?
Ans: Yes, the offshore e-houses are to be specially constructed to be compliant with marine, ATEX, and IECEx standards of installations of electrical houses on the FPSO and fixed platforms.
Q4: What are the advantages of prefabricated modular buildings?
Ans: They provide much quicker delivery, enhanced quality control by testing in a factory, and save a significant advantage in work on-site and safety hazards.
Conclusion
E-House/Modular Building is a smart, secure, and future-proof way of approaching electrical infrastructure. Modular construction guarantees speed, compliance, and excellence of operations, whether in the case of offshore platforms, refineries, or power plants.
Have a company in need of a custom E-House? Call Sunmarine Engineering to talk to our experts in modular buildings.