You cannot be serious…

Boats and personal watercraft fall under the scope of the EU directive on electro-magnetic compatibility (E MC) 2004/ 1 08/ EC. In concrete terms, when issuing the declaration of conformity boatbuilders should also indicate the boat complies with the EMC requirements and how this compliance is achieved (ie, using standards or adding a note to the technical file).

The standard EN 55012 does provide testing requirements but these are impractical for the overwhelming majority of boats. Since all equipment fitted on a boat which has to be EMC-compliant is marked accordingly, the question is whether the installation of this equipment using cables and wires can be such to generate unacceptable levels of interference that would make the entire installation onboard non-compliant to the EMC directive.

The answer is probably “no” but this needs to be proved.

The issue was discussed at the RCD Standing Committee held on 11 February 2011, where the British Marine Federation (BMF) was represented by the European Boating Industry (EBI) and the International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA). Both associations made it clear there was no reported evidence of risks of electro-magnetic interference on boats, with no accidents or problems reported.

Additionally, in the USA and Australia, there is no such requirement for electro-magnetic compliance in place.

Can’t be ignored
This problem seems quite theoretical but cannot be ignored since it was acknowledged in a public meeting with the European Commission and Member States. Additionally, one cannot dismiss the likelihood that an authority could ask the boatbuilder to prove EMC compliance.

ICOMIA is considering the possibility of developing an industry standard or guideline which could be used as a means to prove compliance to the EMC Directive. This approach would, of course, require endorsement by the European Commission which expressed some reservation and could not provide legal certainty at this stage that the industry proposed solution would be accepted.

An alternative approach would be to amend the current standard which describes the testing methods but this solution could also be long and onerous for the boatbuilding industry.

The Austrian delegate is in charge of the EMC directive nationally and the policy officer responsible for the EMC Directive at the European Commission appeared quite sympathetic to the concerns raised and offered continuing this debate in bilateral meetings in order to find a solution that would be affordable to both parties.

The BMF says the EBI and ICOMIA will continue to work on this issue and will keep members informed of any developments.

BB spoke to the BMF technical manager, Nigel Saw, who said the directive was essentially to do with preventing interference to television sets. He also said while there have been no incidents, with moves to high voltage AC electric drives, hybrid drives and things, EMC could become more of a problem.

Talking to the leisure marine electrical systems companies at Seawork brought forth a lot of positive thoughts for the future, which was excellent.

Energy Solutions made its first appearance at Seawork with its ES Heavy Duty High Power DC Link Box that forms part of the company’s OEM line of panels aimed at production boatbuilders.

It incorporates battery isolation, primary protection and control in a single package and there are variants available for single start battery and domestic battery and also for twin starter battery with domestic battery.

The panel incorporates: 600A continuously rated remote battery isolators with manual overrides; split charging contactors that link batteries together whilst a charging source is present; 1000A shunt that connects to an optional BMV602 or ammeter; fused permanent and switched supplies from the domestic battery and a fused switched supply from starter battery(ies).

The product brings together all of the primary DC control and protection into a single intelligent cost effective package.

Advance Yacht Systems (AYS), which has just moved from Saxon Wharf to Fernacre Business Park in Romsey, Hampshire, import and distribute the Paguro range of generators from Volpi Tecno Energia (VTE) of Italy, and the Studer range of power management devices from Studer-Innotec of Switzerland.

These days, says AYS MD Rod Boreham, end users demand more functionality and flexibility from their electrical systems and whilst some companies are making complex generators to achieve this, Mr Boreham said: “I think you should choose the right horse for the course and I believe generators should be seen as the supplier of power – that’s all – let’s ‘keep it simple’.”

He went on to say o manipulate power there are a number of excellent electronic products on the market that do this very well and very reliably such as the Studer range of power management products.

“The Xtender is the best inverter/charger with generator support function we have ever used and is complemented by a full range of DC power distribution and management components.”

With the Studer Xtender, AYS has produced its Hybrid Power System, which is now in regular service on numerous leisure vessels and a number of commercial vessels – AYS specialise in small commercial vessels designed particularly for survey work or wind farm support.

UPS
The Xtender is essentially a powerful and sophisticated uninterruptable power supply (UPS), said Mr Boreham. “It charges the domestic batteries whilst a generator is running, but it can take DC power from the batteries to create ‘inverted’ mains to boost the output of a generator (for short-term periods of high demand) and finally, if there is no mains – it will seamlessly provide inverter power to selected consumers.”

The advanced programming and connection options mean the Xtender is a very useful device in its own right, but a key feature is that it allows boats to run with smaller generators, he insisted.

“As peak loads are now taken care of using inverter power, a smaller (more correctly) sized generator will run more often at a higher load to meet the average supply, which is better for the diesel engine driving it.”

He said the Xtender is available with a number of accessory modules, the newest being the battery status processor – a simple to install battery monitor that uses the Xtender display for its readout.

AYS supply other items from the Studer range including metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) charge splitters, distributing feeds from engine alternators to multiple banks of batteries with almost no voltage loss; voltage sensitive relays, allowing separate battery banks to be combined when a single source of charge is available and can go to multiple battery banks; DC-DC converters, enabling 24V boats to use 12V equipment and even a 12V domestic battery bank to charge a 24V bow-thruster battery bank.

All these, he said, with the well developed SBM-02 battery monitor mean that any vessel power system is modular, flexible and easy to design and install.

WhisperPower says the introduction of the Genverter range, based on a variable rpm diesel generator, has been a great success. The Genverter system offers the ideal power supply solution for yachts and small professional vessels, and is quieter, more efficient and cleaner than conventional generators.

The Genverter M-GV 4 Basic is a variable rpm 3.8 kVA, 230V diesel generator in which the rpm is adjusted to power demands: the higher the requirements, the higher the rpm; the lower the demand, the lower the rpm.

Variable speed technology applies a permanent magnet flywheel alternator making the system more compact and virtually silent. In addition, the permanent magnet generator integrated in the flywheel of the motor has a much higher output than traditional fixed rpm generators (94%).

Combined with the variable rpm concept, says WhisperPower, this results in considerable fuel savings (25% average) compared to conventional systems, as well as less maintenance and a longer lifespan.

The Genverter M-GV 7i hybrid model combines the Genverter basic technology with a sine wave inverter and a 3-stage battery charger. The total capacity of the system is 7kW with a peak capacity of over 10kW, while the diesel generator only runs to charge the battery or feed larger AC consumers, switching off when loads are low.

The connected 230V equipment continues to operate (without pause) on the 3.5kW (7kW peak) sine wave inverter, which is connected to the 24VDC board battery. For 12V systems the inverter supplies 2kW continuous power. There is also a 48VDC model available.

The system is supplied with WhisperPower Gel or AGM batteries (optional), which are charged when the Genverter is connected to shore power. Once the battery approaches a certain discharge level and no shore connection is available, the diesel motor automatically switches on to supply the consumers and recharge the battery.

A low shore power or amperage is automatically compensated for by the battery/inverter (buffer function).

Keep it simple
At a time when boatbuilders are being offered an ever expanding range of networked electrical distribution products, control panel manufacturer Axon Components says it’s keeping things simple with its latest remote system.

Axon Touch Control provides switching and monitoring of all on board circuits via standard Ethernet cabling, offering quick and easy installation, as well as the obvious benefits of associated cost and weight savings.

By replacing lengthy and heavy (not to mention, expensive) runs of conventional wiring looms with lightweight network cables, circuit breakers can be installed out of sight, operated and monitored remotely by a compact and conveniently located switch control panel.

Controlled either individually or in banks, the breakers are switched on or off by a 50 millisecond, low voltage signal sent from the control panel. This allows for circuits from 1A to as much as 500A to be controlled via nothing more than a standard Ethernet cable.

Axon Touch Control offers either a standard or bespoke-designed interface, with all the functions expected of a conventional distribution panel. As well as switching and monitoring circuit breakers, the control panel can provide digital volts and amps metering, low voltage indication and remote operation of batteries and heavy duty circuits. And multiple control panels can be installed to offer remote operation from various parts of the boat.

Mark Vipond, marketing director at Axon Components, feels that Axon Touch Control is the right product for a boatbuilding industry still recovering from the effects of the recession: "This is a low cost, uncomplicated alternative to more complex and expensive networked, CANbus style distribution systems. And yet it still provides the same high levels of functionality, impressive cost and weight-saving benefits and allows for quick and cost effective installation, offering an almost plug-and- play level of simplicity."

Axon Touch Control isn't PC driven, so it requires no programming, which also means that it's not subject to network protocol clashes. It’s comprised only of industry standard circuit breakers, circuit boards and cabling.

Index Marine launched a new range of deck glands at Seawork. The DG range is available in UV stable nylon, marine grade anodised aluminium and, in response to customer requests for a high polish fitting for luxury yachts, a polished 316 stainless steel range has also been developed.

They are available in an aperture range of 8mm to 50mm, they’re easy to fit and don’t require the removal of fitted connectors to complete the installation. They have also recently passed the British standard BS EN 60529:1992, with the highest level of ingress protection certification at IP68. This confirms their complete protection against water, dust, sand etc.

Mastervolt has launched a 12V Lithium-Ion marine battery, packaging the lightweight cells into the same case as its popular 24V.

The new battery has been in development for some time as part of Mastervolt’s ongoing research within the EU’s HYMAR (hybrid marine) initiative. Lithium-Ion technology has long been the material of choice for portable electronic items due to its light weight (a third that of water) combined with long life, no memory effect and deep cycle capabilities.

Mastervolt was the first company to bring a full size 24V version to the marine market, and a 12V version has now also been released. So boat owners can have 12V or 24V Lithium-Ion performance with the same footprint, which is a third of the size and weight of an equivalent lead-acid battery for the same 4.3kWh of power.

The steady rise in demand for Lithium-Ion, most notably in hybrid propulsion systems, has also led to a steady lowering of prices, now down 20% from the original launch price.

The real beauty of Lithium-Ion, apart from its light weight, is that it can be deep cycled by 80% capacity for up to 2,000 cycles without harming its long lifespan.

“We have had a huge amount of interest in Lithium-Ion since it was launched in 2008,” said marketing manager Marc Persoon. “The new 12V version was originally in a smaller casing during the prototyping, but we decided to keep the footprint the same as the 24V model and double the capacity.

Prices for the 12V Lithium-Ion battery now start at £4225.00 excluding VAT.