Navigating Extreme Weather and Inhospitable Climates Using Automated Valves
Worldwide valve-reliant infrastructures both at the municipal and industrial levels—coupled with wildly fluctuating environmental circumstances—have increased the need for reliable automated valve installations. While the climate change debate is ongoing, manufacturers and municipalities everywhere are dealing with the day-to-day realities of extreme weather and its effects on their systems.
Automated valves offer the benefit of being able to function in extreme heat, cold, wind, rain, snow and even flood conditions. In many such cases, it is unsafe to operate manual valves, so automation is a true necessity.
Increased incidences of flooding have called upon automated-valve manufacturers to strengthen their valves’ capabilities to withstand damage. Moisture is any valves worst enemy, as precipitation can damage, erode and even destroy valve components. However, many of the latest automated valves are designed to the NEMA 6 standard for occasional temporary submersion, while others even meet NEMA 6P standards for occasional prolonged submersion. Particularly for municipalities that keep water-processing plants at lower elevations, these advances have made an incredible difference in the life of their valves.
From flood zones to offshore locations and all extreme environments in between, automated valves are quickly becoming the preferred solution for equipment and personnel safety.