World of Wine

The project was accompanied by Grupel's team, from design to commissioning, and demonstrates the importance of the use of generators in tourism and activities in this sector.

Our client LGE - Instalações Elétricas SA was the company responsible for installing the equipment on site. Therefore, we talked to engineer Luís Loureiro to learn more about the project's goal, its challenges and differentiating features.

What equipment makes up the project and what will it power?

The project is composed of four generator sets of 550kVA in parallel, whose total power is provided to four transfer boards that allow the power supply of the entire WoW enterprise, including HVAC equipment (air conditioning).

What are the big challenges of this project?

LGE's technical team had as main challenge the study and development of the technical solution considering the place of implementation of the new Generating Sets. Since it is a development that preserves the historical buildings of the Port Wine cellars, on the hillside of Vila Nova de Gaia, the available technical room is a few hundred meters away from the Generating Sets. Taking this into consideration, ensuring the synchronism between equipments was the main technical challenge.

Some differentiating features of the project.

As a differentiating element of this project, we highlight the automation adopted to manage the loads. We used a dedicated centralized technical management system that, according to the real consumption of the installation and in a fully automated way, allows to connect and disconnect the loads, ensuring the stability of the network.

Why choose 4 generators in parallel instead of one more powerful generator?

The option to use 4 generators in parallel was due to the fact that the project was developed in several phases. The first phase, which began in 2019, included the deployment of 2 generators of 550kVA, which would only power the loads being rescued, excluding the HVAC equipment. In 2021, project K, the second phase, emerged, having as its main condition the guarantee of continuous operation of the HVAC equipment, even in case of power failure. This project included two new 550kVA generators that, in parallel with the initial ones, would allow supporting the entire load of the facility, including the HVAC.

Why did you trust Grupel for this solution?

Grupel was a strategic partner from the project's conception phase to the final stage of start-up and training. It always participated actively in the various parcel meetings to technically analyze the best option to implement, improving the final solution.

Duarte Almas, director of the Tourism and Hospitality Facilities, also spoke with Grupel about the WoW block and the experiences it provides to those who visit it, also taking the opportunity to present how Grupel’s Energy is an important support for all spaces.

"In WoW, we have 5 generators from Grupel, 4 of which allow us to have power for the entire facility. And we also have a generator that does all the support for everything that is power and security, intrusion and fire systems."

Watch his testimony below.

Ensuring support power for any application is what drives Grupel. The generators for tourism are solutions that the company has been providing a lot, especially in markets like Portugal, where the sector has a great preponderance in the economy.