ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE
Maintenance-Free Monitoring for Switchgear, Busbars and Sealed Equipment
Battery-free sensors embedded during manufacturing. Temperature, pressure and humidity readings for the entire lifetime of the asset — 40+ years, zero maintenance.
The monitoring gap in sealed high-voltage equipment
High-voltage equipment is designed to last decades. But the most costly failure modes — hot spots on busbars, insulation degradation, SF6 leakage — are gradual and invisible until catastrophic failure occurs.
Periodic inspections require technician travel and often equipment disconnection. Battery-powered sensors have a limited lifespan (5–10 years) versus assets that last 40+ years. Wired sensors are incompatible with sealed enclosures.
The regulatory trend toward condition-based maintenance (IEC 62271) makes continuous monitoring increasingly necessary. Whether you manufacture MV distribution cabinets or HV gas-insulated switchgear, you need a sensing technology that matches the 40-year lifespan of the equipment — and can be embedded during production without adding maintenance obligations to your customers.
A sensor that lasts as long as the asset it monitors
Battery-free sensors have no internal power source. They are powered by RF energy delivered from an external reader and measure on demand. No battery to deplete, no wires to route, no maintenance interval — just a passive sensor that wakes up when interrogated.
Because the sensor consumes no power between readings, it can be embedded inside the equipment during manufacturing and remain operational for the full service life of the asset. Readings are taken automatically by an external reader — handheld, fixed, or integrated into an IoT gateway.
Temperature
Detect hot spots on busbars and bolted connections before they propagate. Range −40 °C to +105 °C, ±0.2 °C accuracy.
Humidity
Track insulation degradation and condensation risk inside sealed enclosures. 0–100 %RH, ±2 %RH.
Pressure
Monitor SF6 and alternative gases for leak detection in switchgear and circuit breakers. Custom ranges available.
Available protocols
- UHF RFID — automated reading at distance with fixed or handheld readers. More about SenseID
- BLE — RF-powered Bluetooth beacons for IoT gateway integration. More about SenseBLE
- NFC — smartphone-based inspection workflows. More about SenseNFC
17 years of battery-free sensing in demanding environments
Kliskatek was founded by the team behind Farsens — pioneers of battery-free RFID sensor technology since 2007. Across both companies, the team has evaluated battery-free sensing feasibility for 30+ energy sector applications, demonstrated temperature monitoring on busbars and bolted connections, developed multi-sensor tags combining temperature, humidity and pressure, and achieved positive test results in sealed environments, high-temperature conditions and metallic enclosures.
We don’t claim to have a plug-and-play product for your specific equipment model. What we do have is the deepest pool of experience in battery-free sensor design for exactly this type of application — and a structured process to evaluate feasibility for yours.
Where battery-free monitoring makes the difference
1
Hot spot detection on busbars and connections
Overheating at bolted connections is the leading cause of switchgear failure. A battery-free temperature sensor embedded at each connection point during manufacturing provides continuous thermal data without adding maintenance burden. Works in both MV distribution cabinets and HV switchgear assemblies.
Specs: −40 °C to +105 °C range, ±0.2 °C accuracy (ambient) or ±0.5 °C (contact NTC probe).
Related eval kits: EVAL-SID-AT, EVAL-SID-CTN.
2
Moisture and condensation monitoring
Condensation inside sealed enclosures degrades insulation over time. A battery-free humidity and temperature sensor tracks conditions continuously, detecting moisture ingress before it causes partial discharge or insulation breakdown. Suitable for GIS compartments, transformer bushings, and cable terminations.
Specs: 0–100 %RH ±2 %RH, −40 °C to +85 °C.
Related eval kits: EVAL-SID-RHAT, EVAL-SBLE-RHAT.
3
SF6 and alternative gas monitoring
Regulatory pressure to phase out SF6 is driving adoption of alternative insulating gases. Battery-free pressure and humidity sensors monitor gas conditions inside sealed switchgear and circuit breakers over the full equipment lifecycle — critical for both legacy SF6 installations and next-generation alternatives.
Specs: Custom pressure ranges available. Contact us.
From evaluation to integration
1
Evaluate
Start with an evaluation kit. Test battery-free sensing in your lab. Working data in under 30 minutes with KL-OSIRIS software.
2
Feasibility study
4–8 weeks. We assess viability for your specific equipment, environment and conditions: RF energy availability, sensor placement, protocol selection, integration constraints. Typical investment: €5K–20K. Deliverable: go/no-go technical report with clear recommendations.
3
Custom development
Sensor solution tailored to your product: antenna design, enclosure, protocol configuration, data infrastructure integration.
4
Production support
Transition from prototype to series production: testing, certification support, production-ready sensor hardware.
Technical resources
- SenseBLE Evaluation Guide: BLE Burst Tags — Same Sensors, Different InfrastructureComplete guide to the SenseBLE evaluation boards. Four battery-free sensor tags that communicate via BLE advertising bursts — same sensors as SenseID, lower infrastructure cost. All at 50 € and readable by any BLE device.
- SenseID Evaluation Guide: EPC C1G2 Tags for Temperature, Humidity, Acceleration & MoreComplete guide to the SenseID evaluation board family. Five battery-free sensor tags using EPC C1G2 — temperature, humidity, accelerometer, magnetometer and contact temperature — all at 50 € and compatible with commercial RFID readers.
- Getting Started: Your First Battery‑Free Measurement with KL‑OSIRISStep-by-step guide to taking your first battery-free sensor measurement with KL-OSIRIS, Kliskatek’s free evaluation software. Connect a reader, place a tag, see live data in under 30 minutes.
Let’s assess if battery-free monitoring fits your equipment
Whether you’re exploring condition-based maintenance for a new product line or evaluating wireless sensing for existing equipment, we can help you determine feasibility.
Or reach us directly: mikel@kliskatek.com | +34 843 680 166