Case Studies · Power Generation

Overhead Conductor High Emissivity Coating: 4.5% Lower Resistive Losses with General Cable

Overhead power conductor·General Cable, power cable manufacturer

Emisshield developed the industry's first high emissivity coating for power transmission lines, patented as a method of forming a coated overhead conductor, and with General Cable developed the methods to apply it at production speed without adding a bottleneck, plus methods for coating cables already in service. Weatherometer testing predicted a 40-year coating and adhesion life, with resistive losses reduced 4.5%, conductor temperature rise above ambient reduced 25%, and less cable sag.

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Resistive losses −4.5%
: Conductor temperature rise above ambient −25%
: 40-year predicted life

The Challenge

Conductors run hot, which raises resistive losses and sag; a coating had to shed that heat and survive decades of weather while being applied at cable-manufacturing speed.

What Was Applied

The patented coating, with application methods engineered for production-line speed and for in-situ cables.

Why It Worked

A high emissivity conductor surface radiates resistive heat to the environment, lowering conductor temperature, which lowers resistance and sag. See Parts & OEMs.

Summary of Results

Metric	Uncoated	Coated
Resistive losses in transmission	Baseline	−4.5%
Conductor temperature rise above ambient	Baseline	−25%
Cable sag	Baseline	Decreased
Coating performance and adhesion		Maintained through weatherometer test; 40-year predicted life

Next step

Operating the Same Asset?

Manufacturing components that run hot? Send us the product and line data. We project the result from comparable documented installations.

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