Wyssen Avalanche Control’s Avalanche Detection Network (ADN) provides Glacier National Park’s Avalanche Control Section with information on avalanche activity along the Trans-Canada Highway corridor. Their Infrasound Detection System (IDA®) delivers a complete picture of natural and artificial avalanche activity along the entire highway corridor, regardless of time or weather conditions. Its Long Range Avalanche Radars (LARA®) deliver a detailed image of avalanche occurrences on specific slopes that are of particular interest to avalanche forecasters and aid in keeping highway users safe.
IDA® and LARA® operate 24/7 in remote and sensitive areas often without access to grid power from November to June. These systems require a constant clean power supply, but some locations receive very little solar input during winter. This limits standalone solar power availability in many areas of the Canadian landscape where Wyssen Avalanche Control’s systems could be installed and creates the need for an alternate power source to charge the battery banks.
EFOY Pro Fuel Cells offer the power Wyssen Avalanche Control’s systems require while occupying relatively little space. EFOY Pro Fuel Cells produce significantly cleaner energy than conventional power sources and can operate autonomously for the entire winter avalanche season.
Wyssen Avalanche Control operates over 15 EFOY Pro Fuel Cells installed in custom cabinets above the average snowpack height in Canadian systems that use IDA® (below treeline) and LARA® (in the alpine). The fuel cells act as the primary power source for charging the system’s battery banks through the darkest months of the year while solar panels are secondary.
EFOY Pro Fuel Cells ensure that power is available to Wyssen Avalanche Control’s systems 24/7, which is essential to effectively monitoring avalanche activity. ADN monitors avalanche activity to assist with the decision-making of the avalanche forecasters and the timing of road closures on the Trans-Canada Highway.
“EFOY technology allows us to power the largest Avalanche Detection Network in the world. Our systems are located in hard-to-access and sensitive areas where grid power is unavailable. Thanks to the EFOY Fuel Cells, we can maintain an avalanche alerting system running 24/7 to assist in keeping Trans-Canada Highway users safe.”