Customer: Sainsbury’s and John Lewis
Location: Various, UK

Application: Distribution Transformer
Highest Voltage: 11kV
Rating: Up to 2MVA

Date: 2005

Sainsbury’s supermarkets is a well established, brand-name retailer in the UK, founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury in London. Today Sainsbury’s is one of the largest retailers in the UK and operates over 1000 stores, employing thousands of people throughout the country.

Sainsbury’s takes the safety of its colleagues and customers very seriously and as such have decided to use MIDEL as a fire safe solution whenever a transformer is located in store, or on a roof top. The Electrical Technical Manager for Sainsbury’s was contacted by M&I Materials and had the following to say about MIDEL 7131.

“For several years we have been specifying MIDEL 7131 for all transformers installed at Sainsbury’s stores where the transformers are located internally. More recently we have been installing transformers on the roof of stores and the specifications were amended to include MIDEL 7131 for all roof mounted transformers. The reason for specifying MIDEL 7131 is to minimise the risk of fire should a fault develop within the transformer.”

Sainsbury’s are not alone in specifying MIDEL 7131 for roof top transformers; another example is a set of transformers installed on the roof of the Trafford Centre in Manchester.

Originally the specifiers were considering using cast resin transformers but changed their minds for several reasons including the fact that the systems would be too tall. In preference they chose two, 2MVA Midel filled transformers which provide power to the John Lewis store and have now been in service for many years.