Learn IEC 61850 on a live virtual 132/33 kV substation. Operate breakers from SCADA, apply faults, watch distance, differential and breaker-failure protection trip over GOOSE, unplug a cable and see the subscriber raise an alarm — then slow the clock down and read every message frame by frame. Ten guided labs check your steps and end with a quiz.
Open full screen ↗A simulation: it runs only in your browser and never connects to a real device or network.
What is inside 61850 Academy
Labs.Ten guided labs from beginner to advanced. Each lab sets a goal, gives the steps, checks each step automatically as you do it, and ends with a short quiz that explains every answer.
Substation.A live 132/33 kV substation: two 132 kV lines, a 60 MVA transformer and a 33 kV incomer, with breakers, disconnectors and earth switches. Apply faults, make a breaker stick and watch the protection respond.
SCADA HMI.Operate breakers and disconnectors from a control-room view with select-before-operate, interlocking and the alarm list, as an operator does.
IEDs.Open each IED (line distance P_L1 and P_L2, transformer differential P_T1, bay controller B_J01) and the station gateway: mode and behaviour, logical nodes, GOOSE publication and subscriptions with LGOS supervision, reports and settings.
Network.The station bus as a drawing. Unplug a cable, change a VLAN or a switch port and see which messages stop and which subscribers raise an alarm.
Sniffer.Every GOOSE and MMS message decoded field by field: stNum, sqNum, time allowed to live, test flag, confRev, VLAN and priority, and the MMS select, operate and report services.
Timeline.The sequence of events of the last incident with the time of each fault, pickup, trip, GOOSE and breaker change, so you can measure fault clearance time.
Glossary.The IEC 61850 terms used in the labs, explained in plain language.
The simulator models the behaviour described in IEC 61850 in a simplified form for training. Timings, protection characteristics and device behaviour are representative, not those of a particular manufacturer; always follow the IED manual and the project documentation on a real system.
Tool guide · know before you use
What this tool is, how it works and how far to trust it
61850 Academy: a training simulator of a 132/33 kV substation that shows how IEC 61850 behaves, with ten guided labs and quizzes.
Read this before relying on a result. Every method, formula, assumption and limit is stated here, so you can check the answer yourself instead of accepting it blindly.
What it can do
Operate breakers from a SCADA HMI with select-before-operate and interlocking.
Apply faults and watch distance, differential, overcurrent and breaker-failure protection trip, with GOOSE between IEDs.
Change confRev, test mode, VLANs or unplug cables and see subscriptions go lost or be ignored; read every message in a sniffer, slowed down to 0.01×.
Why you need it
GOOSE, supervision and reports happen in milliseconds and silently. Most engineers only see them during a fault or a test, under time pressure.
A simulator lets you cause each fault on purpose, without risk, and see exactly what each device does and why.
Understand this first
This is a learning tool. Start with Lab 1 and follow the order; each lab builds on the previous one.
Read the explanation of every quiz answer — that is where the knowledge is.
What you need before you start
No files or data: the substation is built in.
About 10–15 minutes per lab.
A current browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari). Nothing is installed and your data is never uploaded; it is processed on your own computer.
What you get
Ticked lab steps, quiz results with explanations, an incident timeline with fault clearance times, and decoded messages in the sniffer.
How to read the results
Use the timeline to measure fault clearance time and the sniffer to relate each event to its message.
When a lab shows an unexpected result, that is usually the lesson: read the step text again and compare with the IED view.
Technical basis
Simplified models of IEC 61850 GOOSE (retransmission, time allowed to live, LGOS supervision, confRev, test flag), MMS select-before-operate and buffered reports, and basic protection functions.
Limits: when not to rely on it
Training only: timings, settings and screens are representative, not those of a particular manufacturer.
Open Labs and start Lab 1, Tour of the virtual substation. Each lab states its goal and level, lists the steps on the right and ticks each step when the simulator sees you have done it. Restore plant and Reset simulation bring everything back to normal at any time.
2
Learn the plant and the IEDs
Substation shows two 132 kV lines (Q01, Q02) feeding a busbar and transformer T1 (Q03) supplying the 33 kV incomer J01 and a 40 MW load. IEDs opens P_L1, P_L2, P_T1, B_J01 and the station gateway: their mode, logical nodes, GOOSE publication, subscriptions and reports.
3
Operate as SCADA does
In SCADA HMI, open and close a breaker with select-before-operate, and try to operate a disconnector that interlocking (CILO) blocks. Labs 2 and 3 walk through both and show every MMS message in the Sniffer.
4
Apply faults and watch the protection
Apply a fault on a line or on T1 and watch distance (PDIS), differential and trip (PTRC) logic operate the breaker; make a breaker stick and see breaker-failure protection (RBRF) trip the adjacent breakers over GOOSE. The Timeline gives the fault clearance time.
5
Slow the clock and read the messages
Set the speed to 0.01× and open the Sniffer: each GOOSE shows stNum, sqNum, time allowed to live, test flag, confRev, VLAN and priority. Lab 6 follows a retransmission burst frame by frame.
6
Break things on purpose
Unplug a cable or change a VLAN in Network, change confRev on one side only, or put an IED in test mode, and see which subscriptions go lost or are ignored. Labs 6 to 10 turn each of these into a guided exercise, and every lab ends with a quiz that explains each answer.
Worked examples
Step-by-step examples you can follow in the application, with every result checked against it.
Most of IEC 61850 cannot be seen: GOOSE messages repeat in milliseconds, subscribers decide silently whether to accept a message, and a wrong confRev or VLAN produces no error on the publisher. On a real substation these behaviours can only be studied with test sets, captures and an outage. A simulator lets you cause each fault on purpose, slow time down and watch exactly what each device does.
61850 Academy models the parts of IEC 61850 that matter most in commissioning and fault finding: GOOSE publication with the retransmission curve and time allowed to live, LGOS subscription supervision, confRev checking, test mode and the test flag, MMS select-before-operate and buffered reports, together with simple distance, differential, overcurrent and breaker-failure protection so that the messages have consequences.
The ten labs
Lab
Title
Level
What you learn
1
Tour of the virtual substation
Beginner
Primary plant, IEDs, station bus and the messages on it
2
Remote control with select-before-operate
Beginner
Every MMS message of an SBO sequence
3
Interlocking keeps operators safe
Beginner
How CILO blocks unsafe switching; making a line safe for work
4
Line fault cleared by distance protection
Intermediate
PDIS detection, PTRC trip, fault clearance time
5
Breaker failure protection over GOOSE
Intermediate
RBRF tripping adjacent breakers through GOOSE
6
GOOSE retransmission and supervision
Intermediate
MinTime/MaxTime curve, time allowed to live, LGOS lost detection
7
confRev mismatch: the silent killer
Advanced
Why a publisher change without the subscriber loses an intertrip
8
Testing with Mod = test
Advanced
Testing one IED in a live station without tripping other bays
9
Buffered reports during a communication loss
Advanced
How buffered reports keep events when SCADA disconnects
10
VLAN misconfiguration
Advanced
Why a correctly configured GOOSE never arrives
Frequently asked questions
Does 61850 Academy connect to real IEDs?
No. It is a self-contained simulation that runs in your browser. It sends nothing on any network.
Is the behaviour the same as my manufacturer's IED?
It follows IEC 61850 in a simplified form for training. Timings, settings and screens differ between manufacturers; use the IED manual for the real device.
What should I learn after the labs?
Open a real SCD in SCL Studio, check its GOOSE addressing in SCL NetStudio and analyse a site capture with the GOOSE & SV Capture Analyzer — the same concepts, on your own project.
For preliminary engineering use. Results must be checked by a qualified engineer against the project's standards. How results are checked · Terms & disclaimer · Build 424d8a2 · 2026-11-12