Feature Energy Efficiency
Offering benefits to SMEs I
t is now possible for medium sized premises, with electricity bills of up to £50,000 per annum, to realise the benefits of voltage optimisation
that was previously only available to large scale industry.
Suitable for sites using up to 250,000kWh per annum, the 100A 3- phase unit from VO4 is fully designed and manufactured in the UK. Available in 10V, 15V and 20V models, the unit can help smaller businesses to achieve power and carbon savings as well as extending the life of equipment and machin- ery. It can be quickly installed and reduce
energy consumption by
between eight and 15%. It also delivers immediate savings which commonly give a return on invest- ment
trialled and verified by
Geoff Clifton, business development manager of VO4, explains that recent developments in voltage optimisation technology have resulted in more businesses than ever before adopting this energy saving solution
in less than three years - a finding which has been indepen- dently
energy supplier RWE Npower. The kind of sites expected to reap
the rewards of installing this technol- ogy are small hotels, restaurants and pubs which will make savings on kitchen appliances, front of house equipment and accommodation areas; retail outlets saving on light- ing, heating, ventilation and chillers; and offices on IT equipment, fans and air conditioning. Healthcare sites such as dentist, GP and veterinary surgeries also fit into this category, along with fire stations, petrol sta- tions, industrial units and even some large homes.
Green credentials
The 3-phase unit is already con- tributing to the green credentials of an award winning new build prop- erty in Blackpool. Situated just a few miles away from the city’s golden sands, Lavender Lodge recently won ‘Best Individual Dwelling’ in the LABC Built in Quality awards for the North West region. The property has seven bedrooms, a cinema, gymna- sium, indoor swimming pool, remotely controlled lighting, ventila- tion, heating and blinds, as well as a media centre piping entertainment to every room.
The developer, Melrose Develop- ments, researched the options avail- able to ensure that the property achieved maximum sustainability ben- efits as well as being economical and efficient to run. The outcome is a house that boasts a solar panel array, large solar thermal panels which con- tribute significantly to the heating of
the pool, heat recovery systems and a ground source heat pump. Twelve months after the owners moved into the property, the new VO4 solution was installed to further reduce electricity use and to ensure that equipment is adequately shielded from the local voltage of 245V. A spokesperson for Melrose Developments commented, “It took barely an hour to see the benefits of installing a VO4 3-phase unit. We monitored all the energy use and immediately recognised a 13% energy saving on electricity con- sumption. However, it’s not just about the energy saving - the high voltage at the site was making all the electronic equipment vulnerable to overheating. The new system has rad- ically reduced that risk.”
Optimum energy supply Voltage optimisation employs a device, installed in series with the mains electricity supply, to reduce the voltage coming into a building from the average 242V supplied by the national grid, to 220V which is the optimum rating for electrical devices throughout the UK and Europe. In addition, it improves power quality by attenuating transients from the supply. Modern electronic equipment is less tolerant of tran- sient voltages than the robust circuits developed decades ago, and appli- ances may be damaged or fail prema- turely if they are not protected from
Electrical Engineering FEBRUARY 2014
Above: Lavender Lodge recently won ‘Best Individual Dwelling’ in the LABC Built in Quality awards for the North West region
the spikes in voltage that are caused by jumps and falls in demand on the national grid. Equipment such as chillers and air conditioning units which use motors to run their pumps and fans, particularly benefit from voltage optimisation which reduces the risk of overheating.
Above: Geoff Clifton, business development manager of VO4
Below: designed and manufactured in the UK, the 100A 3-phase unit from VO4 is suitable for sites using up to 250,000kWh per annum
The Co-operative also recently dis- covered the advantages of voltage optimisation, trialling the new 3- phase units in six stores in the Portsmouth and Southampton areas before installing them in a further 22 stores in Plymouth. The scheme is being extended further with prepara- tory surveys underway at other Co- operative sites around the UK. “With typical savings approaching
ten percent and the protection from high voltage that VO4 provides, there are very compelling reasons to carry on with this project,” con- firmed Rob Scoulding, regional energy and environmental manager for the Co-operative. This new technology, bringing the benefits of voltage optimisation to the untapped SME sector, has the potential to make a major positive impact both nationally and interna- tionally. It will enable more busi- nesses than ever before to achieve significant and cost effective energy and carbon reductions.
VO4
www.vo4home.com T: 01709 376 881
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