REPOWER – INSIGHTS FROM INDUSTRY REQ
Charging ahead with electric bus project in Nottingham
E
arlier this year, electrical installers EIC approached MWA Technology to supply electricity panel meters for E.ON’s Nottingham Electric Bus Project.
Meters were required to gather data on the consumption of electricity at the “Charging Bollards” at two of Nottingham Council’s bus terminals; Sherwood and Queen’s Drive. With the old, manual system suffering from
transcription errors and consuming extensive management time when cleansing data, the expertise and wealth of knowledge offered by MWA Technology’s Mel Greenfield and Andrew Brain was welcomed. Having reviewed the requirements of the project’s switchboard, Andrew and Mel concluded that a Multicube Meter system provided the best solution. Andrew Brain explains: “The Multicube Modular Meter system is designed for applications where multiple meters are needed. “It provides a high density system with simplified wiring and many advanced features, its modular design allows for future expansion, greater flexibility, offers massive space saving benefits and the auto-rotation feature allows the meter to correct any current incorrectly installed transformers.” Of the key benefits, Andrew Brain goes
on to say: “It’s possible to save up to 50% per metered point as well as enjoying up to 80% reductions in cabling, connection and space; all of which were essential requirements of this project.” MWA’s initial recommendations were submitted to the project’s managers, E.ON and Nottingham Council, with both agreeing to the proposed automated system. Subsequently, following extensive meetings, it soon became apparent that
A new smart metering system reduces costs in both
supply and installation says David Gleadhill, MWA Commercial Director
more would be required of the system than was contained in the original brief. E.ON also wanted to identify what bus was at which charger, for what duration and the quantity of energy consumed. To deliver these requirements, MWA Technology brought in trusted contacts EGS who, as specialist IT solution designers, manufacturers and integrators, possess extensive expertise in similar software requirements for this type of project. Together, MWA and EGS proposed
to supply and install active transponders on the agreed number of vehicles. These transponders not only identify the vehicle and the charging point location but also determine the amount of charge the vehicle had consumed. The proposed transponders connect via wireless technology to a data- logger, this data logger in turn maintains the database of each vehicle and charge information. The data is then converted into a formatted, easily readable spreadsheet. Following the submission of the secondary proposal, further discussions led to additional features on the project requirement list: in order to produce a cost per mile figure, the ability to track vehicle mileage as well as the Bus’s location was also needed. Thanks to the range and depth of EGS Technologies’ experience and its far reaching technical expertise these additions were easily included. The successful collaboration, between
MWA Technology and EGS Technologies, ensured that each of the client’s requirements were addressed. As Andrew Brain explains “As with every project, we must deliver the very best solution for the client. And, if this means sourcing other specialists and working together to deliver a solution then it’s our job to help make this happen. Working with specialist IT software designers like EGS has been extremely interesting and the project has been a huge success.”
REQ
Above: Electric charging operating base at Queens Drive Park
Right: The electric buses are a popular sight in Nottingham
20 REQ RENEWABLE ENERGY QUARTERLY | |
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: +44(0) 121 327 7771 Email:
info@mwatechnology.com www.mwatechnology.com
WINTER 2014
www.r-e-a.net
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