BSEE EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES
Advertising: 01622 699116 Editorial: 01354 461430 Electricity savings in educational establishments
Education facilities across the UK are benefiting from reduced electricity costs, carbon reductions and improved equipment efficiencies thanks to voltage optimisation installations.
n the UK, average voltage is usually supplied at 242V, however, the ideal operating voltage for most electrical equipment is 220V. Voltage optimisation systems are designed to correct this over-voltage and bring the electricity supply in line with the requirements of each site. Powerstar is an established voltage optimisation solution that has been prevalent in the market for over 14 years. The Powerstar range consists of three variations – fixed (Powerstar), electronic-dynamic (Powerstar MAX) and HV electronic- dynamic (Powerstar HV MAX), each of which offers unique benefits designed to meet the engineering requirements and specific characteristics of each site.
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The unique patented design of Powerstar products ensures that facilities with poor power quality can benefit from reduced harmonics, improved power factor and voltage phase balancing.
Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield Hallam University is one of two universities based in Sheffield with a long history of providing excellent educational facilities. The university has always strived to reduce its impact on the environment and was looking for a solution that would help reduce energy consumption.
The university decided to evaluate the student union building as it was experiencing high levels of energy consumption and maintenance costs. After review, it was identified that the voltage supplied to the building was too high.
The university tasked Powerstar to design a system that would not only reduce energy consumption but also improve power quality.
The installation was carried out with minimal disruption to the normal activities of the site. Post installation Sheffield Hallam University has seen a reduction of 16% in kWh consumption and 19% in maximum energy demand.
Portland College
Portland College is an independent specialist college that provides education and residential care for a wide range of students with severe physical or learning disabilities alongside people with physical or learning disabilities that wish to participate in independent living programmes. The college not only offers education throughout the school day but also offers a residential facility that means there are students on site at the college both day and night.
St John’s School and Sixth Form College
t John’s School and Sixth Form College is one educational establishment that is reaping the benefits of a voltage optimisation solution. The school opened in 1964 and has undergone an extensive renovation and development programme.
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The poor power quality on site meant that the facility was experiencing weekly failures across electrical equipment, including air handling units, food mixer motors and swimming pool pumps.
Powerstar engineers completed a survey of the premises and through voltage and power quality monitoring, established that the school was suffering from excessive third harmonics. The installation of a voltage optimisation system corrected the harmonics issues and enabled the establishment to optimise incoming voltage. The facility now experiences no premature equipment failures, is saving over £8,000 in annual electricity costs and has reduced its CO2 emissions by nearly 43 tonnes per year.
‘ The unique
patented design of Powerstar products ensures that facilities with poor power quality can benefit from reduced harmonics, improved power factor and voltage phase balancing.
uPowerstar Virtue is the latest solution in a range of energy saving technologies.
Powerstar engineers had to ensure that the site evaluation and installation took place at a time that caused no disruption to the students’ normal learning and living activities. A 12-month comparison of the college’s electricity usage showed that after reducing the voltage by 4.2% the electrical consumption has fallen by 11.3%. This equates to an annual reduction of carbon emissions by 85.5 tonnes. Quentin Colley, Vice Principal, Portland College said: “Voltage optimisation has been the best investment we have made to reduce our electricity costs and make ongoing savings especially at a time when energy prices continue to rise. The team at Powerstar are exceptional professionals, we would recommend their expertise and products to anyone who wants to see reductions in their electricity consumption and carbon emissions.”
The University of Surrey ’
The University of Surrey campus is home to 17,900 students and 2,597 staff. The university has held sustainability at the heart of its corporate social responsibility agenda for over a decade and views investing in sustainable technology as a critical component in reducing its impact on the environment. As an education establishment that specialises in energy economics research, the university is familiar with the effect that energy misuse has on the environment. They are also particularly knowledgeable of the different energy saving technologies available. Therefore, Powerstar had to prove how voltage optimisation was the most suited energy reducing technology for their site.
After installation, the university is benefiting from an 8.1% reduction in electrical consumption that is a saving 189,474kWh per year, with a payback period of three years.
Powerstar Virtue
uA voltage optimisation system corrected the harmonics issues at St John’s School and Sixth Form College, enabling the establishment to optimise incoming voltage.
Powerstar are renowned for innovation and cutting edge products. In 2015 the company unveiled Powerstar Virtue as the latest solution in its range of energy saving technologies. Powerstar Virtue is a revolutionary energy storage system that integrates with the company’s existing patented voltage optimisation technology and renewable generation sources that allows clients to reduce electricity consumption and store excess energy for use at a time when needed. The solution, which was named European Product Innovation of the year at the 2015 Utility Week Awards, will form an integral part in the future development of smart cities, increasing stability across the electrical network and providing localised efficiency for the microgrid.
www.powerstar.com 22 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER APRIL 2016 VISIT OUR WEBSITE:
www.bsee.co.uk
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