POWER SYSTEMS
Left: fortop uses a standardised blueprint for an ‘installation-wide’ measurement system. Measurement levels: n Level 1. Medium voltage incoming fields – Power Quality Analysers.
n Level 2. Low voltage side of power transformers – Power Analysers.
n Level 3. Main distribution board outgoing feeders – Energy Analysers.
n Level 4. Sub-distribution boards and end-users – DIN-rail consumption meters or multi-channel meters.
Tom Davis and fortop
Decreasing manageability of electrical energy systems One major consequence of these trends is the decreasing manageability of electrical energy systems. Emergency power operations are failing, and voltage dips are causing diagnostic equipment failures, sometimes even leading to temporary department closures. The costs of poor power quality are often hidden within maintenance budgets, making them difficult to track.
Existing energy monitoring systems in NHS hospitals
are typically linked to building management systems, and focus primarily on energy consumption. However, the ‘health’ of voltage and current is often overlooked. Electrical disturbances and power quality issues frequently go unrecorded, making it difficult to diagnose voltage failures. This is no longer acceptable for modern NHS healthcare institutions aiming for Net Zero. Leveraging its experience in critical applications such as data centres and hospitals to ensure voltage and current availability under all conditions, fortop UK applies its unique chain of competencies: measuring, monitoring, and improving. This chain of competencies enhances operational
reliability, and optimises the utilisation of electrical installations, a process known as power optimisation.
n The four management aspects of electricity
Power optimisation is a continuous improvement process involving measurement, monitoring, and optimisation to prevent failures, reduce energy and maintenance costs, and minimise the impact of malfunctions. This process focuses on four key aspects (see Figure 1):
1. Energy Efficiency (Consumption) Mandatory energy audits and increasingly stringent NHS and government regulations make continuous insight into
energy flows essential. By visualising energy consumption, awareness and engagement in energy-saving measures increase, and their impact can be continuously assessed. Additionally, this approach enables accurate allocation of energy costs to different hospital departments and tenants. Monitoring power consumption across installations helps identify energy losses, standby consumption, and metering connection errors immediately.
2. Load (Current) Facilities managers need a clear understanding of available capacity within the electrical system without requiring costly expansion. When switching to back-up generator operation, it is crucial to know how much power is available for connected equipment. Harmonic pollution, low power factor (cos-phi), and unbalanced loads, place additional stress on transformers and generators. Additionally, the dynamic behaviour of loads makes prediction challenging, necessitating insight into daily, weekly, and yearly load profiles.
3. Quality (Voltage Quality) A ‘healthy’ voltage supply lowers maintenance costs, prevents failures, and conserves electrical energy. It also provides clarity and responsibility allocation, which is essential in liability cases following equipment failures. Voltage quality standards play a crucial role in determining whether medical equipment can be connected, and whether warranties apply.
4. Continuity (Sags, Swells, and Residual Currents) Voltage dips and current peaks can cause failures in parts of the electrical installation. Timely alerts shorten downtime by enabling faster troubleshooting. By recording dips and peaks with a resolution of 50 microseconds, the root cause can be identified, and appropriate measures can be taken to mitigate negative impacts.
Tom Davies is the Sales manager for Energy Control at fortop UK, where he promotes the development of tailored energy management and power quality solutions. Having begun his career in the city of London, Tom pursued a growing interest in engineering by re-training in electrical engineering – a decision that has shaped his current role at fortop. He now focuses on helping organisations across industries implement energy monitoring and power quality systems that improve efficiency, reliability, and compliance. He is a strong advocate for the use of Janitza’s advanced analysers and meters, which ‘provide precise insight into electrical infrastructure, enabling clients to reduce energy costs and mitigate power disturbances’. fortop UK says his mix
of technical knowledge, customer focus, and real-world experience, ‘make him a key player in promoting sustainable energy control in the UK’. A specialist in
Figure 5: fortop assigns the most suitable measuring instrument at each level of the electrical installation, including Janitza measurement instruments with a resolution of 50 µs for precise voltage and current sampling.
products and solutions for automation and energy control projects, fortop Automation & Energy Control says it is ‘committed to helping businesses maintain smooth operations by addressing potential risks in energy management and equipment functionality’.
June 2025 Health Estate Journal 69
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