ENERGY GENERATION | EFFICIENCY
providing enhanced savings to costs
and CO2 over a prolonged period
to meet long-term energy objectives
and sustainability targets.”
For many businesses across a
range of sectors – be that aerospace,
defence, automotive or electrical
– Dr Mardapittas says a good
starting point is identifying simple
opportunities to deliver significant
reductions in electrical consumption
with opportunities that offer a short
payback period and measurable
Return on Investment (ROI). One
such method is implementing
voltage optimisation, generating
8-10% savings on annual electrical
consumption.
Typically, electricity is supplied
by the National Grid at an average
of 242V, higher than the level
required by most modern electrical
equipment, around 220V, to operate
optimally.
“This overvoltage means sites
are paying for more electricity than
required, inflating consumption,
costs, and carbon emissions,”
Dr Mardapittas explains. “By
conditioning and optimising the
incoming electricity supply, voltage
optimisation provides a proven
method of decreasing consumption,
costs, and CO2, whilst also extending
equipment longevity by operating at a
level better suited to the equipment’s
design characteristics.
“Leading providers that offer
integrated remote monitoring
capabilities within systems, such
as Powerstar, enable additional
value to be derived as savings can
be monitored. Through analysing
site data, which the system does
automatically, further efficiencies can
be identified and provide actionable
insights that can bolster savings
and energy efficiency, such as by
identifying poor power quality issues.”
A SYNERGISTIC STRATEGY
Many large-scale manufacturing,
engineering, and processing
companies own and operate one or
more distribution transformers on site
which are energised 24 hours a day,
seven days a week, even when they
do not carry an electrical load. This
ensures that buildings receive the
correct electricity supply that is safe
for use and fit for the on-site electrical
equipment.
An ageing transformer,
“Leading super low-
loss smart transformers
with amorphous cores,
such as Powerstar SOLO,
come with integrated
remote monitoring for 24/7
visibility of operation
however, can lead
to wasted electrical
consumption, and
maintaining this equipment
can become costly. Furthermore,
further advantage can be gained
from digital insights into the asset’s
performance and operation which is
currently reliant on an annual, manual
inspection.
“Leading super low loss smart
transformers with amorphous cores,
such as Powerstar SO-LO, come
with integrated remote monitoring
for 24/7 visibility of operation
and performance criteria,” says
Dr Mardapittas.” This enables
preventative maintenance to be
undertaken in a timely manner,
negating any potential issues or
downtime. And with savings of up to
3% upon installation achievable.”
He continues: “Smart distribution
transformers also allow integration
with other assets, such as the
aforementioned VO technology,
and provide top-level information
for manufacturing environments,
displaying useful grid information,
conditional performance, and energy
efficiency reports.
“For greater operational visibility
of the transformer itself, detailed
information and reports can be
accessed such as oil analysis, voltage,
amps, phase to phase metrics,
real power, power factor, core
temperature, harmonic distortion,
system kVA, system kWh and even
GPS location for larger premises
with multiple transformers. This
simplifies energy management on
route to achieving a fully connected
and comprehensive smart energy
solution.”
STORING UP FOR
THE FUTURE
Over the longer term, systems
such as battery energy storage
can facilitate a truly intelligent and
connected solution and provide a site
with the flexibility required to tackle
multiple energy challenges at once,
including maximising on-site
generation.
Traditional energy
storage functionality
includes reducing
peak distribution and
transmission charges;
participation in Demand
Side Response activities
for additional revenue
streams for the business;
enabling maximising of on-site
generation including renewable
sources to reduce reliance on
the grid; and providing resilience
through Uninterruptible Power Supply
capabilities, which ensures critical
processes are protected from power
failures to prevent costly downtime.
When combined and balanced as
required, these applications provide
significant benefits to flexibility,
power resilience, carbon reductions,
and cost savings.
“Leading edge solutions leverage
Industry 4.0 advancements by
intelligently automating asset
prioritisation and balancing needs to
deliver an optimised output,” adds
Dr Mardapittas. “This is enabled by
optimisation algorithms as part of a
smart energy optimisation system
and can offer much broader, longterm
benefits depending on the
unique needs of the business.
Dr Mardapittas states that although
each smart energy technology offers
its own diverse benefits in isolation, it
is when such solutions are connected
and deployed in conjunction as part of
a comprehensive energy strategy that
the benefits can be truly enhanced.
He concludes: “Interested companies
should approach a provider that offers
a fully bespoke solution designed
around the requirements of the client
to maximise benefits and ROI.” !
and performance
criteria”
Dr Alex Mardapittas,
CEO of Powerstar,
a smart energy
solutions provider.
MAY 2020 | WWW.EUREKAMAGAZINE.CO.UK 27
/WWW.EUREKAMAGAZINE.CO.UK