INDUSTRIAL OVERVIEW

According to the US Department of Energy that whilst 'Power Factor' is one of the 'keys' to lower energy costs 'Power Optimization' is paramount as each individual segment of the energy supply/usage chain is linked, improvement best comes in Toto!
The installation of a powerMAXX 'Energy Reduction System' within your business facility will provide you with a minimum of twelve energy saving benefits:

• Stabilization of Voltage, Amperage, Hertz
• Reduction in 'Dips & Swells'
• Reduction in 'Harmful Supply Harmonics'
• Load Sharing Increases System/Panel Capacity
• Flicker Interference Removal (Quality & Safety)
• Transient Disturbance Reduction
• Inrush Current & Voltage Stability as large loads come on line
• Boosts Power Factor
• Equipment Runs Smoother/Quieter/Less Maintenance/Longer Operating Life
• 2000 Joule Surge Protection
• Significant Reduction of Annual Energy Usage & Demand Fees/Surcharges
• Reduction of Greenhouse Gas emissions

VOLTS/AMPS/HERTZ
Voltage and frequency should be close to the nominal values of for example; 230V, 400V, 50Hz.
powerMAXX power audits 'benchmark; Voltages & Currents to check if power applied to 3-phase induction motors are in balance, voltage unbalance causes high unbalanced currents in stator windings resulting in overheating and reduced motor life, each of the phase voltages should not differ more than 1 % from the average of the three.
Current unbalance should not exceed 10 %.
The Negative Voltage component Vneg. should not exceed 2 %.
Each phase voltage or current can be split-up into three components:
Positive Sequence - Negative Sequence - Zero Sequence
The Positive Sequence component is the normal component such as present in balanced 3-phase systems.
The Negative Sequence component results from unbalanced phase-top phase voltages and currents this component generally causes a ‘braking’ effect in 3-phase motors resulting in overheating & life reduction.
Zero Sequence components may appear in an unbalanced load in 4 wire power systems and represent the current in the 'N' (Neutral) wire. Unbalance exceeding 2 % is considered as too high.

DIPS & SWELLS
The occurrence of Dips (Sags) and Swells may indicate a weak power distribution system, in such a system voltage will change considerably when a big motor or a welding machine is switched on or off causing lights to flicker or even show visible dimming, it may cause reset and loss of data in computer systems and process controllers.
powerMAXX 's 'Power Audit' monitors the voltage and current trend at the power service entrance, this allows identification of the cause of the voltage dip - inside or outside the building.
The cause is inside the building (downstream) when voltage drops while current rises.
It is outside (upstream) when both voltage and current drop.

HARMONICS
Current distortion is to be expected in a system with non-linear loads like DC power supplies, when the current distortion starts to cause voltage distortion (THD) of more than 5 %, this signals a potential problem. Harmonics disappear if waveforms are symmetrical, i.e. as equally positive and negative.
Zero Sequence current harmonics add in Neutral conductors, this can cause conductor overheating.
The Harmonic number indicates the Harmonic frequency:
The First Harmonic is the fundamental frequency (50 Hz)
The Second Harmonic is the component with two times the fundamental frequency (100 Hz), and so on.
The Harmonics Sequence can be positive (+), zero (0), or negative (-).
Positive Sequence Harmonics try to make a motor run faster than the fundamental.
Negative Sequence Harmonics try to make the motor run slower than the fundamental.
In both cases the motor looses torque and heats up. Harmonics can also cause transformers to overheat.
K-factor: this is an indication of the amount of Harmonic Currents and can help in selecting transformers, the K-factor is used along with KVA to handle non-linear, Harmonics-rich loads.

LOAD SHARING
powerMAXX's recording of 'Apparent Power' (KVA) over several hours allows the ability to look at the Trend and find out if there are times that the system is overloaded and that by staggering the timing of loads maximum demand fees will be minimized/eliminated.
Reactive power (KVAR) is most often due to inductive loads such as motors, inductors, and transformers, installation of correction capacitors can correct for inductive KVAR’s.

FLICKER
Power meter audits use flicker trend and half-cycle voltage or current trends to find the source of flicker.
powerMAXX 's 10 min (Pst) is a measuring period to eliminate the influence of random voltage variations, the measuring period is long enough to detect interference from a single source with a long working cycle such as electrical household appliances, and heat pumps.
A measuring period of 2 hours (Plt) is useful when there may be more than one interference source with irregular working cycles and for equipment such as welding machines, and rolling mills.

TRANSIENTS
Disturbances such as transients in a power distribution system can cause malfunctions in many types of equipment, for example, computers may reset and equipment subjected to repeated transients can eventually fail, voltage transients are a prime suspect when electronic power supplies are failing repeatedly or if computers reset intermittently.

INRUSH
Peak current durations need to be evaluated via a powerMAXX readout of momentary values.
Fuses, circuit breakers, conductors in the power distribution system need to be checked to establish that they can withstand the inrush current during this period, phase voltage stability similarly needs to be checked, high peak currents can cause circuit breakers to trip unexpectedly.
Measuring Inrush Current can help in setting trip levels.
powerMAXX Analyzer's simultaneously capture Inrush Current and Voltage Trends allowing this measurement to be used to check voltage stability as large loads come on line.

POWER FACTOR
If the Power Factor of your system is low more power is required to do the work.
As Power Factor is a measurement of how much of the KVA is actually in the form of KW, Power Factor improvement is a basic requirement for energy reduction and increased efficiency.

Suppose there are two companies, Brown Bros and Jones Ltd, that both use 500 KW annually.
Brown Bros has a Power Factor of 0.50, which means that it will use 1000 KVA annually.
As a result, Brown Bros ends up paying for a huge amount of power that it doesn't use and which ends up as waste, Jones Ltd, on the other hand, has a highly efficient operation with a Power Factor of 0.90, it will be charged for only 555 KVA annually as a result of the reduced demand and lower energy losses.
Since 'Line Current' is reduced by increasing 'Power Factor' other ancillary benefits to be gained by optimizing a facilities 'Power Factor' are, better voltage regulation, harmonic reduction and released system capacity.

POWER FACTOR INTERPRETATION

• PF = 0 to 1: not all supplied power is consumed, a certain amount of reactive power is present.
Current leads (capacitive load) or lags (inductive load).
• PF = 1: all supplied power is consumed by the device, voltage and current are in phase.
• PF = -1: device generates power. Current and voltage are in phase.
• PF = -1 to 0: device is generating power. Current leads or lags.

The power triangle is the simplest way to understand how 'Power Power' is calculated.
The triangle illustrates the relationship of 'Active (real) and Reactive (imaginary or magnetizing) Power and Apparent Power' components.

The 'Active or Real Power', represented by the horizontal leg, is the actual power or watts (KW) that produces real work.
This component, is the energy transfer component which represents fuel burned at the Utility plant.

The 'Reactive Power, or Magnetizing Power', (KVAR) represented by the vertical leg of the upper or lower triangle is the power required to produce the magnetic fields to enable the real work to be done.
Without 'Magnetizing Power', transformers, conductors, motors, resistors and capacitors would not be able to operate. 'Reactive Power' is normally supplied by generators, capacitors and synchronous motors.

The 'Apparent or Total Power'
(KVA) the longest leg of the triangle represents the vector sum of the 'Reactive Power & Real Power' components.
Active/Real Power (KW)
Power Factor =
Apparent/Total Power (KVA)

For example,
if 'Real Power' = 100 KW
and
'Apparent Power' = 142 KVA
then
'Power Factor' = 100 divided by 142 = 0.70 or 70%.
This indicates that only 70% of the current provided by the electrical utility is being used to produce useful work.

Electric power engineers often call 'Apparent Power & Complex Power' - 'Total Power', (KVA - MVA)
Most Utilities measure this 'Total Power', (usually averaged over a 30 minute load period) and charge a monthly fee or tariff for the highest thirty minute average load reading in the month, this tariff is usually added as a kilowatt-hour charge. This type of billing is often called KVA demand billing, others charge a straight fee for a 'Power Factor' less than their target, both are costly to commercial/industrial facilities.

powerMAXX Optimizer Units supply 'Reactive Power' locally, by decreasing your 'Reactive Power' component as supplied by the Utility to near zero KVAR.
powerMAXX Optimizer Units thereby reduce your 'Total Power' and monthly KVA demand charges.
This saves serious money!

.

VOLTAGE WAVEFORM

Three-phase electric power systems have at least three conductors carrying voltage waveforms that are 2p / 3 radians (120°, 1 / 3 of a cycle) offset in time.

The graphic below illustrates one voltage cycle of a three-phase system, labeled 0 to 360° (2 p radians) along the time axis, the plotted line represents the variation of instantaneous voltage(or current) with respect to time. the cycle will repeat 50 or 60 times per second, depending on the power system frequency.

The colours of the lines represent the American colour code for 120V three-phase. That is black=VL 1 red=VL 2 blue=VL 3

 The common voltages that exist in the majority of commercial and industrial properties facilities in Australia is 220/380V (50Hz), in the United States the common voltage relationships are 277/480V, and 120/208V, (60Hz, or cycles per second).

In each case, the mathematical relationship between voltages is the same; the larger number is 1.73 times the smaller number, this relationship is a math function derived from the fact that the waveforms are 120 electrical degrees apart, the 120/208 could be replaced with 277/480, or 220/380, the change in frequency from 60Hz to 50Hz, simply changes the time it takes for each cycle of 360 electrical degrees to occur, at 60Hz, voltage changes direction 120 a second, and at 50Hz, it changes 100 times a second.

This means that the magnetic field around the conductors of these AC circuits is constantly and rapidly changing, the higher the current the stronger the magnetic field, this constant change in magnetic flux consumes power and produces heat in what is called hysteresis loss, when the current and resulting magnetic fields are strong enough, conductors of other systems in close proximity, such as voice and data transfer circuits, can experience induced voltages that can cause errors and electrical noise.

Motors, lighting ballasts, and switching power supplies, (typical to computer equipment), all produce electrical characteristics that can distort the AC waveform.

Electrical circuits and devices are always logical, but sometimes they can be unpredictable, and therefore dangerous.

LOAD TYPES & DEMAND FEES

All electric equipment requires KVAR - "vars" - a term used by electric power engineers to describe the 'Reactive or Magnetizing Power' required by the 'Inductive Characteristics' of electrical equipment.
Most loads on an electrical distribution system fall into one of three categories;

• Resistive • Inductive • Capacitive

In just about all facilities, from pubs to clubs, restaurants, golf courses, apartment complex's, medical clinics, commercial and industrial facilities, shopping centre's the most common 'load' will be 'Inductive', an 'Inductive Load' requires a magnetic field to operate and in creating such a magnetic field causes the current to be out of phase with the voltage. (current lags the voltage)
Typical 'Inductive Loads' include transformers, refrigeration, air conditioning, lighting, AC Induction motors, electronics, general plant and therefore can be quite significant in all of the above facilities.
All 'Inductive Loads' require two kinds of power to operate:

• Active Power (KW) - to produce the motive force
• Reactive Power (KVAR) - to energize the magnetic field

The operating power from the distribution system is composed of both 'Active (working) and Reactive' (non-working) elements, the 'Active Power' does useful work in driving the motor whereas the 'Reactive Power' only provides the magnetic field which can be interpreted as wattless, magnetizing or wasted power that represents an extra burden on the supply system...
The bad news is that you are charged for both!

Depending upon the rate structure of your electric utility, one may generally be able to save substantial amounts of monies on one's electric bill, the flow of KVAR, or 'Reactive Power', through a watt-hour meter will not effect the meter reading, but the flow of KVAR through the power system will result in energy losses at both of the Commercial and Utility facilities.
KVAR flow can also cause excessive voltage drop, which may have to be optimized by either the installation of several powerMAXX Optimizers, or other more expensive equipment such as load-tap changing transformers, synchronous motors, and synchronous condensers.

Utility SME rate structures account for 'Reactive Power' consumption, by either KVA or KVAR Demand Usage Fees, OR, by Low 'Power Factor' Penalties to justify the cost of lost energy and additional conductor & transformer capacity required to carry the KVAR.

powerMAXX's Variable Voltage Stabilizer Reactors (V.S.R.) can save up to 20% of your commercial/industrial power usage/costs, a voltage reduction of 5% equates to at least 10% in energy Savings!

What is Variable Voltage Stabilization?

Variable Voltage Stabilization Reactors (V.S.R.) are highly beneficial when the electricity supply to your site is at a higher voltage level than needed, resulting in excessive energy consumption and high electricity bills.Voltage stabilization systems work to stabilize the outgoing voltage without compromising the supply, one of the reasons why voltage stabilization is so effective is that the average voltage supplied from Australia's National Grid is 242V (although it can range from 216V to as high as 253V), whereas the nominal Australian voltage is 230V

 Resistive Element of Load - Determined by V = I R (Voltage = Current x Load)

Where load remains constant, a reduction in voltage will see a corresponding reduction in current, a 5% reduction in the voltage at the motor will result in a 5% reduction in current (at all times except when the motor is on full capacity, when a motor is required to produce its full power capacity it will do so regardless of the input voltage).

Inductive Element of Load - Determined by XL= 2 ? f L - The magnetic flux is proportioned to current flow

The reduction in the current flow will affect the inductance and therefore reduce the magnetization losses within the motor.

XL is impedance, therefore the bigger the impedance the bigger the losses, for a 5% reduction in the current flow, there would be a 5% reduction in the motor impedance and a 5% reduction in power consumption.

A 5% reduction in voltage represents total savings up to 15% (10% from resistive & 5% from inductive components). Savings are dependent on individual site conditions underlining the importance of a site 'Power Audit'.

powerMAXX's Variable Voltage Stabilizer Reactors are designed and built to maximize energy efficiency, running close to room temperature they do not require cooling units or fans.

powerMAXX's V.S.R's are custom-built to suit your facilities requirements.

V.S.R. stabilizations range from 1-15%.

Being a passive unit there are no moving parts, high-purity materials guarantee 99.9% efficiency with loadings from 15% - 100%

The difference between a transformer's reduction and a powerMAXX Variable Voltage Stabilizer Reactor is enormous, especially when you add-in the energy saving/cost effective benefits of reduced 'KVAR & Demand Loads, Three phase balancing, Harmonic suppression & Transient protection'.

powerMAXX V.S.R's are set and forget technology.

powerMAXX's V.S.R's are suitable for electrical supplies with high volatility adapting automatically to changing voltage conditions to give an 'Stabilized' output in a fixed band, output voltage can be adjusted online and on-load through the unit's user interface via a RS-485 communication port, BMS, or other control system, making powerMAXX V.S.R's ideal for facilities with critical equipment, or those which suffer from an unstable supply.

All power passes through the powerMAXX V.S.R. which is connected downstream of the main switch and meter in series with the distribution system of the main switchboard.

Immediately upon installation completion, electrical energy consumption at your facility will be reduced with an associated increase in 'Power Factor' and reduction in maximum demand and base load, an 11% average reduction in monthly consumption is a 13% reduction in electricity costs.

Twelve weeks after installation powerMAXX will provide a detailed analysis of your new energy profile, to provide the analysis we require access to your facility whereas highly trained personnel will carry out an exhaustive power audit that comprehensively logs data every 30 minutes over a period of seven days. Once a post installation 'Power Audit' analysis has been completed we would request your permission to use your facilities 'Energy Reduction' up-grade as a case study.

Features & Advantages

• Least sensitive to input voltage fluctuation.

• Optimizes input voltage irrespective of its flow

• Production of highly stable & consistent output voltage.

• Un-affected by variations in load and/or power factor.

• No deviation in waveform voltage.

• Independent regulation control, excellent regulation accuracy.

• Lowers energy usage by eliminating over power consuming and load abnormality created by voltage fluctuation/spike/surge/noise & harmonics, all of which helps to reduce 'Maximum Load Demand' (KVA).

• Extends Plant & Capital Equipment Life by the reduction of heat & stress when electrical motors and equipment cannot obtain their design voltage.

• Reduces the number of electrical breakdowns, minimizing losses of production & productivity

• Guarantees reduction of up-coming liability for Carbon Tax - Reduction of CO2 footprint

Uses & Applications

powerMAXX Variable Voltage Stabilizer Reactors supply a stable out voltage in industry fields such as;

powerMAXX

Variable Voltage Stabilizer Reactor Performance Standards

•  25,000 Amps Surge Protector.

•  Manual & Automatic By-Pass for site power.

•  Overload Control Protection - Over Temperature Control.

•  Phase Sequence Control.

•  Audible & Remote Alarm Control Systems.

•  Protection from ' Dips & Swells, Transients, Harmonics & Poor Power Quality'.

•  42 Milliseconds Response Time - better than 98% efficiency at full load.

•  Internet Power Quality Measurement Logger identifies existing & historic power usage.

•  Robust System & Build Quality allows operation in difficult environmental conditions.

•  powerMAXX 'VVS' systems' have no moving parts - require no maintenance.

•  Inexpensive, Reliable, 5 Year Equipment Guarantee, 25-40 Year Life Cycle.

•  Reduces electricity usage/costs up to 20%.

 

Five Steps to..
8-20%
Industrial Power Savings

To fully demonstrate the benefits of powerMAXX's 'Energy Reduction System', (ERS) we need to firstly review and evaluate your past 12 months 'un-bundled' electricity bills, it's rate structure will include your Maximum Demand KW and detail charges for poor 'Power Factor' as applicable to your bill, as most Utilities supply only limited information on their bills a comprehensive 'Power Audit' is the only means of establishing EXACT POWER SUPPLY/USAGE/LOAD PATTERNS that must encompass six key factors;

Phase Voltage Fluctuations (Volts), Peak Current (Amps), 'Reactive Power (KVAR), Active Power (KW), Apparent Power (KVA) and Power Factor (PF) readings, all under full operating loads over a 24 hour period to establish maximum & minimums as applicable to your facility.

If your 'Power Factor is below 0.90 your electricity costs can be up to 20% higher than a similar facility with a reading in the low 90's, the only means of establishing 'your true power factor' is by a power audit. A proper power audit requires the use of a true Class 'A' or Class 'B' power analyser/logger to benchmark your facility & to correctly size the right 'Energy Reduction System' components.

As your Power Factor approaches 1 (one), your (nonworking) Reactive Power (KVAR) approaches zero, this equates to lower energy usage, lower demand extras/fees, & lower power bills!

STEP 1: THE INITIAL CONSULTATION
A site visit/consultation with client personnel is first & paramount to establish the 'Application Parameters' as assessed by both client and our expert personnel, reactive loads need to be established, typical 'Inductive Loads' include; transformers refrigeration, lighting, air conditioning, electronics & general plant, all of which can be quite significant. During the evaluation process various 'Energy Optimization System' options considered suitable for your facility will be discussed with the view to determining the 'best sized' equipment and installation locations within your electrical system. powerMAXX'S consultant will discuss up-front the approximate installation costs & payment criteria prior to proceeding with the next step - the power audit, power audits are only conducted for Commercial or Industrial facilities, no fee is required for the power audit.

STEP 2: THE FREE POWER AUDIT
powerMAXX'S trained personnel equipped with a Fluke 435 Class 'A' or Lutron DW-6092 Class 'B' power analyzer/logger apparatus will test your circuits under motor loadings (24 hour - 7 day logging to establish peak/off-peak usage), actual operating metered history is essential in establishing the optimal 'Energy Reduction System' components for your facility.

STEP 3: YOUR PROPOSAL/ANALYZING THE DATA
powerMAXX'S trained personnel analyze the data and a comprehensive proposal is next prepared including a precise analysis inclusive of the 6 key power audit components plus all other energy supply/usage/load readings, clearly identified estimated savings and return on investment will be explained to you in terminology that all can understand.

STEP 4: DEPOSIT PAYMENT / CUSTOM BUILD COMPLETION PAYMENT
A deposit of 50% (fifty percent) of the total cost will be required with official order.

Full payment(50% balance) upon certification of custom build & readiness for installation.

powerMAXX's 'Energy Reduction Systems' generally have an investment payback period of between 6 to 24 months.

STEP 5: INSTALLATION
Installation will be made within 10 (ten) working days from full payment.

Client to advise best day/time of day for our fully qualified/certified electrical staff to install.

IMPORTANT

As yet, there is no Australian 'Power Audit Standard', which means that standards of measurement or lack thereof in the energy efficiency sector are often poor and based on little more than a 'misguided look' at your power bill, potential clients are urged to think carefully about how their energy saving requirement is going to be evaluated before they go ahead. Challenge your 'quote giver' to conduct a 'fully metered power audit analysis' that incorporates the six key inpute measurment factors as this data is the only means of proving that their conclusions are correct and statistically supported.

Don't settle on a few unconfirmed figures or a single graph that supposedly tells you that energy saving is simple and cheap... IT'S NOT!

"Improvement of Power Factor for Industrial Plant with Automatic Capacitor Bank"
WORLD ACADEMY OF SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY - VOLUME 32 AUGUST 2008

This paper is intended to uplift the technological standard of industrial plants, the overall power factor of modern industries is very poor because of inductive loads absorbing reactive power, this is especially so in industrial plants with variable load conditions from large inductive loads and its subsequent poor power factor.
These industries benefit most from automatic power optimizer capacitor banks, these units provide improved power factor, increased voltage level on the load and reduced electric utility bills.

Conclusion - If the power factor of the plant is low, it uses more power than it needs to do the work, poor power factor should be corrected as it substantially increases costs, capacitors generally are the most economical means to improve power factors.

FACT:

"A 230V bulb used at 240V will achieve only 55% of its rated life".

"A 230V linear appliance used on a 240V supply will take 4.3% more current and will consume almost 9% more energy." Source; UK Electrician's Guide (IEE), 16th Edition BS7671.

An Intel Corporation study found that an 8.9% reduction in voltage on their microprocessors achieved a 20% reduction in power consumption.

"One way to reduce electricity usage is to install voltage optimizers, they maintain a constant voltage in the building, avoiding regular variations in grid supply voltage and maintaining the operational voltage at a constant & efficient value."

"Simple step-down equipment (a tapped transformer) is cheaper but is not effective if the mains voltage varies over time as it often does, generally full voltage optimization which maintains a constant supply voltage to the building is justified."

Source; Hywel Davies, Technical Director of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (UK)

Government Business Magazine August 2010