Greenshaw High School

Greenshaw High School – powerPerfected

Greenshaw is a high school with over 30 years experience as a successful co-educational comprehensive. The school houses 1380 students aged 11-19, offering a range of subjects from Religious Studies to Resistant Materials.

The challenge, the solution and the savings

The school day runs from 08.30—15.00, meaning that the load factor for schools is lower than sites of other types. The load itself comprises mainly lighting and some IT loads, as well as various small power appliances. On 24 October 2007 a 350kVA/500A unit was installed with an 8% optimisation setting.

Topline results

The graph below shows the energy consumption data for 1 July 2006 to 31 October 2008 and shows a strong seasonal variation in kWh consumption, with higher levels of electricity usage recorded during the winter months. Energy consumption during winter 2006/07 was much higher than 2007/08, so this data was not used in the analysis in order to isolate the savings achieved by the powerPerfector. By comparing the summer months in 2007 to those in 2008 indicates a reduction in average consumption of 14.7%, shown in the second graph. For an in-depth temperature correlated savings analysis please download the full case study here.

Voltage Power Optimisation. The less obvious benefits

Reduced maintenance, longer life
All electrical equipment has an optimum voltage at which it works best. A powerPerfected supply delivers that optimum and reduces the strain on your electrical equipment, leaving it to work more reliably and for longer.

Better quality power supply
Some things you may have accepted for years, but product faults can turn out to be caused by a poor quality power supply. For instance, the life of incandescent light bulbs is almost doubled when the supply voltage is optimised. Now imagine that in relation to an IT network or an expensive piece of manufacturing equipment.

Missing the penalty kick
Power factor penalty charges – which are now uncapped in the UK – can be avoided if your power factor is above 0.95. If your power factor is at around 0.9 at the moment, powerPerfector could remove your exposure to these charges by improving the electrical efficiency of your site.

Lower harmonic distortion and reduced neutral currents
powerPerfectors are able to filter harmonics on the mains incomer. Harmonic distortion is on the increase and can lead to random failures of electronic equipment – particularly computers.

Protection
Common transients – very brief spikes in voltage from the grid –  are eliminated by powerPerfector. Transients  can cause catastrophic damage to equipment, but smaller, more common transient events will also shorten the life expectancy of electrical equipment over time. Each installation ensures that Greenshaw High School is no longer at risk from failures that could put them out of business for days.