International Students House - London

International Students House – powerPerfected
International Students House, situated in central London provides accommodation for all overseas students with over 700 beds, three bars, a restaurant an internet café, fitness centre and public meeting rooms. With a doubling in their energy costs, ISH looked at the most cost-effective way of saving energy, protecting their equipment and securing supply.

The challenge, the solution and the savings
Lighting and motors, refrigeration and heating will all benefit from a powerPerfector installation. After a careful evaluation a 210kVA unit, optimised at 8% on the weekend of 23rd May 2008. The figures below show the savings made by 15th July 2008.

Topline results
During the above period, average daily kWh consumption was found to be 14.8% lower, corresponding to 60tonnes in fewer CO₂ emissions per annum. powerPerfector technology also made sure that the site now operates more efficiently, benefits from improved power quality and is protected against transients (power spikes) of up to 25kV. All this was achieved with a minimum of disruption. With absolutely no moving parts, the powerPerfector units need no maintenance beyond the statutory 5 yearly checks required of all electrical equipment.

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 as 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
Transients – very brief spikes in voltage from the grid – of up to 25,000V are eliminated by powerPerfector. Transients at this level can cause catastrophic damage to equipment, but smaller, more common transient events will also shorten the life expectancy of electrical equipment over time. The International Students House is now protected.