Littlecote House Hotel

Littlecoat House Hotel – powerPerfected

Littlecote House Hotel, in Hungerford, Berkshire, is one of many hotels belonging to Warner Leisure Hotels. It features 193 rooms and facilities including a restaurant, spa, gym, pool, sauna and beauty rooms.

The Challenge, the solution and the savings

Like most hotels the electrical load consists mainly of air-conditioning and lighting, the type of equipment with which powerPerfector is most effective. After going through our meticulous 4 step process, on the 18 July 2008, a 420kVA unit with a 9% optimisation setting was installed.

Topline results

To get an accurate analysis, the energy profile over the past four years was analysed, and showed a very clear trend of increasing consumption in the winter months. Using Met office data a specific “degree day” analysis was done, which correlates how much energy the site should use for the time of year to the actual amount. Factoring this in, Littlecote House hotel is saving an average of 11.5% on its kWh consumption, equivalent to £20,694 and 61,700kg of CO₂ every year. powerPerfector technology has made sure that the site operates more efficiently, benefits from improved power quality and is protected against common transients (power spikes). All this was with a minimum of disruption due to a carefully planned shutdown and installation, carried out over a single weekend. With absolutely no moving parts, the powerPerfector units need no maintenance beyond the statutory 5 year 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

Common transients – very brief spikes in voltage from the grid – 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 looming energy gap means that the risk of transients is increased – Littlecoat House Hotel is now protected.