PRUPIM and Brunswick Shopping Centre

About PRUPIM and Brunswick Shopping Centre

PRUPIM is one of the leading real estate investment managers in the United Kingdom. It forms part of the M&G Group of Companies which is the asset management arm of Prudential Plc in the UK and Europe. It manages around £15 billion of real estate assets, and is invested in over 800 properties with approximately 4,500 property occupiers worldwide. PRUPIM offers fully integrated Real Estate Investment Management: fund management, asset management and property management services. Brunswick Shopping Centre in Scarborough is owned by M&G and managed by PRUPIM. It is home to 30 shops and stores on 130,000 sq ft and five floors.

How powerPerfector were able to help PRUPIM

After receiving the annual electricity consumption details for Brunswick Shopping Centre, it was possible to give a provisional quote for a powerPerfector unit and to outline the potential for energy savings. It was found that the average voltage at the site was 249 volts (V), 19V higher than the nominal supply in the UK. After a survey of the site by a powerPerfector Approved Contractor, the installation took place on a Sunday. Analysis following the installation showed that there was an average reduction in kWh consumption of 17.7% attributable to the powerPerfector installation despite a significant proportion of the electrical load of the building being comprised of motors controlled by Variable Speed Drives (VSDs).

Getting the source right
A 210kVA powerPerfector unit was installed at Brunswick Shopping Centre on 11 October 2009. It concludes that there is an average reduction in kWh consumption of 17.7 % compared to expected levels. This equates to an annual carbon dioxide saving of 65,700kg and an annual financial savings of £13,630.

The chart below shows all available kWh data for Brunswick Shopping Centre, from 10/09/2007 to 16/01/2010. Data before installation is shown in red and after installation in green. The consumption profile shows that this site is affected by seasonal variations in external temperature. Energy consumption is higher in the cold winter months, because some loads are used more heavily in the winter: the operating hours of lighting equipment are increased and heating fans are switched on.

The green data in the following graph represents the consumption after installation of the powerPerfector, and the red data is the consumption before installation. It should be noted that the analysis starts on 23/10/2008, when the baseload is broadly stable, excluding the atypical data prior to that date. The blue line is the regression line of the pre installation consumption data – the minimal difference between actual and expected levels prior to the installation demonstrates the accuracy of the model. The chart shows that, having taken into account the external temperature, the energy consumption at the PRUPIM site has been, on average, 17.7% lower than would have been predicted had the powerPerfector not been installed. Any additional information on load changes post‐installation could be incorporated into this model if required.

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 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. Each installation ensures that the centre is no longer at risk from failures that could put them out of business for days.