The Tower of London

Tower of London – powerPerfected

The Tower of London today is a multi-faceted site with museum space, retail, offices, residential and religious facilities.

The challenge, the solution and the savings

Energy efficiency is a priority at the Tower but they also wanted a solution with a long lifecycle (50+yrs) with minimal physical impact to their infrastructure. Voltage Power Optimisation was identified as a means to satisfy these requirements, as, in many ways the Tower is like a small town, with all the associated energy requirements. After evaluation, two 830kVA powerPerfector units were installed (the Tower is run from two supplies and the electrical load for the site is split between them). See figures 1 and 2 for a before and after comparison.

Topline results

The energy savings achieved at the Tower of London were independently evaluated, confirming that energy use had been reduced by 11%. Figure 1 shows an independent analysis, while figure 2 shows powerPerfectors temperature corrected analysis. Quite apart from energy savings, powerPerfector technology has made sure that the site now operates more efficiently, benefits from improved power quality and is protected against common transients (power spikes). Installation took place over two nights avoiding any  visitor disruption. There were no reported problems when the supply was reconnected and, with absolutely no moving parts, the powerPerfectors 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
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. With the energy gap looming – and more transients – you need to protect your electronic infrastructure.