Trelleborg Industrial AVS

Trelleborg IAVS – powerPerfected

The Head Office and main manufacturing facility of 13,000 sq. metres is situated on a green field site at Bursom Park, on the northern fringes of Leicester. The rubber compound manufacturing area is served by one of the most modern raw materials handling plants in Europe. The computer controlled manufacturing facilities are supplemented by technical laboratories equipped for material testing, product evaluation and research and development.

The Challenge, the solution and the savings

The site covers 13,000m². Around 35% of the site’s load consists of Variable Speed Drives (VSD), which are used to reduce the energy used by motors. Motors with these drives will see a lower level of energy savings from Voltage Power Optimisation, as they control the voltage to the motor themselves. Nonetheless, a careful evaluation of the site showed that there remained a substantial opportunity to save energy because of the ancillary harmonic filtration benefits of powerPerfector. Trelleborg went ahead with an installation of a 2MV/2900A unit on 4 August 2006.

Topline results

On an 8% optimisation, the average daily kWh consumption dropped by 12%, which saves Trelleborg IAVS £51,646 and 401tonnes of CO₂ every year. When production volumes are taken in to account (the more produced the more energy the site will consume) energy use was found to be 15.8% lower than previous levels. powerPerfector technology has made sure that the site operates more efficiently, benefits from improved power quality and is protected against common transients (power spikes). Losses in the HV infrastructure of the site have been reduced thanks to the filtration of harmonics on the main incomer, causing the temperature of the supply transformer to drop by 20^oC. 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 unit will 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, 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.