Treorchy Comprehensive School

Treorchy Comprehensive School – powerPerfected

Treorchy Comprehensive School serves the Upper Rhondda district and is an 11-18 mixed comprehensive school situated near the centre of town. The school occupies 13 separate buildings on a long narrow site.

The challenge, the solution and the savings

With the annual electricity consumption details for Treorchy Comprehensive School, it was possible to give a provisional quote for a powerPerfector unit and the energy savings that would be expected. A voltage logger was then sent for one week, which recorded the voltage level in the building by connecting to it in to a regular mains socket. After a survey of the site by a powerPerfector approved contractor, the installation took place. On 5 December (a weekend when there would be no disturbance to the building) a 350kVA powerPerfector unit was installed in the Treorchy Comprehensive. 

Topline results

The first chart below shows the half hourly data profile up to 28 February 2010. Data before the installation of the powerPerfector units is shown in red and after installation in green - the boxed section is during a period of abnormally low consumption, so is not included in the analysis. It shows that the base load energy consumption of the school has been relatively consistent, but the maximum demand shows significant seasonal variation during term time. To further investigate the seasonal variation in electricity usage, a ‘degree days’ analysis was carried out. In this case it shows that the difference between the actual consumption following the powerPerfector installation and the expected level for temperature is 16.1%.

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 school is no longer at risk from failures that could put them out of business for days.