University of Winchester

The University of Winchester, West Downs Student Village and Centre – powerPerfected

The University of Winchester, established in 1840, it is home today to just under 6,000 students studying a broad range of programmes at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. The University core values ‐ Intellectual Freedom, Social justice, Diversity, Spirituality, Individuals Matter and Creativity underpin everything that it does, for example its commitment to environmental sustainability where it aims to become an exemplar of good practice. 

The West Downs Student Village is located just a few hundred metres away from the King Alfred Campus. It welcomes over 700 students in residences made up of houses and flats. It is equipped with a shop, a laundrette and spacious green areas. 

The West Downs Centre is a Grade II listed building renovated by the University in 2001. Available there are 14 syndicate and plenary rooms, 65 en‐suite bedrooms, dining and bar facilities as well as a reception space.

The Challenge, the solution and the savings. A snapshot.

After receiving the annual electricity consumption details for West Downs Centre and West Downs Student Village, it was possible to give a provisional quote for two powerPerfector units and to outline the potential for energy savings. Two voltage loggers were then sent to record the voltage level at the sites by connecting them to a regular mains socket. After ten days of logging for both sites, it was found that the average voltage level was 235V at the Student Village and 237V at the Centre, respectively 5 and 7 Volts above the nominal supply voltage in the UK.

Topline results, technically speaking

Looking at the electricity consumption data for a whole year it was clear that usage changed seasonally, so by comparing the three months of September – December 2008 to those of 2009 (when variables, e.g. external temperature, and therefore usage, are the same) a saving of 9% is clearly visible. 

Student Village:

There is a similar situation with the student village, in that the energy consumption varies enormously, dependant on seasonal weather and student terms/holidays. By comparing the electricity usage during the same months as above (09-12/2008 and 09-12/2009), the powerPerfector installation is shown to have saved the university 9.6% of the annual kWh usage.

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 .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.