A host of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can now access the benefits of a proven energy saving solution, voltage optimisation, thanks to an innovate new system developed specifically for small building premises. Geoff Clifton, business development manager at V04HOME, the market-leading manufacturer of the new voltage optimisation system, explains how the technology has been adapted to cater for this market.
With proven reductions on carbon emissions and electricity costs, simply by reducing a building’s incoming voltage from the average 242V supplied by the National Grid to 220V – the optimum rating for electrical devices throughout Europe, voltage optimisation (VO) technology has become a popular energy saving solution for a variety of blue chip companies, local government and large public sector organisations.
Over the last decade the technology has been continuously developed and refined to provide even greater savings on electricity bills and CO2 emissions, and with the added benefits of improved power quality and extended equipment life, there are plenty of reasons why businesses want to invest in voltage optimisation.
However, one particular group has found it difficult to gain access to the technology due to the associated costs, or they have been unable to implement the systems effectively across their entire business operations.
Though VO has been intensely developed it will never be a ‘one size fits all’ solution. As businesses and buildings vary in size, staff levels, and operations, an initial evaluation is usually carried out to ensure the most appropriate application is installed to provide maximum savings for the business.
From this evaluation process some businesses operating in small building premises found that the large expensive commercial VO units were expensive to implement and were not suited to their lower energy usage. Their only other option was to consider installing a domestic VO system but some businesses’ energy consumption was too high for a domestic unit to yield any significant savings. This meant some smaller sites were forced to disregard voltage optimisation.
However, a revolutionary new system has reopened the door to voltage optimisation for SMEs and made it a viable energy saving solution.
The VO4HOME 3-phase unit utilises renowned, award winning technology used on larger scale commercial applications and adopts this for smaller sites to achieve significant cost and carbon emissions savings for users with 3-phase installations up to 100A per phase and annual energy use up to 250,000kWh.
This makes the VO4HOME 3-phase an ideal solution for a range of commercial sites including: hotels, restaurants, pubs, offices and healthcare facilities, where significant savings can be made on kitchen appliances, IT equipment, air conditioning, lighting and heating.
Designed by a team with over 150 years’ combined experience in creating energy saving solutions, the 3-phase unit is available in 10V, 15V and 20V models. It has a single drop and will allow energy users with 3-phase installations to achieve substantial energy and carbon savings by balancing the 3-phase supply. This reduces and stabilises the voltage supply; providing the optimum voltage for all loads, without affecting an organisation’s operating capacity.
The savings are significant too. By installing the 3-phase VO technology a small business can expect to reduce energy consumption by 12% to 15 and significant savings in CO2 emissions.
There are no benefits to running appliances and equipment at a voltage higher than they were designed for. In fact this excess power can actually have harmful effects that are manifested in noise, vibration, and heat which leads to a reduced lifespan of equipment.
The reduced voltage and improved power quality from voltage optimisation reduces the wear on appliances making them operate more efficiently. This can also save businesses thousands of pounds a year by reducing the need to repair and replace essential equipment.
The VO4HOME device itself relies on magnetic interaction and has no moving parts so doesn’t require any maintenance.
As the only product of its kind on the market, the 3-phase unit from VO4HOME offers sites stuck firmly between previous VO technologies a ‘goldilocks solution’ to achieve significant energy and carbon reductions across the business.
