Did you know that many companies do not use 10 to 35 percent of their electricity, but are paying for it?
This non-utility portion of electric power delivered through the grid is called reactive current or reactive power.
The good news is that reactive current is easy to detect and reduce.
How that works, we asked Harry Rink, Power Quaility Analyst at Keuring Service Nederland, part of Sansidor, together with Karlo Rosing.
All devices that use mains power cause reactive current.
Think of LED lighting, dimmers, chargers for phones and laptops, cooling systems and electric motors.
This occurs when magnetic and electric fields are generated.
The amount of reactive current depends greatly on the quality of the electrical device or installation.
Rink says the phenomenon of reactive current is relatively unknown to many companies and organizations.
‘I regularly sit around the table with clients who themselves are quite technically savvy, but don’t know that a substantial part of their electricity is lost. Blind current is not only relevant for large industrial consumers: even in an office space for fifteen people, the percentage of blind current can be high.’ Consumption down, blind current up Rink emphasizes that blind current is also, or perhaps precisely, a problem in organizations that are already working very sustainably.
Off the gas, a heat pump, LED lighting; all measures that allow organizations to drastically reduce their energy consumption.
But in the meantime they are adding a lot of blind power.
Blind current is especially common in modern equipment and installations, with nonlinear loads.
An old hallogen lamp, for example, creates much less reactive current.
From practice: RGS Wolfsbos in Hoogeveen
Scholengemeenschap RGS Wolfsbos knocked on the door of Keuring Service Nederland for a Power Quality measurement.
The goal?
To measure the power quality, the load of electrical installations and the reactive power.
The percentage of reactive power in the building was 22% of the total energy consumption.
After installing a mains filter, the school saves 22,000 kW annually.
Energy scarcity and high costs Blind current is electricity that is generated, transported and paid for.
‘In times of energy scarcity and sky-high energy costs, you can imagine that companies would like to reduce this percentage,’ says Rink.
‘To save costs, but also to make a social contribution. After all, we are facing an energy shortage worldwide.’ Besides saving energy, less reactive current also ensures a longer life of equipment and installations. Power Quality research Enough reasons to want insight into the amount of reactive current within your organization.
Keuring Service Nederland supports its clients in this.
Rink: ‘We start with a Power Quality investigation, where we connect our measuring equipment to the main connection. We let the measurement run for a half day to a week to map all types of consumption. We compile our findings in a report according to the recognized NEN-EN 50160 standard. This sets out how the reactive current within your company can be reduced.’ Grid filter reduces reactive current These studies show that the share of reactive current within a company is 25 percent on average.
With outliers to 35 percent.
Fortunately, according to Rink, something can be done about this.
‘With our advanced electronic mains filter, the percentage of reactive power can be reduced to below 2 percent. So this ensures enormous energy savings, but also a better quality of mains power. That in turn ensures a longer life of the equipment.’ The costs for the mains filter are between €4,000 and €12,000, depending on the amount of reactive current.
Rink: ‘On average, our clients earn back this investment within 6 to 18 months.’
From practice: Vadeko Prefab in Winsum
With fire prevention in mind, carpentry factory Vadeko Prefab asked Keuring Service Nederland to conduct a Power Quality study.
This revealed that the percentage of reactive current was as much as 40% of total energy consumption.
Since taking measures to reduce reactive current, the factory has been saving 190,000 Kw per year.
Want to know more about the opportunities to reduce reactive power in your organization?
Call us at 0593 -820202 or email us for a free quote: info@stroombesparen.nl.
