VOLTAGE OPTIMISATION FOR THE NHS: GREATER EFFICIENCY, LOWER COSTS, REDUCED EMISSIONS

The cheapest and greenest unit of energy is the one you don’t use, so a solution that cuts kWh usage is especially helpful for public sector organisations. In the current climate – where options to negotiate tariffs and switch suppliers have dwindled as suppliers have been taken over or gone altogether – one of the best options for energy strategies is Voltage Optimisation (VO), a technology that can offer guaranteed savings.

VO helps reduce on-site electricity usage by stabilising incoming voltage and reducing voltage levels as supplied by the Grid. To ensure that it meets its statutory obligations – within the allowable range of 230V +10% / -6%, or between 216 - 253V – the National Grid’s typical supply is higher than 230V – a significantly higher voltage than the 220V operational requirement for most UK electrical equipment. Operating at a higher voltage than necessary can cause damage to equipment, shortening its lifespan and increasing maintenance costs, while also hitting budgets with wasted energy costs, and creating unnecessary carbon emissions. VO works by optimising the incoming supply from the Grid to match the voltage required by on-site equipment. Traditional VO transforms the entire output, meaning that voltage is reduced but current increases, whereas Powerstar’s patented VO includes a third winding, creating a negative voltage whereby only subtractive power is transformed, reducing both voltage and current, meaning much lower percentage losses.

While VO technology offers the greatest returns for sites consuming high levels of electricity, there are flexible options available - such as Powerstar’s

LITE version which subtracts a set voltage from the incoming supply, or the MAX option which dynamically adjusts voltage subtraction regardless of incoming supply variations. This means there are opportunities for savings across all site types and sizes, and Powerstar work with NHS clients from major hospital sites to small, locally focused health centres.

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals is one of the largest NHS Foundation Trusts in the UK, employing more than 15,000 staff across five hospitals, including The Royal Hallamshire Hospital where nearly 6,000 staff work return on investment. When tasked with advising on energy saving solutions for Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Powerstar undertook a comprehensive review of power usage on-site and recommended VO as the most appropriate technology for Trust investment. Installation of Powerstar’s MAX voltage optimisation solution has achieved a 5.1% saving on energy consumption, reducing the hospital’s power demand from the Grid by 11.57%, largely due to the improved power factor from an average of 0.851 to 0.925. Alongside costs savings and emission reduction, critical and costly specialist equipment within the hospital is protected from excessive voltage – helping to extend its lifespan and reducing maintenance costs.

When Widnes Health Care Resource Centre approached Powerstar, looking for recommendations to improve efficiency, VO was again deemed to be the most suitable technology. The Centre itself is relatively new, and is home to Oaks Place Surgery, a small GP practice that has served Widnes for over 30 years. Powerstar’s site survey showed that VO would cut spending on energy, reduce carbon emissions, while boosting energy resilience to the site by providing more stable power supply. Installation of a 226kVA system has eliminated 46.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, reduced energy consumption by 15.7%, providing a net return on investment in just over two years.

For healthcare facilities where dynamic VO is recommended as the most appropriate option, clients have the additional benefit of remote monitoring, meaning site consumption, harmonics, power factor and voltage can be accessed, while alarms are recorded and stored to give a clear picture of asset performance and proof of savings – typically between six and ten percent. While the benefits of VO for the NHS are clear, there is a compelling case for wider uptake across the UK. If voltage optimisation were to be installed across the country, it could save 11,760 tonnes of CO2 a day – 4,292,400 tonnes per year, equivalent to taking nearly a million cars off the road.1 In an energy crisis, and given the UK’s commitment to Net Zero, this represents significant strides towards a more sustainable future.

To find out more about Powerstar’s solutions for the healthcare sector, download our NHS white paper, Solving the Healthcare Sector’s Energy Trilemma: https://offers.powerstar. com/nhs-white-paper or contact us: W: www.powerstar.com T: 0333 230 1327 E: info@powerstar.com

1 https://bettwerworldsolutions.s3-eu-west-1. amazonaws.com/VO-info-document_UKGlobal-saving-stats-AESSEAL.pdf