Legend Power Blog

Conservation Voltage Regulation (CVR) is an energy conservation technique that regulates the incoming voltage to buildings.

To compensation for line loss along the power grid, buildings at the beginning of the grid receive voltage at higher levels than others. This leads to energy waste, higher energy bills and unnecessary carbon dioxide emissions. Over $1 billion is wasted per year by commercial buildings due to forced grid consumption.

How Conservation Voltage Regulatioin Works

There is an optimal minimum voltage level below the primary level (600V CA, 480V US, 400V EU) where lights, motors, etc, will operate comfortably with no effect on their practical performance. At 5% below the primary voltage (570V CA, 456V US, 380V EU) these loads are still within manufacturer’s specifications but will work with less waste…

Last month CleanTech released it’s CleanTech Investment Monitor 1Q 2010 Report. CleanTech’s Investment Monitor is a  quarterly report on cleantech investment trends. Last month’s report highlights the growth of cleantech markets, particularly in energy efficiency. Some of the report’s key findings:

“VC funding continues to bounce back led by North America.”

Global cleantech venture investment for the first quarter of 2010 reached $2.1 billion — the highest quarterly investment total since 3Q08. North America had 82% of the share of the investment total.

“Transportation and energy efficiency lead the way in sector preferences.”

Although the amount raised by energy efficiency companies, $296 million, was down 5% from 4Q09, the most number of deals for the quarter was in energy efficiency, at 42 deals.

The report states, “Of the…

Legend Power is featured in Alternative Energy eMagazine’s June/July 2010 issue. The article profiles our case study of how we helped Honda Canada save 6% of their power costs:

In 2007, Legend Power completed a beta installation of a 500 amp Electrical Harmonizer-AVR to help reduce Honda Canada’s electrical energy consumption.  After completing the installation, initial measurement and verification found Honda Canada had successfully saved electrical energy.  In 2009, Legend Power completed a technical review of this project to verify that the Electrical Harmonizer-AVR installed in 2007 is still effectively saving electrical energy…

As a result of installing an Electrical Harmonizer-AVR, Honda Canada has achieved the following results:

Annual kWh Savings: 76,271
Average kW Reduction: 8.73
Percent Savings: 5.98%
Dollar Savings: $4,400

The savings achieved…

The Financial Post has been running a series the last few months called “Ontario’s Power Trip”. In the series, Parker Gallant, a retired Canadian banker, explores the finances and politics behind Ontario’s power sector. With power that’s already priced 65% higher than Quebec and Manitoba, it’s about time someone explored the problems with Ontario’s power.

Gallant says,

As a former banker, I have no direct expertise in the electrical sector. I was simply curious as to why my electricity bill in Ontario went up when my consumption went down. What I found as I researched is a bewildering story of a province whose electrical sector is in trouble. Ontario is a high-price energy province and, under current policy, it is poised for a further escalation in prices. In short, Ontario is pricing itself out of the market and will not have the ability…

Now when you install Legend Power’s smart transformer, the Electrical Harmonizer-AVR, in your building it will contribute up to 5 points to your LEED certification. Kyle Anders, a Sustainable Design Specialist, states:

5 points is a very noteworthy contribution in my experience, it is rare that a single product/technology can have this high of an impact.  I don’t have experience with evaluating other voltage optimization technologies, but since LEED emphasizes reductions in energy cost (rather than just energy), Legend has the advantage over many other energy savings technologies since it impacts electricity (the more expensive portion of a building’s energy use), compared to other technologies that may generate heating fuel savings but not electricity savings.

Read the full press release.

According to the U.S. Green…

International Distribution Launches as Domestic Sales Momentum Builds

Burnaby, British Columbia, May 20, 2010 – Legend Power Systems Inc. (“Legend Power”) (TSX-V: LPS) (FSE:XLE) announces that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ElectroFlow Solutions (UK) Limited (EFS) to purchase the distributor license for Legend’s patented electrical conservation technology in the United Kingdom. The agreement includes an initial system as well as engineering and training services leading to the execution of a full distributor license.

Electricity rates in the UK are two to three times those in Canada and with the country’s switch from UK 220v to the EU standard 230v, forced over voltage energy waste is a significant problem that Legend Power’s Harmonizer-AVR’s conservation voltage reduction technology…

Commercial energy efficiency measures generally gain wide-spread adoption through utilities — either with their use of the technology or with their approval.

But how do utilities filter through all of the products and options available to decide on what energy efficiency measures to support? What do utility managers want to see when they’re considering new technologies?

In our experience at Legend Power, utilities look for technology that is proven to save energy and that won’t cause problems on the power grid (harmonics, poor power factor etc.). They also look at the cost effectiveness of the technology when making their decisions.

The following items help show a product is proven and won’t cause problems to the grid:

• UL approval. This may be costly but well worth the investment.
• Case studies & pilot projects with third party verification of …
  

Note: This article was originally published in Green Technology Report.

By Jonathan T. Orr

www.GreenTechnologyReport.com | Full Article

Friday, May 14,  2010

When Green Technology Report last talked to Gerry Gill CEO of Legend Power (TSX.V: LPS, FSE: XLE) he spoke confidently not only of the good their proprietary smart grid technology can do for the environment by enabling commercial facilities to minimize carbon footprints by reducing electricity usage by up to 10 percent, but also about the momentum that Legend Power was building selling the technology directly to large retailers in…

A couple of weeks ago we looked at BOMA Toronto’s Conservation and Demand Management (CDM) Program and the incentive funding available through BOMA for the Toronto area. This week, we’ll look at incentive funding in British Columbia through the Public Sector Energy Conservation Agreement (PSECA).

PSECA is a project between BC Hydro and the Province to fund public sector building retrofits. The purpose is to significantly reduce energy consumption across more htan 6,500 public sector buildings.The project will invest $200 million in new technology, energy innovation and retrofits.

By 2020, the project is aiming for a 20% reduction in public sector energy consumption or a net savings of 342 gigawatt hours of electricity annually. This is enough to power 34,200 homes.

According to the original press release,…

Legend Power’s Ontario Market Potential More Than Triples

Burnaby, British Columbia, May 10, 2010 – Legend Power Systems Inc. (TSX-V: LPS) (FSE: XLE) (“Legend Power”) advises that as of April 14th 2010, the Ontario Power Authority substantially increased their conservation incentive funding across the entire province of Ontario for non-lighting technologies such as the Electrical Harmonizer-AVR, more than tripling both Legend Power’s incentive funding in the regions outside Metro Toronto and the company’s addressable market size.

The Electricity Retrofit Incentive Program, better known as ERIP, has increased incentive funding to $800/kW from $250/kW for non-lighting measures. This program, while funded by the Ontario Power Authority, is executed and administered by Local Distribution Companies (LDCs) throughout the province. This funding increase now allows our customers outside of the 416 exchange…