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 heat, longer life, a lower carbon foot print and less energy.

CVR regulates buildings’ incoming voltages to optimal levels through a transformer and a tap changer.

Legend Power’s transformer and tap changer is called the Electronic Harmonizer-Automatic Voltage Regulator. It is an on-load automatic electronic tap changer with a high efficiency autotransformer that regulates voltage to the optimal level.

The Harmonizer component adjusts the incoming voltage to the optimum operating level for each facility as determined by an extensive pre-installation assessment. Currently, the Harmonizer can optimize the incoming voltage by 0% (bypass), 2%, 4% or 6%, creating a significant reduction in energy consumption and peak demand. Power grids will fluctuate on a regular basis so flexibility in the rate of voltage reduction is critical to maximizing conservation and eliminating risk.

The Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) continually monitors a facility’s incoming voltage level and automatically selects the correct tap setting on the autotransformer to ensure power is always entering the facility at an optimal level. If grid voltage levels drop below the minimum optimal, the system is immediately bypassed ensuring that the energy flow to your building is never negatively affected.

The Electrical Harmonizer-AVR maximizes voltage optimization, improves power quality and operates at an efficiency of greater than 99.5%.

Benefits of Conservation Voltage Regulation

The Electronic Harmonizer reduces energy consumption by 6-10% by:

• Reducing energy consumption: kWh
• Reducing real power: kW
• Reducing reactive power: kVar

In addition to reducing energy consumption, CVR technology increases the life expectancy of equipment. All electrical equipment is designed to operate at +/- 5% of their rated valued. Voltage optimization ensures that equipment is operating at the lower limit, which increases the life expectancy of equipment. For example, after Science World installed the Harmonizer-AVR, they doubled the life of their exterior light bulbs on their geodesic dome, and went from having to change the bulbs once a year to once every two years.

Overall, Conservation Voltage Regulation benefits both the end user – through power savings and improved equipment efficiency – and utilities – through reduced power losses. CVR benefits both groups by reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

For more information about Legend Power’s Conservation Voltage Regulation technology, download our technical brochure (PDF) or watch our corporate video:

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 Canada.

Well with Legend Power’s recent announcement of an agreement with one of Canada’s largest distributors and retailers of hardware, renovations and gardening supplies, to install its first Electrical Harmonizer-AVR in one of its Toronto outlets, that confidence has proven to be well founded.

This significant agreement demonstrates clearly that this retailer’s commitment to sustainability has led them to choose Legend Power’s smart grid technology to reduce its annual energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions, now rather than in some distant future. The potential for further sales for Legend Power is huge as the retailer has 700 corporate, franchises and affiliates stores, and will be evaluating additional stores for implementation of the Electrical Harmonizer-AVR.

Gill stated, “This is the result of having a product with proven energy saving results as well as the strength of our marketing team. We now have 21 facility audits scheduled with a further 14 proposals out and the potential for forty to fifty other facilities in Ontario. Then we’re looking at California and its million plus buildings”.

The opportunity for Legend Power to capitalize on this momentum is made even more likely by the fact that the Ontario Power Authority has increased its conservation incentive funding for the entire province for technologies such as Legend Power’s Electrical Harmonizer-AVR, which will triple the companies incentive funding and addressable market size outside metro Toronto.

While many green technology companies struggle to convince businesses of the practicality of their products or to demonstrate clear savings to companies, Legend Power continues to power forward and now has a full pipeline of sales about to pour forth in Canada and beyond. Based on the fact that this announcement is precisely what the company told us they would accomplish when we last wrote about them we think clean tech minded investors that admire results will want to ride this momentum with them.

Electricity Savings Now

While climate legislation and green energy policies remain stalled throughout the world, Legend Power provides a solution that will make practical sense to anyone: with it’s patented technology they can reduce a company’s energy costs by simply optimizing voltage use. With Legend Power’s smart grid system companies need not go through lengthy government consultations or costly environmental evaluations, they can save money today and reduce stress on the broader electricity grid while doing it.

For environmentally concerned consumers, green focused CEOs, and clean tech investors, deciding upon the best possible solutions to our dilemma of ever increasing GHG gas emissions can promote paralysis. So rather than generate more statistical smog or elucidating more convoluted theories, lets just sum up what Legend Power can offer.

• Up to 10% savings on electricity with improved efficiency
• A free facility audit
• A direct reduction in electricity grid usage
• A clear and concurrent reduction in C02 emissions
• No lengthy government consultations or environmental assessments

Gill was clear about LPS’ sales potential for other large retailers “We have a great answer to the question that any CEO would ask. How can you help us? We can help you by saving you money right now, not in the future and by reducing your corporation’s carbon footprint in one the world’s most environmentally aware countries. We can do this for you today.”

How It Works

The Electrical Harmonizer-AVR uses a transformer with a set of taps to set the degree of voltage optimization for the incoming power supply. The AVR component enables the taps to automatically change, under load, in response to fluctuations of the power grid. By optimizing the voltage level the Electrical Harmonizer-AVR allows customers to reduce energy consumption, peak demand, greenhouse gas emissions and maintenance costs while improving overall power quality issues.

The fundamental concept underlying Legend Power’s technology is based on “Conservation Voltage Regulation” (CVR) or Voltage Optimization. Simply put, the patented Electrical Harmonizer-AVR allows you to make best use of your electricity by giving you voltage when you need it and by limiting it when you don’t. Unbeknownst to many companies, they are frequently paying for electricity that they are not using as well as operating machinery and lights at its highest capacity and prematurely wearing them out.

Proof Is In The Power Savings

Many companies promising these kinds of energy savings and emissions reductions simply state that this is the case and ask you to rely on their expertise without being able to prove it. Legend Power’s Electrical Harmonizer-AVR results have been proven to reduce electricity consumption by 7% to 10% and have been independently verified by no other authority than BC Hydro. But you don’t have to take BC Hydro’s word because LPS will provide your company with a free energy use audit. This process includes a review of your energy billing, a walkthrough of your facility, a simulation of the Electrical Harmonizer-AVR technology and an in-depth presentation of the results.

This sale to such a large Canadian retailer is a clear testament to the attractiveness of Legend Power’s technology for clients who want to effectively and economically achieve substantial energy savings, while reducing their carbon footprint “. But LPS don’t intend to stop at Canada’s borders.

As Leonard Cohen might have put it for Legend ‘Once we take Ontario, then we take California’. Mr. Gill pointed out that “California is the world’s 8^th biggest economy with a million buildings and some of the highest utility rates in the country. It holds massive potential for a company like us and we intend to make it our next field of expansion”

Legend Power is on the cusp of major sales in Ontario with a focused and aggressive Canadian and North American expansion plan. At this rate it’s starting to look as though Legend Power are living up to their name as we predicated when we first wrote about them on GTR and bold investors will want to be part of the story.

Follow the company’s progress at: http://www.legendpower.com/

DISCLOSURE: A fee has been paid for the production and distribution of this article and as such should be viewed in the context of advertising.

Dave Orton, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Legend Power, explains the problems with the power grid, including line loss, peak demand and power fluctuation. These three problems come together to create a buffer of unnecessary energy, which results in economic and environmental waste for commercial buildings. Legend Power has developed a solution to the problems of the power grid, the Harmonizer-AVR.

Dr. William Dunford is Legend Power’s Chief Technology Officer and developer of the automatic voltage regulator and an Associate Professor in Electrical Engineering & Power Electronics at UBC.

Dr. Dunford has a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Imperial College, London and a PhD from the University of Toronto. He has also been a faculty member at both institutions. Dr. Dunford’s industrial experience includes periods in the aerospace industry at the Royal Aircraft Establishment (now Qinetiq) and Alcatel Espace. He was also a field engineer for Schlumberger in various locations in the Middle East.

Dr. Dunford has been involved with many research projects in conjunction with companies and government agencies, including a teaching company scheme in the UK. Several of these projects have been related to energy conversion and alternative energy, such as a photovoltaic powered pumping system for African villages and a similar system for watering cattle in British Columbia. Others have involved the design of hardware for industrial and traction applications, such as a drive system for a mining locomotive.

Dr. Dunford has been on Legend Power’s board since 2006 and he was Legend Power’s first webinar speaker on The Effects of Voltage Optimization.

Mike Harcourt is the former premier of British Columbia (1991 -1996), mayor of Vancouver (1980 – 1986) and city councilor.

Between 1996 and 2004, he was appointed by the Prime Minister to serve as a member of the National Round Table on the Environment and Economy and Chaired the Urban Sustainability Program. Mike is an Honorary Chair of the International Centre for Sustainable Cities, and Co-Chair of the International Panel of Advisors.

Mike received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service in 2005 and was awarded the Canadian Urban Institute’s Jane Jacobs Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.

In addition to his achievements, Mike has also written 3 books: Mark Harcourt: A Measure of Defiance; Plan B: One Man’s Journey from Tragedy to Triumph (with John Lekich); and City Making in Paradise: Nine Decisions that Saved Greater Vancouver’s Livability (with Ken Cameron and Sean Rossiter).

Mike is an active advocate for sustainability and has been a member of Legend Power’s board for 8 years.