Why You Need Power Factor Correction and TVSS Do Not Save Energy

February 8th, 2010 Robert Holdsworth No comments

In today’s energy climate more and more people have become motivated to accomplish what they can to become more energy efficient to conserve energy and money. Regrettably this same climate has encouraged some to take advantage of innocent consumers’ desires to save energy and reduce operating expenses.

Vendors that advertise power factor improvement (kVAR correction) and transient voltage suppression to save energy are a good case in point of this bad trend. Recently we are seeing more and more of these businesses cropping up and we believe it is time to set the record straight.

First off, transient voltage surge suppression (TVSS) plays an important part in improving power quality to guard sensitive equipment inside a facility. However, TVSS does not save energy. TVSS’s are barely active an infinitesimal portion of a second to defend against voltage surges which only last for less than a millisecond. To actually decrease energy use the TVSS would need to essentially cut power consumption for an extended amount of time which is not what they are designed to do. Again, TVSS is essential to protect susceptible electrical equipment but consumers should steer clear of vendors promising, or even guaranteeing, a reduction in energy consumption.

And what about salespeople who maintain that increasing power factor will save 15% or 20% or 30% of energy consumption and resultant costs? This is false but also a bit trickier.

For homes, power factor correction does zero to save energy because the average home already has an average power factor of approximately 0.97 which is nearly the perfect power factor of 1 or unity. Additionally, the unit (called a capacitor) is installed at the homes main circuit breaker. According to IEEE 5.5.3.3 capacitors must be located at or near the individual inductive motor loads to decrease power system losses by reducing heat and distribution losses known as I2R losses.

So what about commercial and industrial facilities looking to use power factor correction to shrink energy expenditures? It is completely appropriate for a business that is incurring penalties or a kVA billing structure from the utility company to improve the facility’s overall power factor by installing a capacitor bank at the main electrical service entrance or individual capacitors at or near the particular motor loads. Doing so will do away with the power factor penalties and/or reduce the kVA demand charges on the electric bill which can save considerable money and provide a significant ROI on the investment.

But what about power factor correction reducing kWh consumption? IEEE also tells us that at most I2R losses only account for 2 to 5% of the total load in a facility. Simple arithmetic tells us that it would be in opposition to the laws of physics to obtain the 15% to 30% energy reduction claimed by some vendors. Consider it. Even if your facility had 5% distribution losses and you could correct 100% of the predicament via power factor correction at every load (which can’t be done) you would still save no more than 5% at most. No where close to the claims of some capacitor reps and manufacturers.

All that said, power factor correction when done appropriately will eliminate utility penalties and kVA demand charges, improve facility power quality, increase electrical system capacity, and save a modicum of energy when applied at the proper motor loads in an industrial facility.

So make an investment in transient voltage surge suppression and power factor correction when appropriate and necessary. But caveat emptor!

Save Money On Your Company’s Energy Bill, visit Energy Edge Technologies site for strategies on saving a tremendous amount of capital on your Corporate Energy Bill or call 888-729-5722 Ext. 100.

Options for Saving by Using Renewable Energy

February 8th, 2010 John Gerace, PhD, PE No comments

There are many different types of renewable energy that can be used in place of energy created by burning fossil fuels. Renewable energy is generated from geothermal heat, sunlight, tides, rain and wind. All of which will naturally replenish. Currently only about 20% of the worlds energy consumption uses natural energy sources.

One of the cleanest and most efficient types of renewable energy is wind power which is slowly gaining in popularity and usage. Wind power is seen more in Europe though many countries are building off shore wind farms. Only a light breeze is needed to generate power and the energy conversion is one of the most efficient of all renewable sources.

Renewable energy is not only being used in large scale production but many can be scaled down to use for small grid or even residential use. The best example of this would be solar power. Solar power takes the suns light and converts it to electricity using solar cells. Solar can easily supplement current electricity usage and some business and people are finding that they no longer pay an electricity bill after conversion to solar power.

Hydropower has been used for years via construction and operation of dams. Most people are familiar with Hoover Dam which is the largest hydropower station in the world. As water flows from a high spot to a low spot it gives off energy which can be transformed into different types of power such as electrical. You also can use hydropower without dams in rivers and oceans as long as there is a current or tide.

Biofuels are mainly based on bioalcohol or bioethanol. This fuel is produced from fermenting soy or sugar that comes from plants. This pure form can then be used instead of gasoline. Biodiesel is an oil made from animal fat, vegetable oils and recycled grease. Although these fuels when burned produce emissions, they are much cleaner than the traditional petrol.

So now that you know, consider how you can make changes and choices to take advantage of these alternatives.

Save Money On Your Company’s Energy Bill, visit Energy Edge Technologies site for strategies on saving a tremendous amount of capital on your Corporate Energy Bill or call 888-729-5722 Ext. 100.

Airsoft Guns And Their Diversity

February 8th, 2010 Anthony Carter No comments

These are basically manufactured for recreational purposes. It can be operated manually or using compressed gas like green gas, CO2 or propane. These are mainly designed for children above 16 or more. The projectiles from the guns when fired from the gun travel at low speed and are very light. Hence these are not harmful. Some of the guns can be operated only by players who are 18 or more. There are several types of airsoft guns for your preference and there are various features in these guns. Let us find out more about these guns.

Spring powered gun is very famous as the name suggests it uses the potential energy placed in the spring so that air is compressed and shot is fired. They have to be cocked properly before using it. These are not the so powerful guns such as electric model and the gas model. But you can fid some advanced guns such as sniper rifles and the shotguns which are very powerful and they have the capacity to fire at 500fps.

Automatic electric gun is one of the most favorite guns for the users and players. The rechargeable batteries are attached to the gun as it helps to drive the motor. They are commonly used around the world. The guns are created at Japan and they are referred as AEG or automatic electric gun. This is because of the function of the airsoft guns is automatic or semi automatic.

The hybrid guns are one of the latest in the present market. The guns belong to the AEG TYPE but they are much more real when compared to the other models. These guns would fire each round for a shell. They would also have the shell casing ejection when a pellet is shot from the gun. This fires the cap and gives out smoke and a real good sound close to the actual guns.

Low powered electric guns, they are popularly known as LPEGs just to distinguish from the AEGs. Don’t confuse them with mini electrics. They can be found at comparable prices and that is the reason they are considered as better choices.

The medium powered electric guns are very versatile guns but they are the copy of the guns that are manufactured by the big names such as classic army originals and Tokyo Marui. These guns would be fully compatible and are also know as MPEG. The spring guns are manufactured by mini electrics company known as UHC. These guns are very famous and are mostly used for the practicing purpose and they are significantly different from the LPEG.

The automatic electric pistols are otherwise know as AEP and were brought into the market in the year 2005. The operation of the gun is based on the electric power system. The guns are considered to be much better than the gas guns as AEPs work better in the cold climate and they have better side arms and there is no particular movement in the slide. The classic guns are the gas powered guns and they are old fashioned. There are two ways in which they run, either on the gas or on the CO2 gas externally.

You can buy airsoft guns based on the power and range you want and you can check out some good deals over the net. Some times there are discounts are available. There are many sites which have good choices of airsoft guns with the latest models.

Author Information: Anthoy Carter enjoys the sport of airsoft and is very knowlegdeable about airsoft guns. Go to this website to find the best place to find airsoft guns.