CHEP makes a smaller footprint with Elcomponent Loggers  |  2010-26-08

CHEP, the global leader in pallet and container pooling services, has implemented a Sustainability programme to reduce the environmental impact of its plant operations. CHEP is now using Elcomponent SPCPro portable three-phase energy data loggers to monitor the energy use of individual plant and processes across Europe.

CHEP selected SPCPro for this application because it is easy and safe to use, it requires no special knowledge of electrical systems to operate and because of its compact and lightweight, yet robust, construction.

The SPCPro energy data loggers are playing a key role in CHEP's 'Measure to Manage' programme, which the company has implemented to provide accurate and detailed information about the energy consumed by machines and equipment in its service centres in the UK, Ireland, Benelux and Spain.

The information produced by the data loggers is carefully analysed, using the 'PowerPackPro' software package supplied as part of the SPCPro kit, to reveal areas of high consumption and to identify opportunities for improving energy management so as to reduce both the company's expenditure on energy and its carbon footprint.

Since CHEP has so many sites and so much equipment, portable instruments were the logical (and very cost-effective) choice for this application. Many portable three-phase energy data loggers, however, require specialist knowledge to use safely since they require voltage connections to be made to all three phases, usually with some form of temporary connector such as a crocodile clip. While this is no problem for a properly trained technician, it is certainly not a task that should be attempted by anyone who does not have the appropriate skills.

By contrast, the SPCPro requires only one voltage input and this is easily and safely obtained by plugging the instrument in to the nearest wall socket - a job which anyone can do safely. The instrument's current transformers are fully insulated flexible loop types and are, therefore, equally safe and easy to use.

Elcomponent's innovative and highly acclaimed 'PowerPackPro' software which is used to analyse the data from the instrument ensures that despite the use of only one voltage input, accurate and dependable information about real energy use is obtained. These factors, along with the very competitive price of the SPCPro, were decisive for CHEP in its choice of instruments.

CHEP has already made extensive use of the SPCPro, and has found that it fully lives up to the claims made . The data provided is proving invaluable to CHEP in its efforts to reduce its costs and its environmental impact, and the instruments are delivering a healthy carbon saving to capital expenditure ratio.

Elcomponent Keeps An Eye On Energy In The Antarctic  |  2011-05-12

In support of its strong commitment to minimising the environmental impact of its operations, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is making extensive use of energy sub-metering equipment and software supplied by Elcomponent, a leading developer of energy monitoring systems and solutions. Elcomponent equipment is installed both at the BAS UK headquarters in Cambridge, and at the organisation's research stations in the Antarctic.

The main installation in the Antarctic is at BAS's Rothera research station, a research centre that is operational all year round with a staffing level that ranges from around 20 people in the winter up to 120 people at the height of the local summer. The research station derives all of its electricity from on-site marine gas oil powered generator sets, with the demand varying from 180 kW in the winter to as much as 360 kW in the summer.

The principal loads on the electrical system are the research station's IT and communications equipment, its kitchen installations, its drinking water plant and lighting. To determine exactly where the energy is being used with a view to identifying opportunities for making savings, BAS has installed ten Elcomponent sub-meters, with an additional 14 meter being connected to the system this year.

Fortunately, the Elcomponent equipment was designed with ease of installation in mind, which meant that BAS electricians were easily able to install the equipment itself, prior to final commissioning by the IT dept. A decided advantage bearing in mind that the site is one of the most remote on the planet!

Data from the Elcomponent system at the Antarctic research station is monitored at the organisation's Cambridge headquarters via a satellite link. Analysis of the data is also performed in Cambridge.

"The Elcomponent equipment has proved easy to use, reliable and accurate," said Paul Thacker, Sustainability and Services Engineer at BAS, "and the data analysis software is both reliable and flexible. In addition, we receive excellent service and support from Elcomponent - the company is always very responsive to our needs. It is, for example, currently working on facilities that will allow us to transfer the data from its systems to a SQL database, where we will be able to manipulate it in conjunction with data we hold from other sources."

Currently, a major area of focus for the BAS energy-monitoring programme is the reverse-osmosis unit that supplies the drinking water for the Rothera research station. This is one of the largest electrical loads, and the BAS team are using data from the energy monitoring system as an aid to finding ways in which its overall consumption can be reduced.

The Elcomponent system is also proving useful at the BAS headquarters in Cambridge, where it is, for example, being used to generate baseline data for a lighting installations before it is converted to use LED bulbs and luminaires. After the conversion, the data currently being gathered will allow an accurate assessment to be made of the energy saved by the new light sources prior to site-wide roll-out of the scheme.

The sub-metering system is also providing invaluable data about the energy used by the organisation's IT installation, as it yields information that is sufficiently detailed to allow the power consumption of the servers to be monitored separately from that of the air-conditioning plant. This is making the task of optimising the rooms cooling much easier and it will also allow the savings to be quantified.

BAS installed the first phase of its Elcomponent sub-metering system almost three years ago, and has found that the data it produces is an invaluable aid to enhancing energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions. In the near future, the organisation plans to extend the system to include detailed monitoring of a facility currently being constructed in the Antarctic on behalf of the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research. This will incorporate a roof-mounted a solar PV installation which has the potential to make a significant contribution to the building's energy use during the summer period and BAS are keen to ensure that this is utilised to maximum effect.

Elcomponent's managing director Bill Gysin commented saying, "It's a privilege to be associated with an organisation with the credentials of BAS. They are right at the cutting edge of the effects of Climate Change, and that awareness is in the forefront of everything they do. The fact that they use Elcomponent systems to assist them in their own energy and carbon management strategies is something we're very proud of."

University of Bath  |  2009-01-05

A combination of technology, information and people make big savings!

3 West North (3WN) is one of the newest buildings on the campus, built in 2005 to house a number of research laboratories as part of the Department of Physics. It includes drawing towers for making photonic crystal fibres, a 200-seater lecture theatre and two general teaching classrooms for 100 and 30 people, as well as various labs with equipment including lasers, lathes and furnaces. This vital research, however, is energy intensive, and the building has an annual electricity bill of £70,000.

Within the Department of Estates, significant investment has been made in improving the energy monitoring of buildings such as this, and through the Our Big Energy Challenge project, a departmental energy champion has been trained and now acts as a point of contact for the Energy & Environment team.

This champion, technician Harry Bone, together with Alan George, the Technical Manager for the department, helped organise the key people to get together and examine the energy information for the building. An action plan was put together and certain key changes to the operating regime were made, without risking the integrity of the research conditions.

The very positive results of this exercise can be seen in the graphs below showing the weekly electricity usage pattern before, during and after the changes were made.

Before:

The week the changes were made...

And the following week (and every week after that...)

And so, thanks to the efforts of Harry, Alan and the team in Estates we have saved:
380,000 kWh every year
£35,000 every year
160 tonnes CO2 every year

SPC Pro Achieves 51% Saving at MoD Site!

Leading Energy and Carbon Reduction Specialists C3 Resources Ltd are metering and data logging experts so it�s no surprise that Elcomponent�s SPC PROs are a major part of their toolkit. However, a recent major project opportunity required an even more innovative approach than usual to work around the restrictions of the site and its operating conditions. The SPC PRO is usually plugged into the mains whilst logging, but it�s a versatile instrument and for applications where no voltage hookup is available, its hefty internal battery provides up to 3 weeks logging. However in this instance that was not sufficient. The project was going to need at least 20 units in use simultaneously for up to six weeks, and in order to provide the necessary survey endurance a new approach was needed.

The challenge was to double the battery life of the SPC PRO but remain within the tight cost constraints necessary to keep the project viable. It was also important that the instrument�s core advantages of compact dimensions and ease-of-use in the field were not compromised. The solution came in the form of a very efficient external lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack which boosted the �no voltage available� survey duration of the PC PRO from three to six weeks. Integrating the additional battery pack required some modifications to the logger which were carried out as a �level 2 special build� during production, and took the form of a revised power supply design and a new input socket to allow the external battery to be connected. These �C3 Specials� were supplied as complete kits in Elcomponent�s standard zip-up case complete with all accessories and ready to start work immediately.



Ian Beynon, Operations Director at C3 Resources takes up the story:

�The level of service from Elcomponent was excellent and it was really refreshing to work with a dynamic, forward-thinking, company that understands and cares about their customer needs.
The SPC PRO data loggers with the bespoke modifications have already been utilised extensively throughout the MOD estate and are really proving their worth. In one recent application 51% of HVAC energy was saved by identifying out-of-hours electricity consumption. As a result of the �Energy Mapping� exercise 13% of the total building�s electricity has been saved.�

Elcomponent Sales Manager Debbie Burton adds:

�I really wanted to be able to help the guys at C3 Resources out, although the spec initially sounded like a tough call. In fact, the project went very smoothly � they were able to tell us exactly what they needed and we were able to agree the revised logger spec, and then sign off the design and build the units inside six weeks�.