A Low Carbon Best Practice Exchange Interview: Seggy Segaran, MD, Crucible Technolgies
Seggy Segaran discusses the benefits of Voltage Management. VM is the systematic reduction in the voltage at the energy consumer to reduce energy use, power demand and reactive power demand. An autotransformer or other such voltage management device which is in series with the electricity supply usually just reduces the voltage for the site's equipment. VM equipment, derived and developed out of Japan, additionally improves power quality by further means such as balancing phase voltages, and filtering harmonics and transients from the supply. Some voltage 'optimisation' devices merely reduce the voltage using a transformer, while VM gives the end-user the ability to control and optimise their supply locally, correcting power quality problems from the grid, and is designed to do so very efficiently. In the UK and Europe, Voltage Management units fitted have achieved average energy savings of around 13% over the last five years, making this one of the fastest-growing energy saving techniques on the world market. Major businesses (including Tesco, Asda, RBS and Hilton Hotels, and Public Sector organisations such as Defra and the Land Registry) have adopted VM techniques as a front-line energy saving measure.