Energy management
April 2008
Electrical Power & Protection
Recent events have brought the reality of large-scale power cuts into our homes and businesses. Power outages are here to stay and will be an annoying and costly part of our lives in times to come.
The solution is to treat electricity as a strategic resource and improve energy management in the home. Two such measures are manufactured and distributed by CBI-electric: low voltage, the energy control unit (ECU) and the load control relay (LCR).
Both the ECU and the LCR are load shedding devices used to control non-essential loads eg, electrically heated water tanks, under-floor heating and airconditioning units during high demand periods.
For example, when a stove (the controlling circuit) is switched on and the current exceeds the rating of the ECU or LCR, the supply to the hot water geyser (controlled circuit) will be temporarily interrupted. The ECU or LCR rating should be low enough to ensure the timely interruption of the controlled circuit. Both the ECU and LCR are compact in size for convenience of mounting.
The ECU is equipped with the following:
* An LED indicates whether the controlled circuit is interrupted or connected.
* Operating point is unaffected by ambient temperature.
* Instantaneous interruption of controlled circuit at 105% and instantaneous re-connection at 65% of controlling circuit rated current.
* Controlled circuit switching capabilities 21 A at 230 V (resistive load).
The LCR has the following features:
* A bimetal control unit, which allows for greater tolerance of switching point and interrupts the controlled circuit at 125% and reconnects at 80% of the controlling circuit rated current.
* Controlled circuit switching capabilities of 3 and 5 kW for resistive loads.
For more information contact John Raptakis, CBI-electric, +27 (0)11 928 2000, mnolte@cbi-electric.com, www.cbi-electric.com
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