Electrical Power & Protection


Lock down energy costs

June 2010 Electrical Power & Protection

Reducing energy with Schneider Electric’s power management systems.

According to Patrick Gaonach, Schneider Electric South Africa’s country president, analysing energy consumption and cost allocation is the first step to optimised energy spending. He explains that the company’s energy use analysis solutions can provide businesses the means to understand energy consumption of all relevant utilities.

“Through proper cost allocation and sub-billing reports, building owners can hold tenants more accountable for energy costs and subsequently reduce overall energy usage by between eight and 10%,” he says. “In addition, our energy tariff optimisation solutions can significantly impact overall utility costs. Businesses can optimise these expenses if they have the knowledge to negotiate secure and advantageous supply agreements and fully leverage the best available tariffs.”

To gain insight into and control over energy related costs, risks and opportunities, Schneider Electric’s PowerLogic technology offers energy intelligence to help businesses proactively manage consumption and operating expenses while supporting strategic decision making and best energy management practices.

“This range of software and metering products is specially designed to increase energy efficiency, fully utilise existing assets and cut emissions without compromising output or product quality,” explains Gaonach. “Furthermore, businesses can optimise the management of electrical installations by integrating the company’s Masterpact solution with a general supervision system. It allows alarms to be programmed for remote indications and when used together with PowerLogic ION Enterprise software, the electrical data (current, voltage, frequency, power and power quality) can be exploited to reduce energy and operations costs, improve power quality, reliability and uptime as well as optimise equipment usage.”

Masterpact is equipped with a Micrologic electronic control unit that offers all types of current and advanced protection, measurement and communication, ensuring safety at all times. Protection functions are separated from the measurement functions and are managed by an ASIC electronic component. This independence guarantees immunity from conducted or radiated disturbances and ensures a high degree of reliability. The system also enables automatic control and management of power sources in low voltage distribution networks, guaranteeing high reliability of installations.

For more information contact Isabel Mwale, Schneider Electric, +27 (0)11 254 6400, [email protected], www.schneider-electric.co.za



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