Informing the electrical industry for over 140 years
June 2017 Volume 250 | No 6 www.electricalreview.co.uk
Smart lighting Opportunities for contractors
Safety Protecting structures from lightning strikes
Energy management Energy storage can boost wind power development
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CONTENTS | 3
04 NEWS Electrical industry accidents at all-time low
08 GOSSAGE Gossage:gossip
10 LIGHTING Now is the time for retrofitting LEDs
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18 SAFETY Protecting structures from lightning strike
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4 | NEWS
Electrical industry accidents at all-time low
Bill Wright – obituary
The electrical contracting industry has continued its excellent safety record with a further improvement in the reportable accident rate, contributing to a remarkable trend of continual improvement over the last 15 years. The 2016 JIB ‘Survey of Accidents’ report, based on statistics gathered by JIB and ECA members, shows that the 2016 accident incidence rate (AIR) for RIDDOR-reportable accidents is only 14% of what it was in 2001. Once again, there were no reported fatalities in the survey, which showed an industry AIR of 216.38 per 100,000 operatives, which compares to the 2001 figure of 1600/100,000. Of the accidents
Bill Wright sadly died on Saturday 20 May.
that occurred in 2016, falls were reported as the most prevalent type of serious injury. According to Paul Reeve, who leads ECA’s health and safety activity: “We’ll be taking a further look at falls from height in particular but the number and, more importantly, the rate of reportable accidents among JIB members has fallen to its lowest ever. This is a great achievement, and it’s the result of an industry team effort from ECA, Unite, member companies and employees. The rate of improvement since 2001 is around double that seen in the wider construction industry.“ To read the Survey of Accidents at Work report visit www.jib.org.uk/jib-accidentsurvey.
After graduating from Cambridge University in 1975, Bill spent the early part of his career in the civil service, latterly working for now privatised Qinetiq as head of test services. A chartered electrical engineer, Bill then moved to the John Lewis Partnership, where he held a variety of roles over a 25-year period, including chief electrical engineer and corporate energy manager. In recent years Bill has been the ECA’s head of energy solutions, a role in which he made such a major and sustained contribution, with his vast knowledge of technical and energy matters. A fellow of the IET, Bill also played a key role in the development of previous and the latest Wiring Regulations. As someone truly committed to the success of our industry, Bill also held a variety of non-executive roles at bodies including Electrical Safety First, Gas Safety Trust, SummitSkills and NICEIC. From 2013-14, Bill was also Master of the City of London Lightmongers Livery Company. Bill’s interests included sailing and hill walking. He had an abundance of energy and enthusiasm and approached everything with a smile and a great sense of humour. His passing is a great loss to all who knew him and our sympathies are with his family at this difficult time.
First HALO lectures to apprentice electricians hailed success by colleges The first lectures to groups of apprentice electricians under the HALO scheme have recently taken place and been hailed a success by colleges where they were delivered, announces Hylec-APL, a specialist supplier of electrical components and enclosures. The company’s HALO initiative aims to support people entering the electrical industry via training programmes at colleges and other organisations by offering free guest lectures from an experienced electrical industry contractor to inspire with insights into the wide scope of work available to apprentices, some ‘how to get ahead in your career’ tips and best practice advice. Electrical Review | June 2017
The first HALO lecture took place at Barnfield College, Luton, on 2 May, to a packed classroom of 27 City & Guilds Level I and Level II students, plus staff. HALO guest lecturer and ambassador, Tony Brogan, held the students’ attention for close on two hours as he spoke about toolkits, understanding the latest regulations, personal safety and responsibility and an in-depth look at some of the many interesting projects he has worked on, ranging from off-shore oil rigs to large commercial buildings. The following day, students at Amersham College attended the second HALO lecture,
showing great engagement and interest throughout by asking Brogan questions about the scope of work ranging from commercial through domestic installations they will be able to undertake as qualified electrical contractors. A representative from the local branch of Edmundson Electrical, a Hylec wholesale partner, also spoke to students at both lectures, introducing the company and explaining how it assists all electricians, electrical contractors and engineers by providing a comprehensive service and range of quality products sourced from leading suppliers.
NEWS | 5
Keep up to date with building controls
New findings from ECA and Considerate Constructors Scheme highlight growing importance of CSR
The Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA) is inviting electrical contractors to expand on their building controls knowledge with the second in a suite of six courses
Almost half of buyer documents (48%) seen by electrotechnical businesses with turnover above £1m now ask about engagement with corporate social responsibility (CSR), according to new survey findings from the ECA and the Considerate Constructors Scheme. Just one in four (24%) said that no buyer document they had encountered had mentioned CSR. In addition, over half of businesses (53%) with turnover above £5m actively ask their own supply chain about their CSR policy and activity. In addition, three-quarters of businesses (76%) with turnover above £1m responded that they are actively engaged with CSR, and although 24% said they don’t currently manage CSR, the majority of these businesses said they would consider doing so. Over half of all respondents (53%) said they expect the importance of CSR to their organisation to grow in the next 5 -10 years. Just 10% said they did not expect its importance to increase, with the remainder (37%) unsure. ECA director of business Paul Reeve commented: “These ECA survey findings highlight the growing importance of CSR in procurement, and the significance which many businesses now place on ethical and responsible business practices. “In addition to better company engagement with buyers and others, continual development in this area can help companies, and the industry
within which they operate, to be more attractive to prospective employees.” Considerate Constructors Scheme chief executive Edward Hardy added: “The ECA’s survey findings highlight the growing importance of CSR for all ECA members. “The Considerate Constructors Scheme is in the prime position to support ECA members to embed CSR principles in relation to their important work they do across the construction industry, and we look forward to supporting more organisations to achieve this goal.” The top five CSR issues identified by survey respondents were as follows: the environment (63%), occupational health and safety (55%), employee welfare (50%), ethical behaviour (43%), and supporting local initiatives (37%). The ECA’s CSR survey was completed by around 150 ECA member businesses during April and May this year. Further survey findings will be released later this quarter. CSR is a voluntary, ethical and strategic approach to action and stakeholder engagement, in support of improved environmental and societal impacts. The aim is to produce value for both the organisation and the wider society in which it operates.
BC2 - Measuring and Control Technology is designed for engineers and installers and will equip participants with an understanding of the basic terms of control technology. The course covers measuring and control technology in depth, as well as the correct use and application of equipment used for measuring HVAC systems. With the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart technology continuing to rise in popularity. Now is the ideal time for electrical contractors to broaden their knowledge and meet growing customer demands for smarter buildings. Malcolm Anson, president of the BCIA says: “Electrical contractors are increasingly being expected to install basic building controls. The six BCIA courses offer the ideal way to increase your skills and knowledge, and help to drive your business and the building controls industry forward.” On successful completion of BC2, participants will be awarded with a CPD certificate accredited by CIBSE. This together with completion of BC1 and BC3, will lead to an industry wide recognised Technical Certificate in Building Controls. The BCIA training programme takes place at training centres in Peterborough, Edenbridge and Rotherham. For further information on all BCIA courses and to book your place, visit the website. www.bcia.co.uk
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6 | NEWS
Former footballer and electrician tops bill of guest speakers More than 500 electrical contractors descended on Epsom Downs for the annual Live South event from NICEIC and ELECSA. This year’s star attraction was former England footballer Stuart Pearce. Pearce worked as an electrician before finding fame as a footballer. He told a captivated audience about his time on the tools whilst working as an electrician for Brent Council alongside his experiences of working for some of the most famous names in football. Pearce famously still worked as an electrician after signing his first professional deal with Coventry City. The work, he said, supplemented the wages he received as a footballer, which was less than an employed electrician back then in 1983. He eventually gave up the life of a spark when he secured a big money move to Nottingham Forest a few years later, adding that it was unlikely footballers of today would need to work part-time as an electrician. Following his talk, Pearce, who was capped 78 times by England, took time out to visit the exhibition hall, speaking to exhibitors and stopping off for hundreds of selfies with the crowd. The crowd also heard talks from NICEIC and
ELECSA’s Tony Cable and Darren Staniforth. It was the final Live South event for Cable who has clocked up more than 60 years in the industry and is retiring in June. Cable said: “I have had an amazing career in this industry and met lots of wonderful people. I hope I have managed to pass on a few things that I have learnt along the way.” Attendees were also able to quiz NICEIC and ELECSA’s technical experts during a debate which threw up many questions and queries surrounding the current regulations. There were also talks from Neil Baldwin from Scolmore on emergency lighting, David Lewis from Schneider on asset management and Phillip Schuster from Loxone about the growing opportunities for contractors in smart home technology. The event was sponsored by Bosch Power Tools, Denmans, Elite Security Products, Schneider Electric and The Scolmore Group. In addition to the talks contractors were able to look around an exhibition hall featuring some of the biggest names in the industry. They were able to try out the latest kit and take advantage of special offers including £250 worth of discounts.
Lighting legislation, compliance control and production testing Do you understand all the legislative requirements when placing lighting products on the market? If you are unsure or have any questions then sign up for the Lighting Industry Academy’s course covering lighting legislation, compliance control and production testing. This one day course will take you through the relevant regulations and directives. Explaining how the twelve current legislative requirements, such as, LVD, EMCD, RoHS and ERP can affect manufacturers, importers and distributors of lighting products. Once product compliance has been achieved, production control is needed to ensure continued conformity. Do you have this covered? Using the LIA Quality Assurance model, you will gain an appreciation of implementing and maintaining a quality control system, including the control of imported goods. This course encompasses all industry sectors whether a manufacturer, importer or distributor of luminaires, light sources, control gear or components. The course will be held at the Academy, LIA, Telford. Dates: 29 June 2017; 25 July 2017; 12 September 2017; 17 October 2017; 28 November 2017 All LIA members can attended the course for the discounted rate of £295 +VAT. £365 + Vat for non-LIA members www.thelia.org.uk
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Electrical Review | June 2017
8 | GOSSAGE
Not-so Secret Seven And then there were five? Just as I predicted last month, Prime Minister Theresa May is planning to place a price cap on all tariffs operated by the Big Six electricity companies. In the past I have joked that, given Npower’s precipitate loss of market share, whether that title shouldn’t be altered to the Big Five-and-a –half. But I am now beginning to wonder whether that “and-a-half” description may soon be too generous. Last year Npower made a 137million euro loss, acknowledging “serious process and system related problems in residential customer billings”, one of the many reasons why the company has consistently been down the bottom of the customer –satisfaction league tables. Consequently 2.400 jobs, almost 20% of its workforce, are going. Its otherwise profitable German parent company Innogy (spun off from RWE) has conceded Npower will make a further loss this year. It is citing “a worsening market environment” leading to continuing losses of customers - despite being forced to retain others by offering contracts on “much more favourable conditions.” Ominously Innogy’s Bernhard Gunther has warned the Conservative party’s price cap “and the general regulatory tendency that we are seeing… aren’t making the UK more attractive for us as an investor.” It could not be plainer. Unless Npower pull convincingly out of this downward spiral, the German company’s patience is not infinite. Theresa May would have to reconsider her use of the appellation Big Six. And start describing the electricity market as being run by the Big Five.
Is there a message here for the UK government? The French firm Engie became the seventh international energy utility to give up on UK new nuclear build when it sold its 40% stake in NuGen, the vehicle created to create the proposed Moorside power station. Over the past decade, this vote of no confidence follows on top of that from Toshiba, E-on ( re Wylfa), RWE/Innogy Npower (Wylfa), Iberdrola (Moorside), SSE (Moorside), and Centrica (Hinkley Point); each has publicly pulled out of developing any new nuclear reactor in the UK. This leaves a very limited field of companies for the UK to approach in its hunt for a new partner for the Moorside scheme in Cumbria. South Korea’s KEPCO remains the most likely suitor, as it is one of the few utilities remaining with global nuclear ambitions. However Reuters is reporting the giant utility won’t be rushed, despite a series of UK ministerial visits and blandishments. The Moorside scheme had always been expected to depend upon the APR1400 reactor. To that end, the design has now received approval from the Office for Nuclear Regulation and from the Environment Agency. However it is odds on that – if it does ever finally decide to buck the trend and get involved – KEPCO will still want to use its own technology . That is despite the fact its AP1000 reactor would still have to obtain all that regulatory approval, delaying any development by a further four to five years. Could KEPCO yet become the eighth international energy utility to conclude that UK new nuclear build is a game simply not worth the pursuit?
Wombling Uncle Bulgaria Donald Trump has company. You will recall the US President famously dismisses any threat of climate change as a hoax. Apparently dreamed up by the Chinese government in order to provide business opportunities for Chinese firms. All this despite its existence being accepted by every other functioning government on the planet. But now Trump’s isolation is over. He has found a fellow denier. And from within the European Union too. Just last month Bulgaria appointed a new environment minister, called Neno Dimov, who seems to be determined to outdo Trump in his scepticism. “Global warming is manipulation”, claims the 53 year old Dimov appearing on You Tube in a Bulgarian-language video, describing climate change as fraud. In it, he alleges any European Union targets for reducing emissions are not for ecological purposes, but intended solely to earn billions for businesses – although whether exclusively Chinese businesses is unclear. He questions if global warming is really happening, and even if so whether human activity is truly causing it. Fear owing to rising levels of the world’s oceans is absolutely unfounded. According to Dimov, the greatest evil in the world is “political correctness, the imposition of fear through global warming. Supporters of sustainable development are frightening us with global warming.” I have a nasty feeling in consequence we shall perforce be hearing a lot more about the wit and wisdom of this representative of the EU’s least affluent government. You have been warned.
Joys of Brexit (number 94) Britain is on the hook for large volumes of dangerous radioactive waste — some of it imported from the rest of Europe — under proposals by Brussels to transfer ownership of a range of nuclear materials to the UK after it leaves the EU. Almost 130 tonnes of plutonium stored at Sellafield in Cumbria is among the nuclear material that would formally shift to UK control, according to draft documents issued by Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator. All “special fissile material”- forms of uranium and plutonium used in nuclear fuels, and Euratom, the pan-European regulator of civilian nuclear activity, technically owns some of the resulting waste.Mr Barnier’s provisional negotiating position calls for a Brexit agreement to “ensure, where appropriate, the transfer to the United Kingdom” ownership of “all special fissile material” currently controlled by Euratom within the UK. The UK is set to withdraw from Euratom. Such an agreement would make the UK legally responsible not only for its own nuclear material. But also reprocessed spent fuel imported over several decades from Germany, Sweden and elsewhere for recycling at Sellafield. Now isn’t that a desirable thought?
Electrical Review | June 2017
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10 | LIGHTING
Opportunities for contractors Marie Parry, marketing director, Scolmore Group, looks at the growing smart lighting sector and the opportunities it presents to contractors
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rojected to exceed US$47bn by 2020, the global lighting industry has come a long way from the on/off world to energy efficient lighting and adaptive lighting to the current connected – or smart - lighting era. In the UK, the lighting market was estimated to be worth around £2bn in 2015, an increase of 13% on the previous year and strong growth is projected for the smart lighting market in the coming years driven by the rapid penetration of LED lighting and increasing awareness in terms of energy efficiency and environmental issues. Other Electrical Review | June 2017
factors driving growth include an increasing demand for green buildings, recovery in the construction industry, rising popularity of wireless lighting controls and the availability of technologically advanced and innovative smart lighting solutions. There are also huge opportunities for smart lighting in the retrofit segment as many of the lighting systems in current buildings are not energy efficient. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) there is huge potential for improved energy efficiency in buildings. It says that up to 82% of energy efficiency measures remain
untapped in buildings today; up to half of this energy efficiency potential can be realised through improved control of the building and the integration of systems that work together. With only around 20% of the UK’s commercial buildings at present ‘smart’ buildings, and with energy efficiency and sustainability increasingly becoming a business consideration for many directors and senior managers, this market is expected to grow significantly over the next decade, providing business opportunities for architects, specifiers, contractors and installers alike.
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12 | LIGHTING
When it comes to energy efficiency, lighting is a key consideration. According to the Carbon Trust, up to 40% of a building’s electricity use is accounted for by lighting. Getting the lighting right is therefore vital for the energy efficiency of the building. Whilst lighting is typically one of the biggest expenses on a building’s energy bill, it is also one of the easiest areas to save. LED lamp technology is providing the means to reduce lighting energy consumption across a range of sectors from retail and office to industrial properties and street lighting. Lamp technology, however, is just one component of the lighting energy equation. Hand in hand with the development of the LED lamp has been the progress made with control gear and LED drivers. Smart lighting control solutions can help reduce energy consumption and costs. By dimming or switching off lighting when there is nobody in the room, occupancy sensors can reduce electricity consumption by 30%, says the Carbon Trust. While daylight sensors allow for the adjustment of the artificial lighting according to the amount of natural lighting in a room and can reduce electricity use by 40%. As the smart technology market continues to flourish bringing this technology to an ever-increasing audience of consumers - so
They see it not just as a means of controlling energy usage inside and outside the home, but also providing the ability to create zones and scenes throughout the home. Home lighting is increasingly being seen as a lifestyle element that can be programmed to fit a household’s requirements. Scene controls or scene settings allow the illumination of an area based on the lighting needs and activities undertaken there. This means different options can be set up for different times of day, for example a good strong light for ‘reading’ and small table lamps for ‘watching TV’.
A system like the Click Smart Home Automation system from Scolmore provides an ideal solution to controlling lighting inside and outside the home. It offers simple and flexible installation, significant energy savings and easy programming as the key attributes, and
fittings or into suitable installation boxes and the transmitters are powered by battery, so there is no need for any wiring or additional power supply. Because of its flexibility it can be easily installed into any property and is a very attractive proposition for electrical installers who can offer it to their customers as an entry level smart lighting solution. Demand for smart technology will without doubt continue to increase, and installers are in a prime position to help drive this growth by drawing attention to the energy-saving, convenience and efficiency properties of smart lighting and helping their customers consumers and commercial decision–makers – to understand how it can reduce energy consumption and therefore considerably cut down on energy bills. There is a raft of products and solutions coming onto the market as this sector continues to grow and contractors will need to determine which of the wide range of products and services deliver the most value to the end user. When looking at overall project costs, it may be tempting to specify lower cost products, but as reliability reduces so will profit margins, as the need to return to sort out problems becomes an issue. Those contractors looking to take
the domestic end user is becoming savvy to the cost- and energy-saving properties that connected devices offer. The control of lighting is becoming expected as standard to a whole new demographic, that previously thought of home automation systems and connected devices as something solely for the wealthy.
a one-touch centralised control panel means that everything can be easily set and adjusted from this one single control panel. The Click Smart system is made up of a series of wireless transmitters, receivers and combined units. No additional cables or wall cutting is required to install the system as the receivers can be installed behind light
advantage of the opportunities that the smart tech market offers, will need to enhance their skills, knowledge and experience to work with it. This will require getting to grips with the standards and best practices that apply, and working with manufacturers to understand their products and how to get the best from them.
Electrical Review | June 2017
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14 | LIGHTING
Now is the time for retroďŹ tting LEDs 2IĂ€FH OLJKWLQJ WHFKQRORJ\ LV FRQWLQXDOO\ LPSURYLQJ WR SURYLGH HIĂ€FLHQF\ VDIHW\ DQG FRPIRUW EHQHĂ€WV ,Q DGGLWLRQ WR WKH LQWDQJLEOH DGYDQWDJHV RI D ZHOO OLW HQYLURQPHQW WKHUH FDQ EH VROLG Ă€QDQFLDO DGYDQWDJHV WR UHSODFLQJ ROG OLJKWV ZLWK QHZHU WHFKQRORJLHV ,Q SDUWLFXODU UHWURĂ€W FDSDEOH /(' OLJKWLQJ HQDEOHV EXLOGLQJ PDQDJHUV WR LPSOHPHQW UHSODFHPHQW SURJUDPPHV WKDW FDQ EH IXQGHG SDUWO\ LI QRW HQWLUHO\ IURP WKH FRVW VDYLQJV DFKLHYHG 6DLPD 6KDĂ€ VDOHV DQG PDUNHWLQJ GLUHFWRU DW /(' (FR /LJKWV H[SODLQV HEALTH AND SAFETY Health and safety compliance is a frequent trigger for a lighting review. Too much or too little light causes eye strain and discomfort. It can be hard to identify and avoid hazards in areas that are underlit or have poor light quality. Bad lighting affects the quality of work and overall productivity. The icker often generated by uorescent light sources can induce headaches and
Electrical Review | June 2017
migraines and other symptoms associated with Sick Building Syndrome. Too much light brings further issues. Glare can cause discomfort, annoyance, irritability or distraction, and can also result in visual fatigue. Where the local work area is darker than the surroundings, staff may be distracted by the contrast. Some of the technologies used in older lighting installations have health or safety
issues of their own. In particular, tungstenhalogen lamps and high-intensity discharge lamps carry the risk of optical or ultraviolet radiation, which can be harmful if too much enters the eye, and affects unprotected skin.
THE MAINTENANCE CHALLENGE Sometimes outdated lighting is replaced on an ad-hoc basis when it has failed. During maintenance or following failure, different
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16 | LIGHTING
lamp types or colour temperatures may be used within the same area. Indeed, some fittings are left without a working lamp at all. Workers can find it difficult or impossible to see properly, and the inconsistencies contribute to uneven light patterns across the entire area. Fluorescent lighting does not respond well to frequent on / off cycles. When attaching occupancy sensors in busy areas, the lighting will degrade quicker than normal exhibiting the familiar blackened ends.
THE BENEFITS OF LED LIGHTING Whilst the price of improving the lighting regime can be offset against significant costs to the organisation in the form of lost working time, increased absenteeism, reduced staff efficiency and productivity, these costs can be hard to measure and quantify. Retrofit LED lighting provides a much more direct and measurable return on investment. Providing more lighting lumens per watt than most other forms of lighting, the most obvious benefit of upgrading to LEDs is the improvement in energy efficiency. This
High performance LED lighting is very consistent has an immediate impact on the monthly electricity spend, with a corresponding reduction in carbon footprint. In addition, LEDs provide qualitatively better lighting. For example, LED technology provides very directional light that can be focused where it is needed. LEDs are flicker-free, combatting the common problem with fluorescent lighting. High performance LED lighting is very consistent, providing a nice even spread of light, without colour shifting or contrast imbalances. Good quality LED lighting is well suited to building automation and control, as lifetime and performance is unaffected by frequent turning on and off. Furthermore, LED lighting for offices can be produced to a UGR19 (Unified Glare Electrical Review | June 2017
Rating) or below, which is recommended for use with VDU screens. All this makes a very strong case for moving to LED technology. Fortunately, this can be achieved without throwing away the existing infrastructure – and past investment. LED lamps and luminaires can be readily retrofitted within the current lighting hardware.
REAP THE REWARDS – AND SAVE AS YOU GO The result is an immediate improvement in energy and other costs. Ballasts and control gear, which can account for 20% of the energy consumed by some lighting, are eliminated. Retrofit LED lamps from reputable manufacturers come with lengthy guarantees so that faulty products are covered for free replacement over 2, 3 and 5 year terms. In addition, retrofitting is the least business-disruptive way to upgrade existing lighting. Work can be scheduled around downtimes, evenings and weekends, so that operation can continue as normal.
SAVINGS TO MEET STANDARDS Most importantly, retrofit LED lighting systems help the building meet the latest standards and regulations including those focused on improving the energy performance of buildings. Part L (2013) of the UK Building Regulations came into force in April 2014, covering lighting performance for Residential (L1) and Commercial buildings (L2), typically those using light sources with a minimum efficacy level of 55 lumens per circuit Watt, with fixed internal lighting delivering an average of 45 Lm/W over the whole area. Lamps below 5W do not need to be included in the count
towards Part L compliance. Further, it is mandated that lighting controls should be adopted to avoid unnecessary lighting at times when either enough natural light is sufficient or areas are unoccupied. With today’s LEDs capable of easily reaching 85-100 Lm/W for most commercial light sources, and up to 140 Lm/W for more industrial types of fixtures, moving to this technology already meets a major requirement of Part L compliance. Adoption of LEDs also makes it easier for building managers to fulfil requirements to incorporate lighting controls. SMART lighting goes beyond simply fitting PIR sensors to detect occupancy. Integrated controls builtinto LED luminaires can detect daylight and dim down the lighting when not required, or can be pre-programmed to save energy and controlled according to user behavioural patterns. These SMART luminaires can also be grouped together so that banks of units can be controlled to the same parameters. A pre-set level of lighting can be maintained across the whole area if required. Systems like the new Goodlight architectural lighting range of modular LED luminaires can be attached to intelligent controls that learn how the areas in an office are used, and adjust the lighting accordingly.
QUANTIFYING THE BENEFITS Evaluation of Goodlight retrofit LED lamps and luminaires has demonstrated energy savings up to 85%. In addition to this, maintenance savings of up to 100% can be made. Typical return on investment calculations show full payback within three to 36 months. A new compliant installation can be funded essentially from the energy savings. A number of programmes including the Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA) Scheme offer businesses tangible incentives such as tax breaks to help fund their lighting upgrades. Alongside these, commercial schemes such as BrightPlan LED Leasing allow new lighting to be leased, so that the operational savings achieved from the installation can be used to fund its cost directly. Capital budgets can be applied to other projects and tax advantages to the company realised. With industry support like this, there really is no time like the present for retrofitting LEDs.
— Furse earthing & lightning solutions Protecting people, buildings & systems With over 120 years of expertise and technical knowledge Furse provide world leading earthing, lightning and electronic systems protection solutions. From our own designed and manufactured products, through to risk assessment software and systems design advice, Furse offer a renowned Total Solution to all your earthing and lightning protection needs. Tel. +44 (0) 333 999 9900 | www.furse.com
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18 | SAFETY
Protecting structures from lightning strikes Climate change is having an obvious effect on the Earth. However, one lesser known side effect is DQ LQFUHDVH LQ WKH QXPEHU RI WKXQGHUVWRUPV KLWWLQJ WKH 8. $FFRUGLQJ WR WKH 0HW 2IĂ€FH¡V &OLPDWH Projections, rising temperatures will lead to up to four times as many thunderstorms in the UK, depending on the season, region and extent of climate change. On a global scale, University of &DOLIRUQLD %HUNHOH\ SUHGLFWV HYHU\ Ăœ& ULVH LQ JOREDO WHPSHUDWXUH ZLOO LQFUHDVH WKH IUHTXHQF\ RI lightning by 12%. Samad Khan, surge protection product manager for Furse explains
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iven that a single lightning strike can carry a current of 200,000 Amps, this increase in lightning poses a risk to utilities’ infrastructure. Damage to buildings can be signiďŹ cant. The outcome can include ďŹ re, explosion and electric shock hazards in the event of a direct strike. Nearby strikes can also be hazardous, particularly near a service line where it can damage SCADA systems. Utilities are heavily regulated to ensure the continuous ow of electricity, gas and water. These supplies contribute to public health and safety, economic success and comfort so the number and duration of interruptions need to be minimised. If utilities aren’t able to meet the minimum standards set by Ofwat and Ofgem, they face ďŹ nancial penalties. To protect themselves from ďŹ nes, utilities need to reduce the increasing risk to their assets from lightning strikes. IEC/BS EN 62305 is the recognised standard for lightning protection that covers a complete approach, consisting of structural lightning protection, electronic systems protection and earthing.
STRUCTURAL PROTECTION There is no way of predicting when a lightning strike will occur or preventing it from happening but a structural protection system can be used to protect the building. Using the same principle as a Faraday Cage, a system can carry ashover energy safety to the ground. There are three types of structural protection system: at tape, solid circular or stranded cable and wire. All three can be installed above and below ground, and are delivered as coiled lengths with Electrical Review | June 2017
either a copper or aluminium conductor. Accessories like ďŹ xtures, clamps, joints, test clamps, air terminals and earth terminations are also included. Metallic services such as cable armouring or pipework can be protected with equipotential bonding accessories, while PVC coverings help the lightning protection blend in for two reasons: to improve aesthetics and prevent metal theft. Moving structures, such as gates, can also be protected using a exible conducting braid. Each type of structural protection has its advantages. For example, at tape is easier to install, but solid circular conductors are less conspicuous, and therefore more suited to buildings where aesthetics ares important. Many engineers specify structural lightning protection based on historical, regional or aesthetic preferences. Once the type of protection has been chosen, engineers then have a choice between copper and aluminium conductors.
These two materials differ in cost, weight and size. Only copper conductors are available at larger sizes because more conductivity is required at higher ratings and copper is a more conductive material. Engineers have to make a choice between three systems in two materials, a variety of sizes, and multiple options for protective coatings and guards. Of these, the choice of conductor is the ďŹ rst and most important decision speciďŹ ers need to make. Engineers and end customers can be certain that whichever protection type they choose, it is part of a complete system, including specially designed accessories, that has been type tested against IEC 62305. The application itself tends to be the deciding factor when it comes to the choice of structural protection. For example, the aesthetics of the structure might be particularly important, or the environment might be in a damp area below ground. In cases like this, only copper should be used.
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Copper is less susceptible to corrosion and damp than aluminium, making it suitable for use below ground. Conductors below ground need to be sized to carry the maximum expected earth fault current and leakage current. They also need to be able to withstand higher levels of mechanical abuse or chemical effects, unlike above ground conductors. The choice of conductor size is down to the height of the structure, and the level of risk to human life, public service, cultural heritage and economic activity. That said, one size of product from each type tends to be sufficient to protect most structures. For the flat tape system, it is a 25 x 3 mm cross section. For the solid circular conductor, it is an 8 mm diameter and in the case of stranded conductors, it is a 77 mm2 cross section. All three protection types can be delivered as either a bare conductor, or with a PVC coating in a standard or bespoke colour to blend in with the structure that it is protecting. This reduces the aesthetic impact of the lightning protection. For structures that are at risk of theft or vandalism, protective guards can be included for extra protection.
AIR TERMINATIONS Air terminations, used on top of the structure, capture the lightning strike and channel the energy to the ground via a conducting system. Air termination systems include either air rods, catenary conductors, or a mesh on the roof or suspended above it. They protect buildings and structures, such as roof mounted equipment, from direct lightning strikes. To choose the most cost-effective air termination system for each structure, understanding the principles that help the designer take account of the complexity of the built environment is essential. For example, the positioning of air termination systems is key to their effectiveness. Lightning can strike both the top and sides Electrical Review | June 2017
of a building, but not all surfaces are at high risk of a strike. The principles used by designers include the rolling sphere method, the protective angle method and the mesh method. They allow the designer to identify and protect only the surfaces that are likely to be hit by lightning. For example, for a simple building, this will normally lead to terminals along the roof ridge and the corners and edges of the building, connected by concealed conductors. Similar to conductor systems, air terminations come in the form of complete systems with air rods as well as accessories such as supports, brackets and strike pads. As air terminations are situated on top of structures, they are exposed to strong winds and variable weather conditions. Some air terminations can be as tall as 10 metres, so must be able to withstand the strong winds experienced at height. Wind loading can lead to mechanical fatigue, so it is essential that the structural base and frame for free-standing air terminations can withstand this. Currently, wind conditions are very variable across the UK, reaching 130 km per hour in sheltered areas and as much as 190 km per hour in Shetland. As air terminations grow in height and the wind strengthens, a secure structure will become increasingly important.
EARTHING Earthing systems, commonly used by utilities, disperse lightning and fault currents safely and effectively to ground. Utilities use these systems for power generation, transmission and distribution, and in telecommunications. Best practice for earthing systems is to create a single integrated earth termination system which ensures that all parts of the system are interconnected and earthed, decreasing the risk of voltage differences that may lead to flashover. The earthing system is made up of
copper conductors, pipe clamps, metalwork bonding and earth rods or earth plates. Particular attention must be paid to joints, welds, connectors and terminations underground, where they are more susceptive to damage. Like air termination and structural protection systems, earthing conductors come in the form of flat tape, solid and stranded conductors. Earth rods or plates can help to create a more effective earth connection.
DIRECT AND INDIRECT STRIKES While lightning protection systems including air terminals, external conductors and earthing systems will protect structures and buildings from a direct lightning strike, a nearby lightning strike poses potential hazards. Lightning striking near buildings or on power and communication lines has the potential to cause damage. In the event of lightning strike on power and communication lines, the line carries transient overvoltages which are able to damage protection, control and automation equipment, as well as other sensitive electronic systems. Surge protection devices, part of the total approach to safeguarding against the impact of lightning strikes, can be used by utilities to protect against these transient surges. All the systems have industrial level lightning protection in common. This ensures security of supply for energy and water consumers, as well as protecting utilities from penalties. Furse has helped utility and industrial customers around the world with a total lightning protection solution. Examples include the Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant in China, Mombassa Substation in Kenya and the Shoiba Wastewater Treatment Plant in Saudi Arabia. In the UK, Furse’s customers include the Bank of England, Highland Distilleries and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
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22 | PDUs ONLINE
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lson Electronics has recently released its new website to enable purchasing of its products online for the very first time. The website is a significant improvement from their previous version and has been released in-line with their 55-years of British manufacturing celebration. With Olson being the market leader of PDUs and highly regarded within the industry, I can already see this will be welcomed by all of Olson’s current and future customers. Not only is the new site much more aesthetically pleasing with a modern look, it also features an integrated easy navigation system to enable their customers to quickly find the product they need. Whilst offering the largest PDU product range on the market, it can often be difficult to pin-point the one product a customer requires for a specific application and the new website overcomes this. Thankfully it has responded to customer feedback, making this task a lot quicker and easier. It caters for quick navigation to the socket, plug / inlet, orientation or switching
Electrical Review | June 2017
PDUs have never been easier to find requirement you’re looking for within a power distribution unit, with further filtering to find the exact product thereafter. You can view its individual ranges or just show every product listed and filter down from there. It also has an advanced search to lookup all of the attributes of a PDU you need and display the results immediately. Although it only showcases Olson’s standard products, its bespoke service is still very prominent within the site, offering an immediate messaging service to their own sales office.
Product information and specification have never been so detailed. Every product has an abundance of information to answer the questions you need answering, to then easily assist in further assurance that you’ve found what you need. In short, this is a benefit for all, allowing contractors to freely find and order or detail their product requirements with quick response. Please don’t hesitate to contact Olson Electronics at your convenience to find out more. 020 8905 7273 sales@olson.co.uk www.olsondirect.co.uk
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ENERGY MANAGEMENT | 25
Energy storage can boost wind power development 0LFKDHO /LSSHUW RI 6DIW GHVFULEHV )UDQFH·V 9HQWHHD VPDUW JULG ÀHOG GHPRQVWUDWLRQ project that has evaluated various technologies and grid management systems including a megawatt-scale lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery system.
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he Venteea project, running over three and a half years, is led by a consortium of eight industrial and two academic partners (ERDF, Saft, Schneider Electric, General Electric, EDF R&D, Boralex, RTE et Made), supported by the French Agency for the Environment and Energy Management (ADEME). Venteea’s goal is to validate the key solutions that will ensure reliable/efficient operation of future MV distribution systems and allow the integration of a larger proportion of renewables at the best possible cost. A distribution grid with a high penetration of wind generation was selected to test industrial pilots of new technologies and control approaches that include primary substation digital management, real-time network state estimation, a Volt VAR Control scheme and a Distributed Energy Storage System (DESS). The network selected for the Venteea project is located in Chervey, in the Champagne-Ardenne, which is France’s main region for wind generation with over 15 percent of the country’s installed base. This network has remained in commercial operation throughout the project and comprises a 20 MVA primary substation and six 20 kV feeders. It serves 3,200 customers and hosts two wind farms rated at 6 and 12 MW. The storage element of Venteea has focused on the design, construction and operation of a 2 MW / 1.3 MWh battery system. The main aim of the project team is to understand the potential of DESS to facilitate the integration of renewables and enhance the operation of power systems in the future. This covers two key objectives: 1. to evaluate the ability of the DESS to provide a multitude of services as well as its operational performances under various conditions 2. to assess the practical feasibility of a multi-service/multistakeholder scheme to improve the business case for storage through the addition of several revenue streams.
DESS COMPONENTS AND SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE The Venteea DESS consists of a 1.3 MWh Li-ion battery connected to the MV grid through a 2.16 MVA Power Conversion System (PCS). The battery comprises two Saft Intensium® Max IM+20M systems housed in 20-foot containers, each containing 12 strings of 28 Synerion® 24M modules. The Schneider Electric PCS comprises two 20-foot ES Box RT 1080 containers, each containing two 540 kVA full 4-quadrant inverters and a 3-winding MV/LV transformer.
The storage unit is located in the immediate vicinity of the points of interconnection of the two wind farms operated by Boralex. To demonstrate the potential of multi-service operation, the DESS can be connected either to the MV feeder hosting the 12 MW wind farm or to the MV feeder hosting the 6 MW wind farm and customers. The required switchgear and the MV/LV transformer powering the storage unit auxiliaries are located in a dedicated MV substation. The storage unit was commissioned in the second half of 2015 and this article reports on 8 months of operation up to March 2016.
THE NEED FOR MULTI-SERVICE DESS OPERATION Energy storage assets can provide various services such as management of voltage and current constraints in distribution grids as well as participation in power system security and reliability, etc.
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26 | ENERGY MANAGEMENT
Stakeholder TSO DSO
DG operator
DESS operator
Service TSO1 - Participation in frequency control DSO1 - Distribution peak sheaving DSO2 - Local voltage control DSO3 - Contingency grid support DSO5 - Reactive power support DSO9 - TSO fees optimization DG1 - Support to the provision of ancillary services DG2 - Smoothing of short-term output fluctuations DG3 - Generation peak shaving DG4 - Energy time shifting DG5 - Capacity firming ARB - Time of use energy arbitrage
Table 1: overview of the storage services tested during the first 8 months of operation
However, when considered individually, most of these services do not: 1. mobilize continuously 100 percent of the power/energy capacities of a DESS (so there is scope for improved utilization) 2. generate sufficient revenue to achieve profitability (hence the economic need to improve utilization. For these reasons the project is investigating the combination of services, i.e. the use of storage units for multiple functions so that they can be operated at their full potential and harvest more income from one or more stakeholders. Field deployment of this concept is already within the reach of vertically integrated utilities but is more challenging in an unbundled power system, where its feasibility remains unproven. This is one of the key focuses of Venteea’s storage element. Table 1 shows the DESS services tested within the framework of the project. For the optimum analysis of storage benefits and their aggregation, these services concern three stakeholders: TSO (Transmission System Operator), DSO (Distribution Service Operator) and DG (Distributed Generation) operator. Figure 2 shows the dedicated control system comprising two complementary levels developed to enable multi-service operation: The Storage Scheduler is a remote supervision layer that plans the DESS services in advance to maximize profitability while satisfying both requests from stakeholders and a set of constraints (power/energy capabilities or the plant, current/ voltage limits of the network, etc.). The Storage Scheduler is run every 30 minutes to: 1. estimate the headroom available in the grid to operate the DESS using load and generation forecasts 2. calculate an optimized plan for the next 36 hours. These functions provide the required level of visibility for the next day of operation to interact with the stakeholders/ markets, and they also enable intraday adjustments if required to limit the impact of any deviation from the initial program.The program set by the Storage Scheduler can be manually overridden if needed - this was used largely used over the first phase of the tests to send custom schedules to the battery system. Electrical Review | June 2017
The Storage Master Controller provides local supervision of storage services that: 1. autonomously execute the optimized schedule received from the Storage Scheduler 2. take appropriate actions if a contingency occurs. It features a library of control algorithms developed within the Venteea framework. These manage the provision of each service in real-time based on set points included in the optimized schedule (such as the primary reserve allocated to the DESS at a given time) and local variables related to the grid (such as the measured frequency) or to the DESS itself (such as its State of Charge, SOC).
RESULTS FROM THE FIRST 8 MONTHS OF OPERATION Test overview In the first 8 months of operation the storage unit spent a total 222 days (92.5 percent) in perfect working order or with only minor issues that had no impact on operation. Most of the downtime occurred shortly after commissioning, including upgrades of some control routines and the replacement of small parts. From then on, the unit achieved a satisfactory level of availability for a field demonstration featuring new generation storage systems that were the first of their kind. - only one day of complete outage was recorded from the end of October 2015. The DESS has drawn/injected 310/226 MWh and 326/63 MWh from/to the grid - the battery has performed 170 equivalent full cycles. Table 2 presents some statistics regarding the modes of operation activated over the whole time period. As planned from the beginning of the tests, the Storage Scheduler was active – to gain experience – but it was bypassed intentionally during the first phase, with the program of services established manually ahead of time according to the testing priorities of the project team. This phase aimed mainly to assess the provision of all the potential services available from the storage unit, either individually or combined. Key performance indicators were defined and finely monitored to track both the behavior of the DESS (such as efficiency) and the quality of the delivered service (such as meeting grid code requirements).
ENERGY MANAGEMENT | 27
Mode of operation
TSO1 DSO2 DG1 DG2 DG3 DG5
Cumulated activation time as on March 06 2016 Days with activation 83 days 111 days 55 days 58 days 19 days 7 days
Total activation time 1384 hours 1924 hours 944 hours 902 hours 108 hours 38 hours
Table2: cumulated activation time of some of the services tested during the first 8 months operation
GENERATION PEAK SHAVING. Generation peak shaving is carried out according to load and generation forecasts available. In typical cases where a risk of constraint on the distribution grid was anticipated the SOC of the DESS was adjusted to 10%. It was then dispatched to shave any peak above the calculated limit of 10 MW. The quality of the provision of this service is quantified by the proportion of power peaks above the assigned limit that can effectively be shaved - this strongly depends on the accuracy of the generation forecasts.
PARTICIPATION IN LOCAL VOLTAGE CONTROL.
The second phase of the tests started at the beginning of 2016 with a progressive increase in the time spent by the DESS in full self-scheduling mode. A ramp-up trajectory has been defined in terms of the number of services handled by the Storage Scheduler and the complexity of the multiservice/multi-stakeholder scenarios under consideration.
In addition to the services detailed above, for local voltage control the Storage Master Controller is set so that the reactive power of the storage unit responds to the voltage variations according to the desired Q(U) characteristics. In a typical case the Q(U) control would be utilised up to its allocated power of 1 Mvar during the high wind period at night and then remain activated, but not utilised in realtime, for the rest of the day. The performance of the DESS for this service is quantified by the proportion of time spent within its preset tolerance range (usually > 95 percent).
PARTICIPATION IN PRIMARY FREQUENCY CONTROL. In primary frequency control mode the storage unit is controlled to respond proportionally to any frequency deviation from 50 Hz, without any intentional deadband. In a typical example, the Storage Master Controller was set so that the battery system delivered its full assigned reserve of 2 MW for a deviation of 200 mHz (+2 MW at 49.8 Hz and -2 MW at 50.2 Hz). In addition to the frequency response, active SOC control ensured high availability of the service. The quality of the service supplied by the Venteea DESS is verified according to the specifications defined in the French system services rules. To date, the 1,400 hours of operation achieved has confirmed the ability of the battery unit to participate in primary frequency control. A question that remains open at this stage is the risk for power system security and reliability when using limited energy resources to provide frequency control services. Specific tests are currently being carried out under the supervision of RTE to address this.
SUMMARY The 2 MW storage unit designed, built and commissioned within the framework of the Venteea project had been in operation for 8 months at the time of writing. So far, the first phase of the tests has made it possible to demonstrate the ability of the DESS to: • provide all the targeted services, individually or combined • to handle complex programs established ahead of real-time with up to 48 changes daily in the mix of activated modes of operation. The second phase, which started at the beginning of 2016, focuses on the assessment of the self-scheduling process included in the Storage Scheduler to ensure optimal multiservice/multi-stakeholder operation. In addition to the technical lessons learned, the project team expects to draw conclusions regarding the changes necessary to the current regulatory regime that will enable the optimum usage of energy storage in unbundled power systems.
www.electricalreview.co.uk
TRAINING | 29
A helping hand for future stars No matter how old or young you are, once in a while we all need a helping hand to help us to overcome the challenging situations in our lives and build a better future for ourselves. More and more young people in the industry are choosing to build a career and create a better life for themselves through apprenticeships, but for some young talent, this is not an option. Tessa Ogle, managing director of the Electrical Industries Charity, explains
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urrently, there are a lot of young stars who are unable to pursue their dream career due to unforeseen circumstances in their lives. This could be due to many different reasons; some may have an illness that it is standing in their way of having a brighter and happier future, others may be caring for a loved one or they may just simply not have enough income to create the life they deserve. Although apprenticeships in the UK are growing significantly, there are still a large number of future young stars that are unable to pursue their career in our industry. The Electrical Industries Charity understands the importance of support network for young people and their families in our industry and therefore, launched the Apprentice Support Programme which helps them to overcome the obstacles that may be in the way of creating a pathway to a promising career. The Apprentice Support Programme allows apprentices to get the essential support they need to keep going towards their goal. The support that the Charity provides includes career development and transition assistance, debt advice, financial assistance, legal advice, apprentice scholarships and bursary scheme, financial grants and assistance, and support for carers. One of the recent examples where the Apprentice Support Programme gave hope to a young apprentice is Jack Terrins story. Jack is in his first year of his apprenticeship and lives with his mum Fiona who is recovering from breast cancer, having undergone a lumpectomy and chemotherapy. Fiona’s treatment has been very debilitating and because of the type of cancer she has, the next five years are crucial. As a result, Fiona has now taken retirement from work due to ill-health. At the age of 21, Jack now has a role caring for his mum. In the past two years he helped his mum on her cancer journey, and although there are a lot of cancer charities and nurses who were willing to provide emotional support, there was no financial assistance available to help Jack and his mum to pay the household bills when his mum was no longer working. Although Fiona now receives a pension, the only salary coming into the household is Jack’s, which has to be used to pay not only for household bills but also the insurance and equipment which he will need to complete his apprenticeship. Jack has applied for and been granted the Electrical Industries Charity’s first Apprenticeship Bursary which will allow him to pursue his career while also helping him to care for his ill mum. Another great example where the Charity helped a young apprentice to pursue his dream through the Apprentice Support
Programme is Billy’s story. Twenty-year-old Billy was diagnosed with bone cancer in the final year of his apprenticeship, which was extremely aggressive and required a life-saving amputation. Billy’s family, local community/businesses, and the Electrical Industries Charity were able to fund a prosthetic limb collectively. Billy’s journey back to independence is led by a strong desire to complete his apprenticeship. With a looming skills shortage in our industry more needs to be done to support the new talent coming into the sector. The Charity understands that an apprentice going through a rough patch at home, that puts their work performance at risk, needs support to allow progression, and achieve a lifetime of productive, satisfying work. The Apprentice Support Programme was therefore, set up for young future stars like Jack and Billy because the Charity wants to ensure that the young apprentices of the electrical industry get the crucial support they need in situations like this. Billy’ and Jack’s stories are two of many examples that outline the difficulties that the future stars of our industry are facing when trying to secure a brighter future. It also highlights the benefits of being part of the Charity’s Apprentice Support Programme where a helping hand can go a long way to transforming lives for young people. www.electricalcharity.org
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30 | DATA CENTRES/TECHNOLOGY TO MARKET
Maintain a cool and reliable data centre EcoCooling has been fortunate to work with progressive and ambitious operators across WKH GDWD FHQWUH PDUNHW WR KHOS EXLOG VRPH RI WKH PRVW HIÀFLHQW GDWD FHQWUHV LQ WKH ZRUOG In this article, Alan Beresford, MD of EcoCooling, addresses how these solutions impact on the changing stakeholder requirements across the sector including the need for businesses to balance their data centre requirements
IS THE DATA CENTRE THE RIGHT SIZE? The amount of data processing and storage required by businesses is growing exponentially. Enterprises are now becoming more focused on the total cost of services and are challenging their approach to providing these and the infrastructure to support these requirements. More advanced metrics than the simple PUE are being used to measure performance. There are, however, a number of very common sense principles which should be considered when reviewing an existing data centre or when a new development is being considered. In many cases organisations are grossly oversizing data centres as new, smaller and more powerful, equipment replaces legacy kit. It is believed that half of the data centres in the UK are less than 50% utilised! The obvious result of this is wasted capital cost and infrastructure equipment such as traditional cooling and UPS’s which cannot operate at optimum efficiency when part loaded. It is, for most organisations, very difficult to predict the future and so a perfectly utilised data centre is impossible to plan. Direct evaporative cooling can provide a business solution which addresses these unknowns and provides a consistent, efficient solution to maintaining a cool and reliable data centre. Electrical Review | June 2017
It is believed half of the data centres in the UK are less than 50% utilised DIRECT EVAPORATIVE COOLING OF DATA CENTRES An EcoCooling system consists of a ventilation system providing a constant flow of external, filtered air into the data centre to keep it cool. On warm days this air is passed over wetted filter pads to provide cooled air via the natural process of evaporation. In this way the equipment can be kept cool without the need for refrigeration. In practice the result of this is that the energy used for cooling is reduced from 60kW per 100kW of servers to 5kW per 100kW of servers. With efficient power distribution and UPS’s a PUE of <1.1 is quite achievable with best in class operations achieving a PUE of ~1.05. One key benefit of a pure ventilation system is its ability to maintain efficient operation at low utilisation. If the data centre is only 50% utilised then it only requires 50% of the maximum air
DATA CENTRES/TECHNOLOGY TO MARKET | 31
flow to keep cool. The operator now has two choices – install less modules or operate the full system at half speed. Surprisingly both have significant cost advantages. Because ventilation units are normally relatively small (up to 100kW units) then adding them incrementally allows capital investment to match the actual data centre activity or revenue. The alternative approach of installing all of the equipment and operating at reduced speed actually improves efficiency. A ventilation fan energy use is proportional to the cube of the flow rate. Therefore, running the fans at half speed means they only consume 12.5% of the energy, which in turn means the PUE actually improves at low utilisation! Approach 1 reduces CAPEX and approach 2 reduces OPEX.
POWER REQUIREMENTS Not all data centres are operating at partial capacity through choice, In some cases the operation is limited by the amount of power available. An efficient cooling system can release power and so allow a business to grow without the cost and risk of a site power upgrade.
with a record low temperature of -40°C and a maximum of 32°C, although it rarely exceeds 25°C. Using EcoCooling’s ECT10800 Nordic cooler, Hydro66 has constructed a low capital cost, flexible data centre, which has achieved a PUE of less than 1.05. So how does this effect the efficiency of your cooling system? Choosing a location for your data processing in a naturally cool environment can ensure significant amounts of free cooling for your data centre.
INCREASED SIZE OF THE CLOUD The increased number of devices becoming IoT compatible along with the growth of investment into Fintech and other cloud based technologies over the next few years will require a huge data centre infrastructure to support it. However, this new type of cloud processing is not limited to a specific location. The users will need access from across the planet, requiring a redundant infrastructure, well connected, that is the lowest cost possible. While the large cloud providers have been investing in data centres across the globe for many years, enterprises now have the opportunity to use data centre operators to create the
IS MY DATA CENTRE IN THE CORRECT LOCATION? There are actually two questions here: Is the core business of critical processing and storage in the optimum location and where is best for the non-critical operations? For a variety of reasons many organisations will retain all or a proportion of their processing in house for business, security or legislative reasons. In many cases this proportion is relatively small and only a small facility is required. This allows investment to be focused on providing the appropriate availability incorporating efficient equipment. It is normal to support this operation with more conventional solutions. In many cases the vast majority of an organisation’s IT requirements can be located where the total cost of ownership is minimised. This is dictated by factors such as energy cost, potential for free cooling, land and construction cost etc. EcoCooling provides solutions for both scenarios. The range of both external and internal coolers can be fitted as a retrofit to existing data centres or incorporated into new builds. High availability data centres normally have a duplex system of EcoCooling ventilation supported with a backup refrigeration system to give a true 2N solution. However, there are many instances in the UK where data centres exclusively use EcoCoolers to provide all of their cooling throughout the year with no refrigeration as a backup.
SO WHERE IS THE CHEAPEST PLACE TO PROCESS DATA? There are a number of places across the world which have been highlighted as prime locations. An example of a prime location is Boden in Sweden. Hydroelectric power stations on the river Lulea provide 100% renewable electricity at <30% of the UK cost. The cool ambient temperatures are perfect for ‘free’ cooling. The EcoCooling arctic cooler, which incorporates humidification, provides a cooling system which in this region can provide >99% compliance with international standards for temperature and humidity. Boden lies on the 66th latitude and, consequently, is cold,
An increasingly connected world has opened up opportunities same georedundant infrastructure for their own data estates. In addition to the above, there is an increased need for redundancy, sparking a trend in disaster recovery data centres and facilities, these facilities in particular benefit from direct fresh air cooling strategies which can take advantage of the low capital and maintenance cost of ventilation and direct evaporative cooling base systems. An increasingly connected world has opened up opportunities for data processing to be moved with little impact on latency. The ease and speed of data transfer combined with the energy and costs savings associated with outsourcing or relocating a data centre to a prime location has made the option very attractive for companies in recent years. So, whether you are looking to increase the efficiency of your current data centre or develop a system in a more cost effective location, implementing evaporative cooling and free cooling into your cooling strategy could significantly reduce your operational costs. EcoCooling’s expanding product range offers a number of ventilation and direct evaporative cooling based systems which have all proven to contribute to data centres achieving PUEs of less than 1.1. Alternatively, if you are looking to outsource your non-critical processing or storage it may be worth looking at the cooling system already being employed by the facility and its location. Operators with a free cooling strategy in a cooler climate have significantly less operating costs and may offer either cost savings or additional benefits such as green credentials or carbon savings.
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32 | PRODUCTS COMPREHENSIVE WIRING ACCESSORIES RANGE
BUILD A CONNECTION AT UK CONSTRUCTION WEEK
Scolmore’s brand new collection of premium decorative wiring accessories – Deco Plus – brings even greater choice and flexibility at the high-end sector of the market. The result of 18 months’ development, Deco Plus comprises more than 800 premium decorative metal wiring accessory products, and introduces smooth, contemporary curves that will have wide-ranging appeal with contractors, specifiers and end users alike. Offering exceptional quality and unprecedented value, the new, highspecification Deco Plus collection includes switches power socket outlets, fused connection units and control switches; television, telephone and data sockets; plus media cabling solutions.
Registration is now open for Smart Buildings 2017, Energy 2017 and HVAC 2017 as part of the largest trade show of its kind: UK Construction Week. The annual awardwinning event will open its doors to industry professionals at the NEC in Birmingham on 10-11-12 October 2017 to bring together those with a passion to find out more about the latest developments in the sector. One of the stand out events of UK Construction Week is the exclusive Innovation Trail. You could be the first to explore the most innovative and unique products and solutions which will help to transform the market. Each newly released product has been meticulously chosen to represent the latest technological advances and will help you uncover new ways of working.
A QUICK WAY TO SAVE ENERGY The Aura Lynx LED batten is a fast way to boost energy savings. It is cost efficient, easy to install and contains no mercury. The use of direct wire tubes means that no ballast is required and it is compatible with Aura’s Pyxis LED Tubes. The batten body is made from diecast aluminium, steel and polycarbonate and comes with up to five years warranty and will reduce CO 2 emissions and maintenance costs. There are no ultraviolet or infrared rays, no flickering and the LED tubes guarantee a 50,000-hour lifespan.
2017 10–12 OCTOBER Scolmore 01827 63454 www.scolmore.com
TYPE 2 SURGE ARRESTER FOR ETHERNET BASED INTERFACES The DEHNpatch product series for RJ45 connections has been supplemented by another arrester. DEHNpatch Class D is a surge arrester for protecting Ethernet-based interfaces in structured cabling systems according to class D up to 100 MHz. This arrester is ideally suited for use in telecom and data networks such as PV systems, wind turbines, IP camera systems and Ethernet / PoE applications up to 1 Gbit/s. Ideally suited for retrofit protection of all lines • For use in structured cabling systems according to class D up to 100 MHz • Power over Ethernet (PoE+ according to IEEE 802.3at) • For installation in conformity with the lightning protection zone concept at the boundaries from 0B – 2 and higher D1 Lightning impulse current (10/350 μs) per line (Iimp) 0.5 kA
DEHN 01484 859111 www.dehn.co.uk
Electrical Review | June 2017
UK Construction Week 0203 225 5200 www.ukconstructionweek.com
DIALIGHT OPENS NEW TECHNICAL CENTRE IN COPENHAGEN Dialight, a LED industrial lighting technology company, is pleased to announce the opening of a technical centre located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Dialight has chosen this location as the company has been operating out of Copenhagen for many years, developing and producing special solutions for the global wind power industry. The Copenhagen Technical Centre will support the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and will house Dialight’s regional sales, marketing, customer service, technical support and application engineering teams. The facility has been designed as a technical hub for the sales, service and support of robust industrial and hazardous area lighting products. The facility also features a new training centre.
Dialight +45 23453464 www.dialight.com
Aura Light 01952 250800 www.aura-light.co.uk
INCREASED COOLING CAPACITY Vertiv, formerly Emerson Network Power, today announced the extension of the Liebert PCW product family to bring highest energy efficiencies and improved cooling capacities for medium to large data centres. Available in Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA), Asia Pacific and South America, the Liebert PCW high chilled water delta T series has been designed to maximise freecooling operations at higher temperatures to support entire critical infrastructures, providing partial Power Usage Effectiveness (pPUE) below 1.1. The Liebert PCW range is available from 25 to 220 kW and is equipped with the most advanced industry technology designed to maximise efficiency, as well as grant the necessary air supply to the servers.
Vertiv 023 806 10311 www.VertivCo.com/Thermal-Management
PRODUCTS | 33 ED&I: THE UK’S NEW NATIONAL ELECTRICAL TRADE SHOW Register for free at www.edandiexpo.com: Birmingham NEC, September 6-7, 2017 Make sure you put the dates in your diary as the UK’s only national show for covering the electrical contractor market takes place at Birmingham’s NEC – offering huge benefits for those who attend. A new national event designed to provide a business nexus for contractors and industry stakeholders comes to the world-famous NEC in Birmingham this September. Electrical Design and Install Expo (ED&I) has been created by experienced and successful trade show organiser, All Things Media (ATM), which delivers successful trade events into the entertainment, automation and audio-visual categories. The show is free to attend and headline sponsor for the event is Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA).
ED&I Expo 01634 673163 www.edandiexpo.com
NEW SOUND LEVEL METER Now available from Martindale Electric – one of the most trusted brands in electrical safety – is the new SP79 Class 2 Sound Level Meter, which is suitable for health and safety personnel who want to carry out workplace noise assessments and comply with Noise at Work legislation. Designed for both industrial and office onsite measurement, the SP79 is a user friendly sound level meter which features A and C frequency weighting and fast and slow time weighing. Compact and lightweight in design, the SP79 offers ease of use and can be conveniently handheld for spot checking noise levels, or mounted on a tripod for longer term monitoring of min/max values.
Martindale Electric 01923 441717 www.martindale-electric.co.uk
NEW 1080P WIRELESS CCTV KIT
EMERGENCY LIGHTING SOLUTIONS
Leading security products manufacturer, ESP, has added a new 1080p wire free CCTV kit to its growing portfolio of HDview CCTV products. Designed for the domestic market and developed in response to the increasing demand from customers for Wi-Fi solutions, the new system has ease of installation and superior quality HD image capture among its key attributes. Requiring a power supply at the NVR as well as at the camera, the two-camera CCTV kit offers Wi-Fi open field range of 150m, with no cabling required between the NVR and the camera. The 1080p resolution offers superior image clarity, providing users with better quality live images and recorded footage, which is essential for any CCTV system installation. The two camera kit is expandable to four cameras. The two cameras supplied (2MP HD day/night bullet cameras) are pre-registered to the NVR and additional cameras can be added via the LAN port on the NVR using the supplied network cable.
Mackwell, one of the leaders in emergency lighting solutions, has just launched a new range of emergency luminaires for use via OEM or general electrical wholesale distribution channels. The new Tempus range has Mackwell emergency control gear at its core and comprises a selection of products for escape route and open area emergency lighting, for a wide range of commercial and industrial applications including warehouses, sports halls and car parks. Designed to provide a versatile approach to safety, Tempus is also suitable for international applications where there are different installation practices, signage requirements and test and certification.
ESP 01527 515150 www.espuk.com
Mackwell 01922 742 145 www.mackwell.com
SIMPLIFIED PHASE ROTATION MEASUREMENT
ONE LED LIGHT FOR A RANGE OF APPLICATIONS
When it comes to verifying the phase sequence, or rotation, of three phase circuits, Martindale Electric, leaders in voltage detectors and safe isolation, offers more than one solution, with its professional range of testers. Getting the phase sequence wrong can have devastating consequences for plant and machinery with serious implications for machine safety. From motors running backwards through to cooling or lubricating systems underperforming, one wrong connection can lead to a major maintenance headache. Providing enhanced user safety, the unique PSI4000 and PSI4300 non contact phase sequence indicators from Martindale Electric can quickly and accurately identify three phase sequences for motor installations and other systems.
WIL STANDARD is a new LED light offered by Weidmüller that is suitable for a range of applications and impresses on both a technical and design level. The LED light incorporates three rows of LEDs (3 x 14 LEDs) arranged in a trapesium shape at 20-degree angles, allowing for an ultra-wide beam angle and a broad illuminated area. This design means users do not have to rotate the light to illuminate specific areas or even change the direction. Weidmüller WIL LED lights offer high performance at low consumption. IP67 protection enables installation in a range of applications. The light is connected using an M12 plug-in connector. The operating voltage is 24 V DC with a maximum current of 430 mA. The very bright light has a light colour of 6500 K - roughly equivalent to daylight and therefore acceptable to the eye.
Martindale Electric 01923 441717 www.martindale-electric.co.uk
Weidmüller Industrial LED light 01162 823470 www.weidmueller.com
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34 | CLASSIFIED
Contact the sales team 0207 933 8974 Lighting
UPS
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Electrical Review | June 2017
Always Connected
While you may not be able to control when a power outage occurs, you can take steps to ensure it never impacts on your business. And today when it comes to guaranteeing standby or emergency electrical power, in terms of cost, flexibility and responsiveness, there’s really no better option than a diesel generator set from FG Wilson. Over our 50 year history, FG Wilson generator sets have been installed in more than 150 countries worldwide by organisations and businesses just like yours. You’ll find our generator sets installed in many of the world’s most iconic buildings, quietly guaranteeing that they are never without electric power.
To find out more, visit us at www.fgwilson.com
When you entrust your power project to us, you receive the full support of more than 300 skilled technicians who nurture your project from initial design and manufacture, right through to installation and commissioning. Now you can consign all thoughts of power outages to history and focus on what really matters.
— Let’s write the future by enabling a stronger, smarter and greener power grid. The future of the grid depends on innovative technology for efficient, reliable power. Trust ABB’s technology to secure it. ABB’s design, engineering, service and support teams in the UK are part of a pioneering technology leader that employs around 132,000 people globally. ABB works closely with utility, industry, transportation and infrastructure customers to write the future of industrial digitalization and realize value. To find out more about ABB in the UK visit abb.com/uk