Cut your energy losses!

Yearly transmission and distribution losses could supply 365 million households in the western world.

I recently attended a seminar on Power Quality at Gent, Belgium where an accomplished professor explained that according to the European Copper Institute (ECI) the yearly electrical energy losses amount to levels in excess of 1250 terawatt-hours (TWh), or more than 9% of the total global energy consumed. This was difficult to visualize at first but then he related to a more tangible impression by quoting the ECI that the energy lost could have served the electrical needs of around 365 million households in the western world.

That’s why we continue to work on developing  innovative solutions that help minimize these losses.

One such solution that we have developed and continue to optimize is the Metal Enclosed Capacitor Bank or MECB. These capacitor banks have the same basic functionality as their big brothers, the ‘open racks.’ They essentially reduce the electrical stress  produced while loading the supply system by providing reactive power compensation and/or filtering. But they also have some special features that make them especially useful for distribution utilities, industrial customers and renewable applications such as wind-farms.

First they are compact, a feature that is highly useful in ever expanding cities where space is scarce and at a premium.

Secondly, being metal enclosed makes them secure  and no extra fencing is required from a safety perspective. Alternate types of enclosures provide optimum solutions for indoor and outdoor installations.

Finally, being an ABB designed and approved solution, ensures that all components- including our in-house designed and manufactured capacitor units integrated into the assemblies have been optimized for long life and trouble-free operation ABB offers a vast product portfolio for a range of applications across – utility, industry, renewables – and even optimized for regions. In addition, we work with local customers to develop customized solutions when required. This is just another example of how we continuously strive to  create practical solutions to everyday applications and contributing to a better world.