Managed Load Distribution

Annual AC power costs can be reduced by operating power plant rectifiers at their most efficient level. Many electronic switching system (ESS) power plants are operating today at very low efficiency levels due to over engineering as a result of ill-defined drains when these systems were first introduced. Today´s state of the art switching equipment is more compact and generally requires less power to operate. Even as new switching equipment is added in offices powered by these older plants, the original calculated drain still will probably never be reached. These plants are the express concern of this paper. The changing energy situation warrants a close look at the power required by these plants. The solution? Power engineers have to adjust these plants to a more efficient operating level. When plants are set to their most efficient operating point, a savings of from two to six percent may be realized. The first part of this paper will deal with the typical rectifier found in the ESS power plant, while the second part will detail the actual adjustments required to obtain the calculated savings.