Conservation voltage reduction technique: An application guideline for smarter grid

Overall electric energy conservation and improvement in electrical energy efficiency has been a topic of interest to the electric power industry for long time, since 40% of total primary energy used is in the form of electricity. There are many facets to the energy conservation and/or energy efficiency techniques. Energy conservation by voltage reduction popularly called “CVR” has recently gained some momentum, in particular, to reduce the peak demand. This is also an integral part of the discussion in the future smarter grid technology. This paper addresses the pros and cons of the Conservation Voltage Reduction application including a thorough literature search, practical applications and a quantifiable measure of its actual amount of energy saving from utilities and the cost associated with it. It is expected that this paper will serve as a foundation to all practicing engineers addressing the issue of CVR.