High energy costs can quickly land hospitals and other types of healthcare facilities in critical condition. In these facilities energy waste hurts. Hot transformers disrupt power to critical equipment, and cooling systems work overtime to dissipate the heat. What suffers most? System reliability and the bottom line.
The problem could be third harmonic currents, which plague medical facilities with a high density of sensitive electronic loads: computers, servers, monitoring equipment, diagnostic systems and high-tech instrumentation upon which hospitals rely. It has long been recognized that harmonic currents, particularly the 3 rd harmonic,flowing in a wye distribution system serving multiple computer loads, are detrimental to system operation. Problems caused by these harmonic currents include: overheated transformers, switchgear, and wiring; random circuit breaker tripping; and reduced usable system capacity.
The cure is Harmonics Limited, Inc.’s (HL) patented Harmonic Suppression System (HSS®) that totally
eliminates the third harmonic current from the hospital’s electrical distribution system. The HSS increases system quality, reliability, and provides sustained increased energy efficiency over the life of the electrical system. Most importantly, HSS technology reduces energy usage (and electric bills) from the instant it’s installed.
What causes 3rd-harmonic currents? The electronic equipment that healthcare facilities need most! These
devices draw power from the distribution system via their switch-mode power supplies (SMPS). Harmonic
currents are a direct result of the way in which the SMPS draws current from the system. The input circuit of an SMPS is a bridge rectifier that changes the 120 volt AC input to DC. Although the AC voltage is a sine wave, the rectifier draws its current in spikes. These spikes require that the AC supply system provide harmonic currents, primarily 3rd, 5th and 7th. These harmonic currents do not provide power to the SMPS, but they do take up distribution system capacity and increase system energy consumption. The principal harmonic current is the 3rd (180 Hz) and the amplitude of this current can be equal to or even greater than that of the fundamental current. The only way to solve the issues caused by harmonic currents is to remove the harmonics themselves. That’s the proven cure that HL’s Harmonic Suppression System provides.
HSS is the only technology that prevents the generation of the 3rd harmonic current at the source; the SMPS in the high tech equipment. From the moment the HSS is installed in the distribution system, the harmonics generated by the high-tech loads cease to exist. The result? A system-wide eradication of wasted energy. The distribution system can now handle more loads even in older hospitals with downsized neutrals. Plus, with HSS the facility can earn LEED credits and meet important targets toward becoming a “green” building.
The Harmonic Suppression System cuts costs by eliminating 3rd-harmonic currents and the associated heat they generate.
That means: Energy bills drop as much as 8%, with reduced waste and cooling expense;
Expensive service calls decline, with better system reliability;
Over-sized transformers and conduits become obsolete, with a “right-sized” distribution system
that handles more loads;
Existing transformers can be salvaged, by boosting efficiency and capacity without the cost of
replacing them; Energy efficiency increases, with a patented solution that can pay for itself over a short time period.
Unlike harmonic-mitigating transformers or solutions that “accommodate” the third harmonic by “over-sizing” transformers, conduits and switchgear; HSS does more. It entirely eliminates harmonic currents from existing everywhere within the system, at the source. The system has less current, less heat, less waste, lower electric bills and a real solution that pays for itself even as energy costs rise.
Planning a facility expansion? Need to replace a transformer? For maximum energy savings, consider Harmonic Suppression technology as a retrofit to an existing transformer; or as an integrated component of the transformer in the design of new construction.
For over 10 years, Harmonics Limited has been increasing energy efficiency with its’ proprietary leading-edge Harmonic Suppression Systems. The Company has helped thousands of facilities save money, boost reliability, and earn credit for their improved energy performance. www.harmonicslimited.com
Donald J. Moore is the CEO Harmonics Limited of New Haven, Connecticut.