Voltage Conservation Reduction – Simple Concept, Complex Solution

Jon Rennie, Vice President and General Manager of Distribution Automation and Components, is participating in a webcast panel on Voltage Conservation at DistibuTECH. Register HERE and learn about the benefits of voltage monitoring and the initiatives of the Smart Grid Voltage Conservation Alliance (SGVCA).

Long before the term “smart grid” became the buzzword of the energy market, utilities and regulators have been interested in the concept of reducing electric consumption by lowering voltage levels of the grid.  With the push in the market for the grid to become smarter and more efficient, the concept of Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR) has become another of the common terms associated with the smart grid.

CVR is a simple concept that states if the utility can lower their voltage delivery to a consistent 117 volts, it will result in saved energy.  Studies have shown that reducing the system voltage by 1% yields an impressive 0.6% reduction in electricity consumption.  Scaling this up to a 5% voltage reduction, a utility could realize an impressive 3% reduction in energy consumption.  This could be easily implemented at little cost and be especially effective during times of peak load, thus preventing the use of more expensive auxiliary power to feed the grid and/or preventing the need to commit large amounts of capital to invest in new power plants. However, implementing CVR and realizing the benefits is not as simple as the concept itself.

Before embracing the CVR concept, it is critical to understand some major factors to ensure that utilities and their customers experience the benefits.  The primary concern with CVR is that too low of a voltage is a leading cause of problems for consumers and that, not surprisingly, is something utilities work to avoid.  Just as the picture at the beginning of this post portrays, long feeders experience losses that could put customers voltage levels below the ANSI lower limit even if the customers closer to the substation are above 120 volts.  In addition, there exist types of load equipment that have constant current or power characteristics which do not produce that benefit of decreasing power consumption as a result of voltage conservation.

Does this mean we should abandon CVR as a smart grid concept?  Definitely not! In fact, what it does mean is that instead of considering CVR as the only means of energy savings, it is important to look at “optimizing voltage”.  Understanding the fundamentals of equipment response and the aggregated response of loads throughout the grid are critical in making the proper decisions at the proper time.  Using GridSync medium voltage sensors, utilities can have the capability today to better understand the condition of their feeders from the substation down to the last customer.  This leads to more intelligent, real-time decisions ensuring voltage is always at optimal levels.  Contact the ABB Pinetops Marketing Department at 252-827-2121 to learn more and start optimizing your distribution grid.