2024-02-17 21:09:00
During 2024, buildings and large users in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA) will have to install electrical capacitor boards to regulate power and ensure safety and efficiency of energy use. It is a resolution of National Electricity Regulatory Entity (ENRE) which will involve an estimated investment of the equivalent of approximately US$ 100 per department.
The measure aims reduce power outages, avoid cable overheating and facilities that, in some cases, cause fires and reduce the emission of carbon footprintsin line with international commitments to mitigate the effects of climate change.
According to information collected by Telam These capacitors allow for improved energy use. Rafael Caputo, Product Marketing Specialist at ABBexplained to that medium that “electricity can be put to different uses, for example, generating light: if you have 10 lamps and each one consumes 1 watt, the company will be contracted for a consumption of 10 watts; It also generates heat through stoves or hot water tanks, which would add 10 more watts”, this would be active energy.
“But it can also generate movement through an electric motor, like that of a washing machine, and that’s where the equation changes, because although the contract is made for 30 watts, Electric motors, in addition to energy, also consume magnetism, which travels along the same wire as electricity.“he added. This generates an overload of the network, while “the driver is more stressed by a magnetism that is not being paid for”this would be reactive energy.
Currently the power factor in the coverage areas of Edenor and Edesur is 0.85, that is, out of every 100 energy units, 85 are active and 15 are reactive. As of ENRE resolution 85/2024, it will be 0.95, so reactive energy will decrease by 10 percentage points.
Weather: it may rain this Sunday in the AMBA and heavy thermals return in several provinces
“It is something that has already existed in practically the entire rest of the country for years.“, they clarified Telam from the Argentine Chamber of Electronic, Electromechanical and Lighting Industries (Cadieel).
For Caputo “0.85 is a very old power factor and there are no technical reasons to maintain that value.” For this adaptation, capacitors will be necessary.
Sebastián González, digital energy manager at Schneider Electric, explained that capacitors “are cost-effective solutions, easy to install and put into service, safe and ready for energy management, which can increase the energy efficiency and productivity of your facilities.” The main benefits are “increase the available potential of the transformer; extend the useful life of the facilities; avoid paying penalties and extra costs on the bill; reduce system power losses and voltage drop in the networks; increase the system capacity , generate a lower rate of outages due to breakdowns and reduce the carbon footprint.
The ENRE pointed out Telam what The consortia “have 180 days to normalize the facilities from the reliable notification by the distributor (Edenor or Edesur, depending on the location of the building)” and that this period will govern “for the first two years from the publication of the resolution”, that is, until February 2026 and will be will be reduced to 60 days therefollowing.
They also clarified that, if the consortium acquires the capacitor directly from the distributor within 90 days of notification, “that period does not run, because it is already the responsibility of the distributor.”
The prices of the capacitors will depend on the dimensions of the building and the additional options offered by the companies (installation, maintenance, following-sales services, etc.). Caputo estimated “an approximate value of US$100 per apartment.”
“For a building with 50 apartments with an average consumption of 300 kw per month per unit, a 100 kva capacitor would be needed, regarding US$5,000 for a panel of capacitors,” he evaluated and explained that a panel of that capacity “measures approximately 1 meter by 1 meter, 30 centimeters deep and is installed on the wall, where the general electrical panel is.
RB / Dog
1708205671
#Electrical #capacitors #boards #consortiums #install #AMBA