Reducing the electric bill by improving power quality in an Australian shopping mall

Shopping malls have a huge number of different equipment that need a constant power supply and directly affect the reliability of the facility’s operation. Power outages affect for example lighting, air conditioning, cold storage, the operation of escalators and elevators, etc. Cash registers and their computer systems also suffer from power outages, which slow down customer service and annoy customers. By taking care of power quality, it is possible to effectively prevent power outages and maintain a high-quality and reliable service in shopping malls.

Challenges in our customer’s shopping mall

Our customer’s shopping mall in Australia had gone through several expansions over time due to growth and population in the area. The quality of the electrical supply gradually declined along with changes in the load profile. This all came to a head in 2018 when there was a noticeable detrimental effect on the plant and its equipment. This resulted in many power outages in the shopping mall, causing loss of revenue, trading hours, inconvenience to tenants and customers, security, and OH&S issues. As a result, a power quality audit was carried out across the 7 substations on the site to enable a risk mitigation strategy. The report confirmed the need to provide dynamic compensation and harmonic mitigation across all substations.

Our Merus^® Solution

An innovative Smart Hybrid Solution was designed and manufactured by Merus Power’s local partner, Captech, using Merus^® HPQ (Hybrid Power Quality) -modules. The smart hybrid solution is a combination of traditional detuned capacitor steps and a modern Merus® A2 – Active Harmonic Filter using a single control system. This system provides a complete power quality solution that is fully programmable to provide dynamic reactive power compensation, harmonic mitigation, and unbalance mitigation.

Results after installation

Seven hybrid solutions were installed in the shopping mall’s electrical system. Each system was rated to suit the feeder based on the power quality measurements. The power quality in the shopping mall has been improved after the hybrid installations: the shopping mall has improved the stability of its electrical system, the lifetime of equipment increased, and electric bills got reduced. As a final note, the site engineering manager made a comment about how impressed and satisfied he was with the outcome of the project. The customer is now looking to implement the same solution for their other sites.