Power Protection and UPS Blog

I was reading yesterday about how the UK Government has been ‘blue-skying’ the future of energy - Nuclear or Wind Power? Centralized v distributed supply? It got me thinking about the future of UPS and I decided to do a bit of blue-skying myself:

Examine any technological innovation over the years and what usually happens is that all efforts, once it has been invented, turn to ‘miniaturization’. UPS is no different. The uninterruptible power supplies of the future - even in huge industrial applications - will be tiny in comparison to today’s units. Transformers, inverters, filters, conditioners, fans and all internal elements in a UPS are being continually downsized.

Alongside an increasing upsurge in demand for energy, ‘income-per-squarefoot’ is something business managers are trying desperately to increase, which is why essential equipment like UPS needs to be smaller, take up less space, be more energy efficient and at the same time more sophisticated, faster and better than before.

The challenge for us as UPS manufacturers in blue-skying the future is to develop products that meet these demands whilst at the same time ensuring reliability, quality, innovation, resilience and ease of use. To me, the best definition of progress is development towards an improved or more advanced condition. So, to borrow the phrase from a well-known advert - “more forwards please…………….”

According to this week’s news, it’s doom and gloom for the future of food. We’re running out of wheat, rice, soya - and  curry Chefs!

That last one’s a real problem for me (he says jokingly)! Apparently, changes in the imigration laws in the UK (in particular), are making it difficult for Indian restaurants and Balti houses to source genuine, authentic and experienced cooks! Yikes! 

As far as grains and pulses go, climate change and global warming are being blamed for poor harvests around the world but an even darker threat is lurking just around the corner. Yes, you guessed it - Biofuels!

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which became law in December, mandates the use of 36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2022 and almost half of that will come from grain-based (corn and wheat) ethanol. In North American this is great news for the corn-growing states that will now, I fear, intensify production but not for food for fuel, easier to produce, less regulated and (I imagine) more profitable. My worry, which I have touched on before in this blog, is that food production will suffer at the hands of politics and capital gain from Biofuel production where it is being produced to replace fossil-fuel derived products (Petrol and Diesel) for vehicles.

What has this got to do with power protection? Well, firstly, did you know that the processes currently used to produce ethanol are energy intensive and thus add to, not negate, the issue of increasing demand for energy? Secondly, biofuels are being used in fuel cells, which can replace UPS batteries as an alternative back-up source. The technology is available now and whilst the origins of the fuel may be questionable, they offer a number of key advantages: harmless emissions, longer design life, less maintenance, reduced heat output and in many cases cheaper lifetime running costs.

The Power Protection Guide talks about fuel cells and their use in UPS installation.

It looks like plans to build one of Europe’s largest wind farms on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, are to be turned down.  As one would imagine, local anti-wind farm campaigners are gleeful whilst supporters of the 181 turbine scheme feel embittered.  

I have mixed feelings; on the one hand I am all for harnessing the power of wind to produce energy. We need more energy and we’re not getting enough from fossil fuels. Having visited the Western Isles a couple of years ago, I can tell you, it is one of the windiest places I know!  

However, it is also one of the most beautiful and unspoilt and a big part of me recognises that that is its charm and uniqueness and it should be preserved. Whilst there, I felt like I had entered a very special community that welcomed me with open arms but was not trying to be anything other than what it was nor pander to my whims merely because I was a tourist, like some other holiday destinations. Where else can you go these days where the locals leave everything unlocked because there is no crime? Or you can walk mile upon mile on golden sandy beaches and not see another human being? I can’t help but disagree with Angus Campbell, vice-convener or Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (quoted or BBC News website): “……….Are we to become and environmental museum? Is any development at all to be allowed in the Western Isles?”

There are other parts of Britain, like Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Northumberland and Wales, for example, where ex-open cast mining sites used to be located. Surely they, or similar habitats, can be utilised? I don’t know but what I do know is that it would be a tragedy to do anything that would change the very fabric of the Hebrides – the jewel in the crown of the British Isles.

The argument over bio fuels is raging. It centres on two key points: on the one hand bio fuels are said to be good for the environment because they produce fewer emissions than fossil fuels and so can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are said to be driving climate change. On the other hand, some organisations believe that bio fuels will do more harm to the environment in the way they are produced unless strict controls are imposed.  

The Royal Society issued a report this week, which followed a 14 month enquiry at the same time as the European Union announced re-examination of its targets for bio fuels because of fears of their impact on the environment. The fear is that forests will be decimated to make way for land on which to grow bio fuel crops.  

It stands to reason that in poor communities where environmental concerns are much less of a priority than putting food on the table, the urge to clear forest to make way for valuable crops would make sense. But it is often not these communities who live on the land who make the decision; it is the Governments and big businesses around the world who will initiate the competition for agricultural land between bio fuels and the crops needed to feed the expanding world population. However you look at it, it would seem trees are doomed and that’s bad news for everyone. It is a well-known fact that curbing carbon dioxide emissions is far easier by restoring and protecting forests.

On 4^th December in this blog I wrote about the continued wrangling over the USA Energy Bill (‘Battle Continues over USA Energy Bill……….’). It was hoped it would include the first meaningful increase in fuel efficiency standards for vehicles in the US for decades and a boost in production of biofuels. However, I was disappointed to read on Forbes.com that the Bill was blocked by the Senate last Thursday. It seems the politicians, law-makers and energy industry just can’t agree on a final outline and the Bill is being whittled down to such a degree that one wonders if by the time it gets to President Bush’s office for signature it will be worth having at all?  It seems there is strong opposition to a tax package favouring investment in energy efficiency but coming down heavily on the oil industry. To bring the Bill to a vote Democrats were forced to drop a provision that required utilities to obtain at least 15% of their electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar power. The Bill now goes to a third reading – albeit watered down – hopefully to be passed before the end of 2007.

I read today that British Energy has announced a safeguard of the future of nuclear power stations Hinkley Point B, near Bridgewater in Somerset, and Hunterston B in Ayrshire, Scotland, by five years until 2016. As the arguments for and against nuclear power rage on, no doubt this announcement will be welcomed by pro-nuclear campaigners, those in the nuclear industry and indeed employees at British Energy. Hunterston employs around 670 people and brings an estimated £55m a year into the local economy. However, the UK has still to define its nuclear policy, which the Government has said it will do in 2008. There are those in politics I’m sure who see this as an indication that it has already made up its mind. The way I see it is that in an ideal world we could meet our power needs, maintain energy security and tackle climate change through a comprehensive programme of renewables, energy efficiency and cleaner carbon technology. But that’s the crux - we do not yet live in such a utopia and until we do we need to find a way to meet our expanding energy needs and it is not being done through indigenous production.

Interestingly, British Energy’s announcement came the day after leader of the Department of Business and Enterprise John Hutton revealed plans to install up to 7,000 offshore wind turbines to boost wind produced energy 60-fold by 2020. The business secretary admitted it would change Britain’s coastline, and result in higher electricity bills. However, it would go a long way towards addressing climate change through low-carbon energy production and enable the UK to be more self-sufficient.  Mr Hutton was quoted on the BBC’s website as saying: “I do not want in 20 years’ time to find that whether the lights go on in the morning is down to some foreign government. “I agree! In the meantime, for information about how to protect your supply of energy visit Riello UPS.

After months of wrangling between themselves and the auto industry, it seems USA Congress just can’t reach an agreement over its proposed Energy Bill. Happily, though, the centrepiece was agreed this weekend and it is the first meaningful increase in fuel efficiency standards for cars, light trucks, SUVs and minivans in the USA for over 30 years. The provision raises average fuel economy standards from 25 to 35 miles/gallon by 2020, thus saving 1.1 million barrels of oil a day (equating to half of current imports from the Persian Gulf).

Not everyone is happy about the Bill, however. The utility and oil industries - Washington’s most powerful lobbyists - are firmly holding out against a measure requiring them to obtain at least 15% of their electricity from renewable sources like wind and solar power. Some have said it will cause a dramatic increase in power prices in some areas of the country and that it will slow economic output by 4% by 2030.

I worry more about the definition of the word ‘renewable’ and the danger of having a federal renewable energy standard based on a politically determined definition of that word. Is a municipal waste burning plant renewable, for example? Or a power plant that burns timber waste? Both of these are counted by the Energy Information Administration as renewable. My view is that their environmental benefits are questionable and a definition of what is a renewable source of alternative energy should be debated and determined outside of politics.

What do you think?

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I read in the press that the South Gare lighthouse, at the mouth of the River Tees in North East England, is now being powered solely by a hydrogen fuel cell. The technology was developed by the Centre for Process Innovation at Wilton. The lighthouse is 120 years old and is regularly lashed by high winds and rough seas. The fuel cell has been developed to withstand such conditions. Another development comes from USA-based Protonex Technology who, in partnership with AeroVironment, have developed a fuel cell system that has kept an unmanned aerial vehicle in the air for several hours – a significant improvement on the two hours so far achieved by earlier technologies. 

Fossil fuels are running low, we know that, so alternatives have to be sourced but are fuel cells really in the running?  First invented by Sir William Robert Grove in 1839, in recent years their development has centred primarily on military applications, although the last few years has seen a rash of activity in the leisure industry with companies, such as Voller Energy, developing fuel cells that run on natural gas, which can then be used by caravan and boat enthusiasts.  Replacing generators as an alternative source of back-up power still seems a long way off. Fuel cells are expensive to manufacture and run plus their environmental credentials are questionable. They run on hydrogen, hydrocarbons, alcohol and chlorine or chlorine dioxide, which are pretty potent chemicals that have to be sourced, stored and disposed of.  Conversely, a fuel cell can be compact, lightweight and, as it has no major moving parts, extremely reliable.  

Where the normal mains power supply is unreliable and there is a suitable supply of natural gas, fuel cells can be advantageous as an alternative source of ac power although a battery set will still be required. It will be a while before they enter the mainstream UPS market. For more information on fuel cells and alternative power sources, see The Power Protection Guide

A report the other day stated that oil production and demand will max out within 10 years. After this we can expect a slow reduction in oil production and the need to (1) develop technologies to make more use of heavier oils that we will require even more energy to turn them into useable fuels, and (2) move further towards renewables. Riello UPS is already working within the solar energy field and has an exciting solar powered inverter development programme with active markets in Spain, Germany, Italy and France. In the UK we will be developing sales channels for these products in 2008.

Now the UK may not be considered one an ideal choice for solar power but the efficiency of today’s solar cells means that energy can be ‘harvested’ on even what we would consider dull days. Wrexham itself, which is where Riello UPS has one of its UK bases is actually a centre of excellence for solar panels with Sharp (the number one supplier of solar panels) being situated within the Wrexham industrial area.

Jos Meeuwsen from the Technical University Eindhoven has created quite a stir by conceptualizing what could prove to be the ideal solution to upgrading the outdated electricity grids across Europe to meet increasing demand.

Post-doctoral research, which he didn’t even intend for publication, has been picked up by a number of science and technical news sites and portals throughout the EU. In it, he sets out three scenarios for the future of the electricity grid demonstrating that in the future everyone who is connected to it will be able to upload and download packages of electrcity to and from the network.

He says that due to security of supply, electricity networks will always be necessary but that it is important to include all possible energy options (including sustainable, coal and nuclear) in scenario development. However, engineers face “new and considerable challenges” in the areas of network and system integration and the development and implementation of new technology.

His vision of the future includes: ’super networks’, which consist of large-scale production locations, transportation via high voltages, a considerable import of sustainable energy (biomass) and energy from off-shore wind farms. ‘Hybrid networks’ would include large plants with high voltages that originate from offshore wind parks and large biomass stations. Additonally, small-scale generation takes place in and around cities and villages (wind, biomass and solar energy). Finally, in the ‘local’ scenario the number of local generators (micro-cogeneration units, solar panels, small-scale biomass plants) at neighbourhood level and land-based wind turbines will supply demand. Large, industrial processes and small consumers would still make part use of electricity from large-scale production resources.

Whilst businesses and consumers are being urged to be more energy efficient and reduce demand, one of the primary stumbling blocks to improvement in the demand/supply ratio is the outmoded electricity network. In a world where everything is converging towards consumer choice, this is the last bastion of old Henry Ford’s “……so long as it’s Black” philosophy wherby consumers will buy what’s available because it’s available. Those days are rapidly diminishing; ask anyone in the music business how difficult it is to sell ‘packaged’ CDs containing songs from one artist these days.

In Meeuwsen’s world, there will be a step-by-step integration of energy technology, ICT and power electronics that may result in an electricity system that exhibits similarities with the internet. Everyone connected could then, within limits, upload and download packages of electrical energy whenever they wanted.