RE Magazine - March 2014 - (Page 24) Key industry insights and information from NRECA's Cooperative Research Network Technology Showcase ■ Technology Showcase ■ Technology Showcase By Courtney Barry TechCurve Also in this Technology Showcase: ACHIEVING BALANCE Solutions..........................28 Exploring the "why" of voltage optimization Front Lines.......................32 Utility Marketplace.......34 ome electric co-op engineers see it as a real catch-22: maintaining a system that can support or allow a reduction in voltage while ensuring that adequate voltage is received by every consumer, all the way to the end of the line. But with the right tools and some forethought, achieving that balance doesn't have to be an insurmountable challenge, says Jim Weikert, automation consultant for Power System Engineering (powersystem.org) in Madison, Wis. "Every co-op can benefit from optimiz- report written for Cooperative Research Network (CRN), NRECA's technology research arm, explores what Weikert says are five key factors that drive utilities to analyze their volt/VAR (volt-ampere reactive) control and conservation voltage reduction (CVR) programs: power factor penalties, line losses, lost capacity, voltage drop, and preparation for voltage reduction. Weikert cautions that it's important to pay attention to the fine print in terminology. The term "voltage optimization," as MARK SHAVER S ing their specific voltage profile," Weikert says. Voltage optimization (VO) is a systematic, controlled reduction in the voltages received by an energy consumer to reduce energy use, power demand, and reactive power demand. "Combining distribution efficiency and conservation voltage reduction, which is essentially what VO is, can be relatively inexpensive and produce tangible results." The Why of Voltage Optimization, a new 24 R U R A L E L E C T R I C http://www.powersystem.org Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of RE Magazine - March 2014 Contents RE Magazine - March 2014 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0115 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1214 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1114 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1014 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0914 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0814 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0714 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0614 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0514 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0414 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0314 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0214 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0114 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1213 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1113 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1013 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0913 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0813 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0713 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0613 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0513 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0413 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0313 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0213 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0113 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1212 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1112 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1012 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0912 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0812 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0712 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0612 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0512 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0412 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0312 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0212 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0112 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1211 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1111 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1011 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0911 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0811 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0711 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0611 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0511 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0411 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0311 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0211 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0111 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1210 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1110 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1010 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0910 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0810 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0710 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0610 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0510 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0410 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0310 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0210 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0110 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1209 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1109 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1009 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0909 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0809 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0709 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0609 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0509 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0409 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0309 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0209 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0109 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1208 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1108 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1008 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0108 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0908 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0208 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0808 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0708 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0507v2 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0608 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0508 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0408 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0308 https://remagazine.cooperative.com/subscribers/issue.htm/nxtbooks/nreca/re1207 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1107 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re1007 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0907 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0807 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0707 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0607 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0507 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0407 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0307 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0207 https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nreca/re0107 http://www.nxtbookMEDIA.com