Ensto Voltage Booster installation in Kokemäki, Finland
Ensto Voltage Booster was installed to improve the quality of electricity at the village of Piilijoki in Kokemäki, Finland.
On Friday June 14, 2013 a voltage booster developed and manufactured by Ensto was installed in Kokemäen Sähkö Oy's operational area. The Ensto Voltage Booster can efficiently solve power quality problems in electricity distribution networks. The Ensto Voltage Booster – known for its ability to correct voltage drops efficiently and quickly – was installed on an overhead line pole near the home of Irene Hämäläinen and Henry Sundqvist.
The new voltage booster was introduced at the beginning of this year at the Verkosto 2013 Trade Fair for electricity and information networks in Tampere, Finland. Since then, the device has drawn considerable attention, and Kokemäen Sähkö Oy was one of the interested operators, because some locations in its operational area occasionally suffer from too low voltage.
“The Ensto Voltage Booster ensures a provision of electricity of more uniform quality for customers because the device can increase the voltage from 170 V up to 230 V,” says Paavo Paakkunainen, Product Development Engineer at Ensto Finland Oy.
- Problems with fluctuation in voltage are common, especially in areas where the number of new summer cottages has increased.
Lightweight device with high efficiency
Marko Kylliäinen, Sales Manager of Ensto Finland Oy, says that the Ensto Voltage Booster weighs about 150 kg, and installing the device on an existing overhead line pole is far from difficult.
- Because the device is double insulated, it can be installed at a lower height, as was the case at the Piilijoki site.
- This small and lightweight device with high efficiency (>98%) complies with the existing grid. The consumption of earlier corresponding products was notably higher. Ensto Voltage Booster is suitable for both overhead and underground power lines. It is also quick to install and no calibration is needed – once installed, it can utilize the whole capacity of the existing grid, but at the same time it updates the grid to meet current demands.
- This device can be used to minimize transfer losses and maximize the lifetime of the network, Marko Kylliäinen states.
Voltage Booster counts for pleased customers
Henry Sundqvist, a multi-skilled sheet-metal worker, was very pleased to find that Kokemäen Sähkö Oy invested significant effort into making the electricity network more efficient.
- We moved from a busy city to this peaceful countryside location a while ago. Previously, electric heating was not possible in our house. We have also had some other problems with electricity but we have managed to cope with them because our requirements have not been too high. Our use of electricity will probably increase in the future.
- In any case, it is great to know that electricity can be utilized more efficiently. Although the wiring in our house needs to be upgraded to a certain extent, we are happy to do that because we can rest assured that electricity of uniform quality is guaranteed.
- We are very pleased with the actions our electricity company has taken, Henry Sundqvist concludes.
Erkki Pelkonen, Site Manager of Kokemäen Sähkö Oy, emphasizes that the provision of electricity of uniform quality is not straightforward.
- It is understandable that a voltage booster is installed in a location where the line downstream of the transformer is long and the number of consumers is low. But when we consider, for example, areas in which a number of new summer cottages have been built in recent years and the cottages are equipped with a wide variety of electric appliances and devices, a voltage booster is not the right solution. In such cases we have to install new cabling from the transformer to these locations. However, we will install voltage boosters in some locations in our operational area. The decision for each case will always be made after careful consideration, with the efficient and economical supply of electricity in mind.
Text: Matti Välkkynen