A case study examining how installing Legend Power's Harmonizer-AVR reduced Honda Canada's power costs by 6%.

1. Honda Canada Reduces Power Costs by 6% Using
Harmonizer Automatic Voltage Regulator
Background
Honda Canada’s facility in Richmond British Columbia is a 127,000 ft2 distribution
warehouse serving Honda Canada’s West Coast operations. Standard operating hours
at Honda Canada’s warehouse are between 8:00AM and 8:00PM Monday to Friday,
averaging 60 hours of operation per week. Prior to installing an electrical Harmonizer-
AVR, Honda Canada’s warehouse consumed 1,331,520 kWh annually with a peak
demand of 355 kW. For the purpose of this case study, these numbers will be used a
benchmark for energy consumption.
In 2007, Legend Power completed a beta installation of a 500 amp Electrical
Harmonizer-AVR to help reduce Honda Canada’s electrical energy consumption. After
completing the installation, initial measurement and verification found Honda Canada
had successfully saved electrical energy. In 2009, Legend Power completed a technical
review of this project to verify that the Electrical Harmonizer-AVR installed in 2007 is
still effectively saving electrical energy. The results of this review are as follows.
Methodology – Auditing & Verification
The instantaneous effect of changing the voltage applied to a facility can be easily
measured by making measurements for a few seconds before and after the voltage
change. For many loads the change in power will happen immediately but in others the
load will need time to settle into its new steady state condition. Two sequential
measurements within 0.5% of each other are adequate to ensure that transients have
passed.
If individual loads or circuits cannot be isolated, there is the likelihood that random
changes in the total load will make it difficult to isolate the effect of voltage changes. To
avoid this, several steps of voltage up and down were analysed to obtain at least two
samples where the steps in power are consistent. This allows the relationship between
the voltage and power to be obtained at that particular time.
The control software was set up so that on power up a series of voltage steps was
executed every 30 minutes over a period of four days. These steps were from the actual
tap setting to bypass and back. That is to say that the output voltage was never taken
too low. If the control was already selected bypass nothing would change.
Each of the series of steps were analysed to determine the change in real power
produced by the AVR at that time and day. This resulted in 48 samples per day for four

2. days. For the purposes of verification the actual average power over 30 minutes centred
on each sample will be divided by the percentage AVR change determined for that
sample to determine the average real and reactive power which would have been
drawn without the AVR.
Finally the kWh for the complete week was determined by summing the 30 minute
samples above, which will yield the actual kWh used and the kWh which would have
been used without the AVR. Comparing the two totals allows the weekly percentage
effect of the AVR to be calculated. For the purpose of calculating the percent savings,
the original energy data from 2007 will be used as a benchmark.
Load Profile
Honda Canada’s warehouse has the following electrical load profile:
• 45% Lighting
• 40% Motor & HVAC
• 10% Office Equipment
• 5% Battery Chargers
5%
5% 10%
10%
Fl uores cent
Meta l Ha l i de (175-400 Wa tts )
HVAC
Offi ce Equi pment
35% Motors - Fa ns
Ba ttery Cha rgers
35%
Four Day Power Profile
The following chart displays Honda Canada’s power usage with the Harmonizer-AVR on,
displayed in blue and the power usage with the Harmonizer-AVR in bypass, displayed in
red. This clearly shows the 5.98% power savings that Honda Canada achieved by
installing an Electrical Harmonizer-AVR.

3. POWER WITH AVR (kW) POWER AT BYPASS (kW)
300.00
250.00
Power - kW
200.00
150.00
100.00
50.00
Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Four Day Voltage Profile
The chart below displays the voltage with the Harmonizer-AVR on, in blue, and with the
Harmonizer-AVR in bypass, in red. Significant voltage fluctuations throughout the four
day period ranging from 620V to 600V can be clearly seen. Most electrical equipment is
designed operate between 635V and 575V, operating equipment on the higher side of
600V, which Honda was doing prior to installing an Electrical Harmonizer-AVR, will cause
equipment to consume more electrical energy than required to operate effectively.
VOLTAGE with AVR (V) Voltage at Bypass (V)
630.00
620.00
610.00
600.00
Voltage
590.00
580.00
570.00
560.00
Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

4. Results
Nearing three years after installing an Electrical Harmonizer-AVR, Honda Canada
continues to save energy through Legend Power’s technology. The load profile in this
facility is largely lighting and motor loads with some small electronic loads. Most
electronic loads use front end regulated power supplies and do not save energy through
voltage optimization, because of this only lighting and motor & HVAC loads will be
considered in this case study. The following provides an explanation on how the savings
respective to both motor loads and lighting loads was achieved.
Resistive Loads & Lighting Loads
These include most heaters and traditional incandescent lighting loads. The
instantaneous electrical power consumption is proportional to the square of the
instantaneous voltage and the temperature of the resistor typically changes much
slower than variations in the voltage. This means that the average power can easily
controlled via the voltage, irrespective of the waveform.
It should be noted that some loads are temperature dependent. An incandescent lamp
typically draws several times its normal current for the brief interval until the filament
warms up. The useful light output and lamp life are also not straightforward functions of
voltage. At low voltages a lamp will last a long time but not be very bright. At high
voltages a lamp will be better at converting electricity into visible light but burn out
quickly.
Many heating loads are thermostatically controlled. This means that although
controlling the voltage will control the instantaneous power the average power and
energy consumed will be unchanged since the heater at lower voltage will simply rum
for longer at a lower heat output.
The initial facility audit performed in 2007 prior to installing an Electrical Harmonizer-
AVR included an isolated voltage reduction of 6% on the buildings lighting loads which
revealed a 6.85% instantaneous power savings. Although a voltage optimization
simulation was not performed as part of this case study, Legend Power does not see a
reason why voltage optimization would not reduce power by 6.85% on the buildings
lighting loads.
Motor Loads
Traditional induction motor loads directly connected to the AC line draw real power
which goes into supplying the mechanical output and also the iron and copper losses in
the motor. There is also a reactive power drawn to maintain the magnetic flux in the

5. machine, which reduces the power factor. The magnetic characteristics of the motor
also mean that harmonic currents are drawn from the supply.
The effect of voltage regulation on this complex load is not straightforward. In general
the rated conditions given on the nameplate do not represent the most efficient point
for motor operation and many mechanical loads are variable and/or partial. The higher
the voltage the higher the reactive power demand and the higher the harmonic current
flow. The losses in the iron will also increase. The conversion of electrical power into
mechanical power is generally lower at lower voltages but only increases negligibly if
the voltage is above the rated value and is offset by other losses. In summary, the
overall motor efficiency and power factor are usually increased by reducing the motor
voltage to its rated value or below.
Based on the assumption that the buildings lighting load was reduced by 6.85%, Legend
Power assumes that the remainder of the savings is a result of motor load efficiencies.
The Electrical Harmonizer-AVR helped to reduce power to the facility’s motor loads and
HVAC system by 7.25%.
Total Savings
As a result of installing an Electrical Harmonizer-AVR, Honda Canada has achieved the
following results:
Annual kWh Savings: 76,271
Average kW Reduction: 8.73
Percent Savings: 5.98%
Dollar Savings: $4,400
The savings achieved through voltage optimization is expected to persist over the life of
the Electrical Harmonizer-AVR. After 10 years, Honda Canada will have saved an
estimated 762,710 kWh of electrical energy and $44,000.

6. ABOUT LEGEND POWER
Legend Power Systems Inc. is an electrical energy conservation company that uses a
patented device to achieve significant energy conservation through voltage
optimization. Installation results have yielded measurable reductions in electric bills,
maintenance costs and greenhouse gases.
Legend Power helps facilities reduce their environmental footprint while increasing their
competitiveness through cost effective and sustainable investments in energy efficiency.
Find out if the Legend Power Electrical Harmonizer-AVR is right for your facility.
Contact:
David Orton
sales@legendpower.com
604.420.1500
Find Out How Much The Legend Power Electrical
Harmonizer-AVR Could Save Your Facility:
Click to Book A Free Assessment Now!