Ibstock Brick – Stoke

Founded in 1825 Ibstock Brick has a long history of brick making and industrial activity.  Their Parkhouse works in Newcastle-under-Lyme produces over 200 Million bricks per year, supplying the construction industry.

Ibstock contacted Power Efficient Solutions as they felt their existing Power Factor Correction equipment wasn’t achieving a satisfactory level of efficiency.  The site had two main LV supplies, both with PFC equipment installed.  However, the Power Factor across both supplies was 0.85 (lag) or 85% efficient.  The client had a number of small PFC units connected to each supply, and although maintenance had been carried out on the PFC units on a number of occasions, by an electrical contractor, it was clear they had issues.

The first step for Power Efficient Solutions was to carry out an assessment of the clients existing PFC equipment.  This equipment was found to be largely non-functional as a result of capacitor and other component failure, across all PFC units.  It was clear the existing equipment was beyond economical repair, and we recommended all nine existing PFC units were replaced for two PFC units of suitable capacity.  We followed up with data analysis of the client half hourly data and on-site supply analysis to determine the specification and capacity of the any equipment.

We recommended two 350kVAr ‘Standard’ PFC units would be sufficient in capacity and specification to replace the existing non-functional PFC equipment and improve the Power Factor from the existing 0.85 (lag) to 0.97 lag).

Ibstock requested we proceed with our recommendations.  The work involved disconnecting all nine existing PFC units, removing from site and replacing for two 350kVAr units.  This work was carried out across 3-days, with no disruption to the client’s electrical supply and realised the savings detailed below.

The results actually exceeded our expectations, with the average Power Factor across both supplies improved from 0.85 (lag) pre-works to 0.98 (lag) post-works.  The improved Power Factor will significantly reduced current draw on the main incoming electrical supplies, freeing up more capacity, and will have a beneficial effect on the motors utilised in their manufacturing processes, improving reliability, and reducing future maintenance costs.

The client has requested we carry out annual maintenance on the new PFC equipment to ensure their investment is looked after by the experts and they can relax knowing their equipment is in safe hands!