Case Study
Amway Center

Background

The Amway Center is an 875,000 square foot state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue located in downtown Orlando, Florida. The arena is home to the Orlando Magic of the NBA, the Orlando Predators of the AFL and various other sporting events. The Amway Center also hosts a variety of concert events, music festivals and large private functions. As the first LEED Gold certified NBA facility, the Amway Center embraces a culture of energy efficiency and “green” initiatives.

Engagement

On March 23, 2012, there was an evaluation for an installation of the EnergyMizer system in the facility’s commissary section. The Amway Arena engineers elected to focus on this area due to its high electricity and constant load requirements.

As part of the initiative, it was agreed that electrical data would be measured for two weeks with the EnergyMizer turned off and two weeks with it turned on, to compare the effects that the EnergyMizer would have on electrical usage.

It is worthwhile to note that during the two week “on” period, the arena hosted four home games. During the “off” period, the arena hosted three games. As a result, there were greater load demands in the two weeks during which the EnergyMizer was turned on, due to the additional game hosted during that period.

Equipment

Two EnergyMizer EM400 modules were installed on the breaker panel that supplies the commissary area of the facility. The panel consisted of three phases and 480 volts. It powers refrigeration equipment that includes walk-in freezers operating 24 hours a day. An Acuvim IIR was also installed to collect and record electrical data that included Amperage, KW and Power Factor.

The Results

Amperage

Amperage is important, as it correlates directly to billed KWH usage. Over the course of the four week period, there was a significant  drop in Amperage once the EnergyMizer was turned on. The graph below illustrates day by day usage captured by the Acuvim IIR.

The average Amperage drop over the four weeks was 14.4%.

Demand (KW)

Demand, measured in KW, is a measure against which utility companies assess a “demand charge”. The highest figure of demand in a given month is what is used to calculate this charge. As the graph illustrates, there was a significant demand reduction in the two weeks that the EnergyMizer EM400 modules were turned on.

The average Demand (KW) drop over the four weeks was 11.1%.

Power Factor

Power Factor is the measure of an electrical system’s efficiency. It quantifies how hard the utility company must work to deliver power to the facility. Significant financial penalties are imposed when optimal power factors are not in place.

The average Power Factor over the four weeks went from 0.904 to 0.985

Conclusion

The installation of the EnergyMizer EM400 modules resulted in a significant improvement in all of the key electrical measurements that were collected, which translates directly to savings on the electricity bill.

These positive findings are consistent with the success that the EnergyMizer by Greenzone has achieved with the EnergyMizer installed in over 500 facilities across America since 2007.

Now there is an EnergyMizer by Greenzone for home use. Easy to install and sure to save on your energy bill