About The Ark

What is the operating temperature range?

The standard ambient operating temperature range is between -25°C and 45°C.

What protection does The Ark provide from spikes and surges?

The Ark unit will assist in providing protection from spikes and surges. The amount of protection provided depends upon the size and duration of the spike (e.g. very high disturbances can be handled for short periods of time, slight disturbances for a longer duration).

What if there is a power failure?

If a power failure occurs the normal operation of The Ark unit will resume once power is restored.

Does the unit consume any power?

The Ark unit has an efficiency rating exceeding 99.8% and uses LED technology for the indication lamps. As such, the unit consumes negligible power. The net result is that the energy saving far exceeds any power consumed by the unit.

Does The Ark contain any electronics?

The standard Ark unit contains no electronic components.

Units may be fitted with an optional electronic energy meter; however this does not affect the operation of the unit.

What is The Ark?

The Ark Energy Saving Unit is a high performance Voltage Optimisation device. It provides electricity and carbon emission savings by efficiently optimising a site’s supply voltage. By optimising voltage and refining and improving power quality, electrical equipment runs more efficiently and uses less electricity.

What are the main benefits of The Ark?

The Ark’s main operational and financial benefits are:

Reduces electricity costs by up to 20%
Reduces carbon emissions by up to 20% and helps achieve environmental objectives.
Reduces repairs and maintenance costs on motors, lighting and equipment.
Extends the lifespan of motors, lighting and equipment.
Reduces electricity peak demand and capacity charges.
Helps protect electrical equipment from short-term power surges.
Helps protect sensitive equipment from the damaging effects of harmonic distortions.
Typical payback period between 2-4 years.
10-year core component warranty with expected life span of 30+ years.
Maintenance free operations.

How does The Ark work?

The Ark Energy Saving Unit (ESU) although similar in basic construction to an autotransformer has 2 fundamental differences: a) 2 electrically separate inductive coils, b) the manner by which these coils are connected to each other and to the load and supply. Coil A is connected in series whiles Coil B is shunt (parallel) connected to the load.

Coil A provides broad based harmonic rectification - a standard, fundamental feature of this category of inductive device and proven method of energy reduction. Coil A also provides some of the energy reduction by voltage optimisation. Coil B provides the second half of the voltage optimisation via the adjustable voltage tappings. This method is also a well-known and used energy reduction measure.
As each phase is star connected to each other, and again due to the manner of interconnection of Coils A and B, the ESU is able to provide a degree of voltage balance between each phase at the ESU output. The effect is a more suitable supply to the connected load providing higher efficiency of operation of loads - in particular rotating loads (e.g. 3 phase synchronous motors).

Maintaining or improving Power Factor is a basic and proven form of energy saving. The Ark ESU can provide an improvement in Power Factor Correction, in the order of 0.01 to 0.05 leading by combining the action of Coil A and B to compensate with reactive energy as required when phase current tends to lag excessively behind voltage.

Again this is achieved via a clever combination of physical location and electrical connection of Coil A in the series and Coil B in parallel with the load. Coil A provides energy to the load for the most part. However, as a fundamental of Alternating Current principles there are ‘gaps’ in Coil A’s supply. Coil B compensates for these ‘gaps’ by way of the unique interconnection of Coils A and B to maintain or improve Power Factor.

The diagram above shows the energy saving transformer system. Current Coil A and Auxiliary Voltage Coil B are the main winding and inverse phase energy saving winding respectively. When the supply current flows through coil A magnetic restriction occurs in voltage coil B. As coil B is connected in series to coil A the energy induced by magnetic restriction from the inverse phase current in coil B is expressed as voltage drop in coil A hence giving power "recycling", which gives the unit its energy saving capabilities.

What is the core component of The Ark made of?

The construction of The Ark and the materials used are vital to its efficiency. The magnetic core is constructed not in the regular rectangular shape of conventional inductive devices but in a similar shape to that of a magnetic field. This design provides an extremely efficient path for the magnetic fields within the cores of the ESU to circulate with very little energy loss.

The material of construction of the core is Amorphous Alloy material (usually Ferrite Boron Silicon Alloy or Fe-B-Si) found in ‘super high efficiency’ transformers which contributes to the super high efficiency, typically >99.8%. The core construction is made of long ‘strips’ of the core material. These features have the effect of maximising magnetic field strength while minimising losses in energy due to circulating eddy currents. Each coil is constructed with high-grade copper to minimise resistance and reduce impedance, providing more than twice the magnetic circuit conductance of standard materials and reducing energy loss. These coils are insulated with grade “H” insulating materials, which not only provides good galvanic isolation but also increases operating longevity far beyond the expected life of ordinary inductive devices. All of the above contribute to The Ark’s proven high efficiency and energy saving ability.

Where and when was the technology developed?

The technology was developed in Japan in 1993 to help reduce rising energy costs. Electricity costs in the East and in parts of Europe have been far higher than in Australia for many years and accordingly the technology has achieved enormous success in these regions, for a much longer period of time.

Why are we only hearing about The Ark now?

With our abundance of natural resources, the price of electricity in Australia is among the lowest in the world. Hence the financial incentive for energy efficiency products in Australia has lagged well behind countries that pay more for their electricity.

The Ark was first introduced into Australia in 2002. Throughout this time there have been over 100 units installed, saving thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions and millions of dollars in electricity bills. The demand for the product has increased significantly in more recent years as the price of electricity has begun to rise and a greater corporate emphasis is being placed upon environmental responsibility.

How is The Ark Assembled?

The Ark has one core component that improves numerous aspects of electricity quality. The whole product is assembled as a single unit that sits neatly in an electrical switch-room.

Savings and Performance Guarantee

Energywise - Leading the way in energy efficiency products and services

Energywise - a wealth of technical experience and expertise in electricity management

Energywise - a true desire to optimise our planets precious resources

The Ark Energy Saving Unit - Up to 20% electricity & carbon emission savings across your entire site with one maintenance free product.

A Simple, Managed Process