PowerCalc Blog

Circuit-by-Circuit, Building-by-Building, City-by-City

Written by James Khalil, P.E. | Aug 20, 2020 3:00:00 PM

 

PowerCalc is an exhibitor in the Municipal Green Building Conference and Expo  on August 21 and 22nd in Los Angeles as a  participant in the 2020 Net Zero Accelerator of the US Green Building Council's LA 

Since its inception in 2001, MGBCE has become the longest-running and largest gathering of leading sustainability and green building advocates within both the public and private sectors of Southern California.  Over 1,000 attendees are expected on August 21st and 22nd in a virtual setting from local government agencies, the building industry, and the public, all gathering to learn about green building principles, practices, and products.

The focus is best in class content featuring live streaming, interactive exhibitor, and community partner booths, virtual tours, digital networking, recorded content, and much more.

PowerCalc's introductory video is attached.  And, here is the text of our statement:

After 100 years, it is time to change from the waste of Thomas Edison’s day to the efficient use of electricity, copper, and space.

So, out with the old and in the new and that’s PowerCalc. It is patented software that automates the design of the electrical distribution system inside the facility for extreme savings before a building is even built or renovated. All in compliance with the National Electrical Code for the Building, Construction and Facility Management Industries.

But let’s start at the beginning. Electricity powers virtually everything in our world. It is delivered through 2 systems: the power grid outside the building and then inside from the power grid’s connection to the circuit (the light switch or outlet).

Designing the building’s system is complex and requires about 2000 calculations for a 10,000 SF office building. Also, current design practices need to change to save energy. For instance, data centers are gluttons using 3% of global electricity.

The solution is PowerCalcPowerCalc designs from the bottom up -- that’s from the circuit to the connection to the power grid for design based on the actual electrical demand load. PowerCalc is exactingly accurate because its calculations are based on real numbers.

PowerCalc is also easy, fast, and very green. Easy with just 3 inputs per circuit saving at least 40% in design time, and also saving at least 7% in energy use.

In contrast, other electrical softwares design from the top-down with results based on estimates such as the size of the panel frame, feeder sizes, and on and on.

To compare these two approaches, PowerCalc did a peer review of a generator design at a country club. Instead of (10) 112 kVA transformers, PowerCalc reduced these sizes for over $2 million in savings in half the square footage of space.

PowerCalc focuses on the circuit as it is the delivery point for the distribution of electricity by the conductor. The conductor is the single largest link between where electricity is generated (whether at a power plant, solar panel or wind turbine) and where it is delivered and used (again, that light switch or outlet).

For the first time, calculating the exacting detail of conductor sizes is easily possible. Sizing conductors optimizes the delivery of electricity circuit-by-circuit reducing energy losses.

This results because electricity is not hot but becomes hot when electrons are squeezed through a conductor / wire without a clear path. A larger conductor allows electrons to travel without bumps reducing friction and energy loss.

Remarkably, by increasing the conductor size the electrical load on that conductor can be doubled and also reduce the number of circuits required to save copper.

In summary, PowerCalc results in extreme savings in both the use of electrical energy and equipment as well as SF of space.

PowerCalc calculates both energy savings and return-on investment at the preconstruction / design stage of a project.

PowerCalc was Product of the Year for Consulting Specifying Engineer, in 2016 and 2019.

  

And remember, we have a free live / real time demonstration on the first Friday of each month: FREE Demo, Friday, Sept. 11th at 12 pm EST And here is a video of a recent demo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDQgCOu2_LA Hope you will join us!

Thank you for your support!  Stay well.