Engineer steps up monitoring to cut electricity wastage

After visiting the Chris Hani Hospital in South Africa — the largest in Africa with 3,200 beds — last year, Jimmy Munuthi saw low-hanging opportunities in power conservation.

The hospital had commissioned a baseline survey to stem electricity wastage since officials “would simply count the number of bulbs and then multiply by the units.” He says South Africans are fond of 50-watt halogen bulbs.

A graduate of Pwani University College, Mr Munuthi, 50, is the managing director of Umeme Energy that monitors energy data through GPRS technology and recommends better energy practices.

The mechanical engineer uses smart servers and meters to study electricity use and recommend controls for, especially, institutions like schools, manufacturers and hospitals.

“The energy sector in this era is second only to ICT against a backdrop of a surging demand,” Mr Munuthi told the Business Daily.

Armed with this knowledge, Mr Munuthi left for Italy to pursue his dream. Having saved for 20 years from his garage and advertising business, funding was not a challenge, but making a breakthrough in the energy sector was in the initial stages.

The Europe voyage paid off when he landed a franchise with Italy-based Onitgroup, an ICT solution provider multinational.

“I was the first African to sign the deal with Onitgroup, whose softwares power Umeme Energy,” he says. So, how does the technology work to ensure reduced bills? Mr Munuthi says Umeme Energy starts from where Kenya Power stops.

Kenya Power fixes a current transformer (CT), automatic meter reader (AMR) and a mode bus transmitter, which transmit data back to their offices with the help of telecom companies.

Umeme gets inside premises using LonWorks technology and the Free Topology feature (which allows installers to use any type of networking topology to signal over wire), making it faster and reliable as opposed to the outdated mode bus system.

LonWorks is a networking platform that provides a way for devices to exchange information and co-operate and is used for the automation of various functions within buildings such as lighting.

“We first carry out a survey of the building to identify its circuit diagram, distribution boxes and locate the circuit breakers. The survey also seeks to identify areas with a high propensity of spending huge power levels. This is then followed by the installation of smart meters, 100m apart, connected with a data cable,” he says.

To avoid poor quality data, a fibre cable is always fixed to the data cable in intervals beyond 100m.

The smart meter is fed to a Smart Server 2.0 controller which, with the help of LonWorks technology, drives data to a cloud computing platform via the Internet Protocol (IP) address. The data (units of electricity) collected is then processed, analysed and accessed in real-time via widgets.

“This enables institutions to keep track of their electricity expenditure every minute and make necessary adjustments,” says Mr Munuthi, adding that the application works on both Android and Symbian platforms.

Energy use has been rising in Kenya, partly due to growing economic activity that last year pushed total domestic demand to 6,414.4 gigawatt hours compared to a generation of 7,851.2 gigawatt hours, according to the Economic Survey.

“Most institutions are paying 20 per cent more for power wasted in unstable three-phase systems that feed large establishments. However, very few organisations have that knowledge,” he says.

That is where Umeme Energy comes in. Before a building is connected to the grid, technicians assess the expected energy utility level to ascertain the voltage required.

On average, a motor runs on 415 Amp to power lifts, escalators and other machinery with the ideal load swinging between 55 and 75 per cent of the voltage fed.

Should the load shrink below or stretch above the optimum, say, with the addition of machines, the phased loading becomes unsettled leading to inefficiency, he explains.

It is much cheaper to save one megawatt of electricity than produce it, he says, adding that monitoring alone could save up to 35 per cent in power bills.

Umeme Energy has installed the technology in Jacaranda Hotel in Westlands which has seen power consumption dip, according to Mr Munuthi.

Motion detectors

“The hotel used to experience spikes in electricity use every morning but we stabilised the system after troubleshooting the inefficient use of boilers and ovens,” he said.

The company sources its devices from Taiwan-based Nico Technology Ltd.

And since it’s a premium concept with the cost of a complete kit at Sh51,000, Umeme targets companies, schools, hospitals and hotels.

The company says businesses could slice costs by half through installation of motion detectors which only light the room when a person walks in. The other device is the lux meter which regulates the wavelength of light depending on the natural brightness of a room.

The company also collects data on carbon dioxide emission from organisations, thereby facilitating awarding of carbon credits.

“This technology is the first of its kind in Africa and is set to revolutionise how electricity is used in institutions,” he says.

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