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High savings for South African Retailer

Save Hyper Pietermaritzburg, part of The Save Group in South Africa, an expanding KwaZulu-Natal retail chain, recently benefited from the installation of a Powerstar VO-MAX voltage optimisation system, which is providing significant electricity consumption savings. They sought the expertise of the local voltage regulation specialists, Powerstar South Africa, to implement the project.

Save Hyper has a strong track record of providing a broad variety of goods to customers and prides itself on delivering excellent value. Established in 1987, they have since grown into one of the largest cash and carry brands in the Natal Midlands.

Having large premises to hold their wide range of stock, Save Hyper faced energy management challenges common to retailers, including refrigeration for fresh food products significantly adding to the energy bills of the store. Providing a comfortable shopping environment for customers’ shopping experience is also energy-intensive, especially during summer, and meeting customer needs through convenient opening hours can also heighten energy consumption, as lighting and in store equipment is in use for longer periods.

To continue operating successfully, Save Hyper explored how they could reduce electricity costs, and invited Powerstar South Africa to carry out an evaluation of the Pietermaritzburg site.

Powerstar South Africa’s engineers performed a thorough inspection of the site, including load analysis and voltage monitoring. This revealed that the site had a high electrical consumption and an unstable voltage supply at 243.8V. This was inflating energy costs and carbon emissions, something the community-focused business was keen to reduce.

With this information, Powerstar South Africa recommended the installation of a variable voltage regulation system, which intelligently stabilises volatile voltage supplies through electronic controls to automatically optimise and maintain the voltage at a constant, optimal level.

Following the installation of the Powerstar MAX, Save Hyper is now benefiting from annual consumption (kWh) savings of 11.48% equating to 487,567kWh for the site. This is delivering significant cost savings which it can then pass on to its customers. Additionally, the retailer’s electrical equipment is now operating at a level closer to the optimum voltage for its design specifications, reducing wear and tear and extending the longevity of the equipment.