The manufacturing of 2 special detuned power factor correction systems MULTImatic FD25 has finally been completed. The two units will be installed in a large automotive plant in Southern Europe, where research and development activities for special tires are carried out.

The systems, each with a power of 750kvar/400V, have been fully tailor-made, in order to faithfully reproduce the two previously installed units they will replace.

Thanks to the indestructible bimetallized paper capacitors and the robust detuning reactors on board the MULTImatic FD25 (Fd = 180Hz), the harmonic currents of the system will not be a problem!

In fact, current is often affected by distortion in industrial plants. This can cause two types of problems:

• stress on the capacitors on board, which tend to overheat due to the harmonic currents flowing through them, on account of their progressively lower impedance as harmonic currents increase
• resonance with the MV/LV transformer powering the system. Resonance becomes more probable as the ratio between the reactive power (kvar) of the power factor correction system and the apparent power (kVA) of the transformer increases

To overcome these problems, detuned power factor correction systems are used. The detuning reactors installed on board must also be of excellent quality, as well as the capacitors. Our reactors are designed and manufactured by ORTEA, to guarantee the quality and reliability of the finished product. The reactors are calculated to obtain a detuning frequency of 180Hz.

When dealing with "big" stabilizers, such as these two 3200kVA SIRIUS, also their dimensions and weights are "big": each box measures 6500x2160x2770mm and weighs 14.600kg. As a consequence, also the loading operations require the use of extra-large cranes.

Since we are talking about numbers, here are those relating to these two 3200kVA SIRIUS with ± 20% input voltage range:

• Power rating: 3200kVA \ • Input voltage: 400V ± 20% \ • Output voltage: 400V ± 0.5% \ • Rated current: 4619A \ • Max input current: 5774A \ • Dimensions: 6200x2000x2400 mm \ • Weight: 12.600 kg

Our top-of-the-range model SIRIUS is available from 60kVA up to 6000kVA and with different input voltage ranges: ±10%, ±15%, ±20%, ±25%, ±30%, +15/-35% and +15/-45%.

The stabilization, performed on the true RMS value, is carried out by a two-way DSP-microprocessor under the supervision of a second "bodyguard" microprocessor, operating with a software which has been developed specifically for ORTEA.

The columnar variable autotransformer with rollers (ORTEA design - without sliding contacts, which are subject to heavy wear & tear) is solid and very reliable.

The user interface is a multilingual 10” touch panel equipped with RS485 port. The display shows all the electric parameters (voltage, current, active power etc.), the information regarding the operating modes (power on; voltage regulation limits; increase/decrease of voltage regulation etc.) and the alarms (minimum and maximum voltage, maximum current, overtemperature, etc.).

Supply of 11 x ICAR MULTImatic FH20 detuned automatic power factor correction systems of 420kvar each at 400V and 9 x fixed MICROfix FH20 power factor correction systems of 50kvar each at 400V, for a total of 5070kvar.

The customer is a large logistics facility (over 150,000 square meters with 130 loading bays) specialized in the "luxury" market, located on the outskirts of Milan, a city where luxury is at home…

Big power plants (about 12MW installed) with great attention to safety, given the peculiarity of the "treated" goods.

The loads are mainly new generation lighting, inverter air conditioning, electronic equipment: all heavily distorting loads, requiring robust detuned power factor correction systems, such as the MULTImatic FH20, which are characterized by a detuning frequency of 180Hz, thanks to the generous dimensioning of their harmonic current detuning chokes.

Power quality is crucial to guarantee absolute continuity of service to this kind of plants. And this goal is not easy to reach: the huge total length of the cables and the consequent voltage drops, the sensitivity of many users, harmonic currents … all issues that must be kept under control. Detuned power factor correction sytems avoid the risk of resonances, which could cause an amplification of the #harmonics, with a consequent deterioration of the power quality.

The customer is a major player in the fertilizer industry, located in the Po Valley.

In August 2018 a 1600kVA energy optimiser ENERSOLVE was installed at their production facility on the TR3 transformer line. Since it was installed, it has generated over 175,000kWh of energy savings, equivalent to over 15 tonnes of oil and approximately 70 of Co2.

The customer, satisfied with the excellent results obtained so far, has decided to purchase two other ENERSOLVE units of 1250kVA and 1600kVA respectively, to be installed in association with his TR1 and TR2 transformers.

Our ENERSOLVE team, as usual very attentive to saving, has decided to split each unit into two parts to minimize the installation costs and maximize the customer's ROI. This peculiar configuration will allow an easy installation, without carrying out costly structural modifications of the customer’s building.

The commissioning of a sag compensator Oxygen 320-10-40 has been completed.

This model is able to compensate for voltage sags up to -40% and to regulate in real time voltage fluctuations within ±10% of the rated voltage: all this for a power of 320kVA at 400V 50Hz.

The end customer is a multinational company specialized in the production of large-scale gas turbines, perfectly reproducing models that are no longer in production, even from third-party manufacturers. This great engineering capacity allows generating plants to be kept alive which otherwise should to be rebuilt.

The newly installed Oxygen will improve the Power Quality of a busbar, to which machines performing high-precision and long-lasting mechanical works on large and costly pieces are connected.

This new Oxygen will be added to a 250-10-40, which has already been appreciated for the excellent results obtained since it was installed at the beginning of 2019.

In addition to standard production, ORTEA SpA can design and manufacture tailor-made equipment in a short time and at low cost.

Like this 2500kVA voltage stabilizer SIRIUS with ±15% input range, designed to improve the power quality of a residential complex under construction in Myanmar.

The stabiliser has been split into two parts easy to connect, to allow handling and installation in a "difficult" environment.

This supply includes 6 power factor correction systems MULTImatic FH20 of 460kvar each at 400V, for a total of 2760kvar.

The plant is a large building used as an advanced logistics platform, one of the largest in northeastern Italy (almost 200,000 m2 covered, of which 140,000 m2 for robotic storage, 65 loading bays).

The installed power is huge: 8MW, a value that makes you think more of an industry than a logistics site!

The loads include new generation lighting, inverter air conditioners, electronic equipment, robotic handling systems: heavily distorting loads, which make it necessary to use heavy duty power factor correction systems with detuning chokes, such as the MULTImatic FH20, which are characterized by a tuning frequency of 180Hz, thanks to the generous sizing of its detuning reactors.

Power quality is essential for guaranteeing absolute continuity of service to this kind of plants. And this is not easy to obtain: the huge total length of the cables and the consequent voltage drops, the sensitivity of many users, the current distortion… issues that must be kept under control. A detuned power factor correction system helps to avoid the risk of resonances, which could cause an amplification of the #harmonics, with a significant deterioration of the power quality.

And all with an eye on energy efficiency: the whole plant is certified "BREEAM Very Good" … also thanks to the ICAR power factor correction system.

Milan, Italy (September 1, 2020)

ORTEA SpA, a leading global supplier of power quality devices, announced today the signature of a definitive agreement for the acquisition of the Assets from POWERSINES Ltd, a leading company in the market of Voltage Optimization and Energy Saving.

The production of the product lines will be based in Ortea’s manufacturing plant in Italy. The deal is effective immediately and is expected to be completed by September 30th. Upon closing, Powersines will continue to provide a service support to Ortea.

“We are pleased to bring this acquisition to completion in such a positive manner. It has been quite a long road, but with hard work and efforts by many of POWERSINES Ltd. and ORTEA SpA employees we have been able to reach a positive conclusion. We believe that this combination of our technologies and products will position us to return exponential value to our shareholders over the coming fiscal years with a larger and synergic technology portfolio to cover a larger market segment along a better integrated value proposition for our customers” stated Massimiliano Scarpellini, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. “Furthermore, this deal will improve our EBITDA and net financial position to benefit our additional investments” continued Mr. Scarpellini.

Big currents (max input current 5774A) involve the production of extra-large components: big bars, big transformers, big regulators… ultimately: big voltage stabilizers.

Like these two 3200kVA SIRIUS with ± 20% input voltage range, intended to improve the power quality of a large Nigerian bank.

These are some numbers:

• Power rating: 3200kVA
• Input voltage: 400V ± 20%
• Output voltage: 400V ± 0.5%
• Rated current: 4619A
• Max input current: 5774A
• Dimensions: 6200x2000x2400 mm
• Weight: 12.600 kg

The SIRIUS, ORTEA’s top-of-the-range model, is available from 60kVA up to 6000kVA and with different input voltage ranges: ±10%, ±15%, ±20%, ±25%, ±30%, +15/-35% and +15/-45%.

The control and stabilisation, performed on the true RMS value, are carried out by a two-way DSP-microprocessor under the supervision of a second "bodyguard" microprocessor, operating with a software specifically developed for ORTEA.

The columnar variable autotransformer with rollers (ORTEA design - without brushes, which are subject to heavy wear & tear) is solid and very reliable.

The user interface is a multilingual 10” touch panel equipped with RS485 port. The display shows all the electric parameters (voltage, current, active power etc.), the information regarding the operating modes (power on; voltage regulation limits; increase/decrease of voltage regulation etc.) and the alarms (minimum and maximum voltage, maximum current, overtemperature, etc.).

Commissioning of an ICAR MULTImatic FD25/S 1500kvar power factor correction system installed in a large metal forging company. The new panel corrects the power factor of one of the largest presses in Italy (16,000ton), and is associated to a 1200kvar MULTImatic FD25/S, correcting the power factor of the manipulator (capable of handling pieces up to 100ton).

The press and the manipulator are very fast, but the two systems are able to timely correct the power factor, thanks to their thyristor switches: together, they are able to deliver almost 4000A in less than 100ms, without generating annoying transients for the system.

Thanks to this important power factor correction, the transformers powering this section (4x3150kVA) are relieved of the "effort" of carrying all the inductive reactive power needed by the motors on board the press and by the manipulator, thus reducing the thermal and mechanical stress.

The indestructible bimetallized paper capacitors of these two panels are very much appreciated in this "heavy industry" environment.

Power factor correction: an excellent solution to improve the energy efficiency and power quality of industrial plants.

With reference to the global health emergency caused by Covid-19, ORTEA SpA has immediately reacted in order to install and adjust preventively protective measures according to the indications provided by the national Health authorities. Such measures aim at preserving and safeguarding ORTEA’s employees, avoiding the virus spreading among the population and ensuring business continuity for ORTEA’s esteemed Customers.

At the moment, although not spared by difficulties in provisioning components and raw materials, there are no indications whatsoever that might negatively affect ORTEA’s business continuity.

At the same time, we are confident we are protecting at the best the health of whoever might get in contact with ORTEA SpA, such as internal and external partners, Customers and Suppliers.

One of ORTEA SpA peculiarities has always been the attempt to offer efficiency to Customers and partners and to establish a network of consolidated relations, in which human rapport plays an important role.

In the immediate future, travelling will not be a possibility, but this emergency is teaching all of us a different working pattern by exploiting digital technologies.

To this purpose, ORTEA SPA is acquiring all the necessary knowhow to carry on these relations even from a distance by means of training initiatives and commercial and technical updating sessions.

Looking forward to shake hands once again as soon as possible, we would like to grasp the opportunity to pay tribute to the resilience of our partners and suppliers throughout these difficult weeks and we also thank them already for the their future support which will allow us to carry on with designing, manufacture and trade innovative solutions.

Ortea Spa, a global provider of advanced, high quality electrical systems and mission critical power quality solutions, is pleased to announce the appointment of Massimiliano Scarpellini as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Ortea Spa and its distinguished collection of portfolio brands, including Ortea, Icar, Enersolve and Italfarad, serve customers in over 90 countries and across six continents via a global footprint in several segments as PFC, voltage stabilizers, SAG compensators, transformers, active filters and energy efficiency smart devices.

Mr. Scarpellini has served as executive across multiple industries and sectors, with a focus on technology, innovation and multinational operations. He most recently served as Vice president Operations, Vice president Business development and Chief Operating Officer of leading manufacturers of electronic components.

“Ortea brands and operations have tremendous market credibility, unique flexibility and the right offerings with leading innovations and operational expertise” said Mr. Scarpellini. “I am thrilled to join the Ortea team and look forward to working with our employees, customers and other partners worldwide to build on our strengths and drive the company to even greater levels of success”.

Ortea offers a new, innovative approach to the power quality sector, providing premium products and innovative solutions globally. Ortea is committed to growth through customer collaboration, innovative product development, and delivery of premium, mission-critical power quality solutions globally.

In order to optimize our range of fixed Power Factor Correction Systems, the MICROfix have recently been revised.

Below is the range of equipment which will be listed in the 2020 catalogue and price list. Starting from January 27th 2020, only these models will be available for sale (the other sizes of the previous range will be discontinued).

PFC restyling

Starting from January 2020, our Power Factor Correction Systems will be progressively restyled and their look will be updated according to our new company image.

The labelling of the systems, regulators and thyristor switches will be blue, as per the examples below.

Thanks to the technical characteristics of its columnar voltage regulators, ORTEA is able to design and manufacture high power voltage stabilisers (up to 6000kVA at 400V).

The quality and reliability of her equipment has enabled ORTEA to secure numerous orders; in particular, several XXL stabilizers were produced in October: on the right side of the picture we see 3 units of 1250kVA with bypass and automatic circuit breakers, and two of 800kVA for a total power of over 5MVA, ready to be shipped in Africa and North America.

Everybody boasts they can do this … ORTEA really manufactures them!

Three SAG compensators OXYGEN (for a total power of 800kVA), destined to one of the most important European International Airports, are currently being tested in our laboratory. On customer’s request, the cabinets are painted yellow, a color that does not go unnoticed. Once installed, they will provide an important contribution to the Power Quality efficiency of the hub facilities, by counteracting the effects of voltage SAGs.

On October 9th, in cooperation with Company Richard Equipment, a trade seminar about ORTEA stabilisers was held at the Hotel Casino Du Port in Dakar, focusing on our "cost-effective" range Lyra & Polaris.

The participation and involvement of the attendees was wide.

We thank our distributor Richard Equipment and our Africa Regional Director Paul-Marie Dable for making this event possible.

Being aware of the importance of ensuring qualified technical presence everywhere, ORTEA SpA keeps allocating resources for engineers training, enabling them to operate efficiently on voltage stabilisers, transformers and power-factor correction systems installed worldwide.

The first 2019 training session has just come to an end: the ORTEA team, by means of theoretical and practical learning sessions, has given detailed information to the attendees, which will allow them to maintain and repair the installed units. The participants (about thirty people in total) came from different Countries: Colombia, Egypt, the Philippines, Germany, Pakistan, Poland, Singapore, Sudan and Turkey.

The session in French will be held in September.

Power Quality is gaining increasing attention in the electric power industry. The consumer of electrical energy requires electric power with a certain quality, but loads can have a negative impact on the electrical system and are thus also subject to an assessment in terms of quality. Power quality is therefore intrinsically linked to the interaction between the electrical system and loads and must take into account both the voltage quality and power quality.

Possible consequences of low power quality that affect business costs are:

• Power failures (Release switches, fuses blowing).
• Breakdowns or malfunctions of machines.
• Overheating of machines (transformers, motors, etc.) leading to reduced useful life.
• Damage to sensitive equipment (computers, production line control systems, etc.).
• Electronic communication interference.
• Increased distribution system losses.
• The need to oversize systems to cope with additional electric stress, resulting in higher installation and operational costs.
• Luminosity flickering

Interruption of production due to these impacts of low power quality entails high costs due to production loss and the associated waste. For the Industrial sector, the estimated costs due to poor power quality represent 4% of turnover (Source: Studio Leonardo Energy). The impact of production interruptions is greatest in companies with continuous production.

Among the main causes of poor power quality in low voltage are:

• Voltage sags, because equipment operates less efficiently and can stop.
• Harmonic pollution, which causes additional stress on the networks and systems, causing them to operate less efficiently.
• Excessive reactive power, because it charges useless power to the system.

The solutions vary for each cause. The voltage sags can be eliminated with a sag compensator, which ensures a voltage output at a nominal value. Reduced productivity, loss of data, loss of security, and machine breakdowns are only some of the problems caused by an unstable power supply that can be solved with a voltage sag compensator.

Harmonic pollution is caused by large amounts of non-linear consumption (from inverters, soft starters, rectifiers, power electronics, non-filament lighting, presses, etc.). Such devices deform the electrical current causing disturbances and problems to the system. Harmonic pollution is solved by active filters that are capable of eliminating the current harmonics in the system by measuring and injecting the same current, but in the opposite phase.

Excessive reactive power is regulated by a power factor correction system, which not only avoids any penalties due to excessive reactive energy, but reduces the “unnecessary” electrical current that flows into the lines and power components, yielding substantial benefits, such as reducing voltage drops along the lines and leakages due to the Joule effect.

Loads operated by electronic devices are increasingly adopted in more and more industrial and commercial applications such as: Variable Speed Drives, rectifiers, UPS systems, DC power supplies, welding machines, computers, TV, energy efficient lamps, photocopiers.

These loads generate waveform distortions that become threat for network components.

In particular voltage and current harmonics, where the latter is the more dangerous, generate a series of problems, like:

• Cable overheating
• Undue tripping of circuit breakers
• Blowing of fuses
• Capacitor overloading and network resonance
• Neutral cable overload
• Transformer premature ageing
• Electronic appliances disturbance.

These effects are seldom related to harmonic current and voltage distortion, while effective remedy for harmonics are passive and active filters. Active filters achieve much higher levels of efficiency in harmonics cleaning the first does not:

ACTIVE FILTER

• it can compensate many harmonic currents simultaneously (ICAR FA40 up to the 50°)
• It does not saturate or overload
• It is uninfluenced by the network conditions (capacitance/Inductances)
• it hasn’t capacitance
• it is extremely flexible, it can target few harmonic currents
• It can compensate power factor, even at high speed
• it can compensate unbalanced loads
• it attenuates voltage flicker
• it can be set in parallel with other filters, even at later stages
• it automatically and semalessly adjustes to the load

PASSIVE FILTER

• it can compensate only one or very few harmonic current
• it is extremely difficult to compensate few harmonics at the same time.
• it can saturate or be overloaded
• it is influenced by the network as for the existing capacitance and inductance
• it is a capacitive load, hence improve power factor.
• it is fix and not adjustable
• it can be ON/OFF, or in steps.