Voltage Control Guard

Save up to 5% to 30% on your monthly electricity bill with the Voltage Control Guard (VCG). The Voltage Control Guard attaches to your electrical panels and "recycles" and reuses energy that would otherwise be wasted. Your Voltage Control Guard installs in minutes and the savings begin immediately!

Voltage Control Guard Overview

Voltage Control Guard units are installed in a wide variety of settings, including commercial, industrial, and residential buildings. The VCG has demonstrated in each of these environments that it will reduce the daily consumption of kilowatt hours. Users have realized savings that range from 10% and up to 30% residentially and 7-15% with both commercial and  industrial applications.

Voltage Control Guard units achieve these results by creating a more efficient power source without any intervention or interruption of your power supply. 

The Voltage Control Guard unit works by attaching to an electric panel (fuse box). When connected to the neutral bus bar and safety ground, the VCG unit immediately begins working. There are no lights, switches, capacitors, resistors, circuit boards or other electronic components to wear out. The simplicity of design will ensure that the Voltage Control Guard will deliver more efficient power to your entire building, facility, or complex for years to come.

The Voltage Control Guard is as an Energy Management Device that has been tested and certified to UL 916 standard by MetLabs to insure safety compliance in your buildings.

Case Studies

The Voltage Control Guard (VCG) is saving commercial customers hundreds of dollars each month. ROI is typically within 12 months, making the Voltage Control Guard one of the most cost effective energy conservation products in the world.

Commercial case studies (in PDF format) can be viewed below:

• Great Clips (One location) -  View case study
  
  
  
• Mega church -  View Case Study
  
  
  
• Retail paint store - View Case Study
  
  
  
• Local steak restaurant - View Case Study
  
  
  
• Local fast food restaurant - View Case Study

 

White Paper

Abstract

The Voltage Control Guard provides for lower home or business energy consumption through stabilization of the neutral-grounding system. The Voltage Control Guard is applicable in single and multi-phase building power systems that do not employ their own dedicated substation.

Introduction

GIG2 is excited to present the Voltage Control Guard. Energy conservation is an ever increasing priority. Energy costs continue to increase as a result of higher levels of demand on limited energy production resources. The Voltage Control Guard has been shown to decrease energy usage and therefore monthly electric bills in residential, commercial, and light industrial applications. GIG2 single-phase residential customers are regularly seeing reduction in electrical usage, measured in Kilowatt hours, ranging from 15 to beyond 25 percent. Commercial and light industrial customers using three-phase power systems are recognizing savings of 5 to over 20 percent. In most cases this corresponds to similar percentage savings in the monthly cost of electricity.

 World Energy Consumption (TerraWatts)

Field Data

Residential Field Data

Field testing has demonstrated the effectiveness of the Voltage Control Guard at saving electrical power in residential, 120/240 volt, single-phase, applications. The data below represents the average monthly energy savings in percentage consumed for residential customers who have installed the Voltage Control Guard.

 

Commercial Field Data

The results of testing in commercial and light industrial applications are depicted below. The effectiveness of the Voltage Control Guard in 240/480 volt, three-phase applications shows results ranging from 5 to over 20 percent.

 

Effects on Local and Neighborhood Distribution Systems

Extensive testing has been done to determine if the Voltage Control Guard negatively impacts the local power distribution system within a structure or the wider distribution network serving neighboring buildings.

Impact on Total Harmonic Distortion

The Voltage Control Guard has been tested in both single phase and three phase applications to determine if the total harmonic distortion is affected. Testing using both Extech and Fluke Power analyzers capable of measuring to the 99th harmonic has shown that the total harmonic distortion does not change with the application of the Voltage Control Guard. This was true for both systems with high levels of total harmonic distortion due to the presence of a large number of non-linear loads, and systems that employed a higher number of resistive loads and therefore had lower total harmonic distortion.

Impact on Power Factor

Power factor testing was performed using both Extech and Fluke power analyzers on three-phase and single phase systems with varying loads and real world power factors with and without the Voltage Control Guard. No change was observed in the measured power factor when the Voltage Control Guard was added to the circuit.

 

Independent Laboratory Correlation

Testing Results

The data presented in the tables below was created based upon 3rd party independent testing done at the request of some of our more skeptical potential customers. The analysis of the results presented below shows that the Voltage Control Guard does, indeed, save electrical power. The testing here shows savings of 4.84% and 5.00% depending on loads and installation set up.

 

 

Optimal Installation

GIG2 has repeatedly observed that the effectiveness of the Voltage Control Guard is highly dependent on optimal installation of the device. Optimal installation will ensure the proper amount of neutral current flows through the Voltage Control Guard.

Optimal Single Phase Installation

As can be seen on the installation diagrams above, the Voltage Control Guard and the neutral bus bar form a current divider. The current flowing in the incoming neutrals from the loads is divided between the neutral bus bar and the Voltage Control Guard unit while trying to “exit” the building at the service connection lug. Thus the installer must apply some level of analysis to ensure that adequate current is forced through the Voltage Control Guard as described in the introduction to this section.

Additionally, it should be noted that the earth ground (green wire) forms a parallel circuit for neutral current to return to the substation or local step-down transformer. In properly “neutraled” systems the amount of current flowing through the earth ground is insignificant when compared with the neutral wire or Voltage Control Guard.

Optimal Installation in Three Phase Applications

Similarly to the single phase application, in three phase applications the Voltage Control Guard and the neutral bus bar form a current divider. Although the goal remains to obtain an optimal level of current in the Voltage Control Guard, it is often times difficult to obtain the same magnitudes seen in residential applications. This is due to the fact that most industrial three phase power systems are expressly designed with neutral current minimization as a key parameter.