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SERVICES AND ESB ELECTRIC IRELAND

Aug/Sept 2011 www.esb.ie/em

ESBStore.ie product review: P7 LED Lenser

By Liam Deasy, ESB networks

image shows a man in a red checked short smiling at the camera. He is holding the Product that he reviewed for the article

THE LED LENSER is well packaged in a robust black box and would suit nicely for presentation as a gift. The box contents include the torch, a nylon belt holster, a wrist strap and 4 batteries.

The beam from this small torch is quite impressive. As a spot light, it gives a useful-width beam at a remarkable throw distance; it is not so tightly focused as to be a dot. As a flood light, the beam is wide but with a fair reach. The transition from spot to flood is seamless and at any setting there are no blank areas within the beam. Rather the coverage is at a uniform intensity. Using one hand it is very easy to adjust from flood to spot and vice-versa. For general purpose use I can easily say that I have not come across its equal for its size.

I have no reason to doubt that the P7 gives out the stated 200 lumens with fresh batteries. Comparing similar output torches the P7 appears to beat them. The stated runtime while correct is in my experience from fully charged new batteries to literally shut down. The light output certainly starts to reduce as the battery life decreases but the overall effective run time is still impressive. A slight word of caution. The torch is designed to run on alkaline batteries so do not be tempted to use NiMH or Li-ion. Basically the heat generated owing to the different voltage discharge curves of rechargeable batteries will cause overheating of the Head-LED assembly and may cause irreparable damage.

Conclusion

Well made, robust, torch and accessories. A powerful beam gives fantastic even illumination, coupled with a decent runtime. It’s a package hard, if not impossible, to beat for the price. The slick fast adjustable spot to flood mechanism is a pleasure to operate. The ultimate accolade I can give is to state that I put my hand in my pocket and bought one and haven’t regretted it.

image shows the lenser that has been reviewed in the article.

New gas demand forecasting solution

ESB ELECTRIC IRELAND entered the retail gas supply market on Monday April 4th. Entering the gas market brought with it the requirement for new IT solutions across all business lines, one of which was demand forecasting. Forecasting the gas usage of our gas customers (both existing and forecast) is essential for the business in providing both the wholesale gas procurement costs and the tariff group consumption for revenue forecasting. Undoubtedly, accurate forecasting is an essential input into calculating the profitability of retailing gas.

The Demand Forecasting team in ESB Electric Ireland (Paul Hayes, Siobhán Summerville and Margaret Boyle based in Estuary House, Limerick) was tasked with the design, system selection and implementation of a solution to provide the business with a gas-demand forecasting capability. The first decision point was whether a new IT system was required or was it possible to enhance the existing electricity demand forecasting system, to incorporate gas demand forecasting. After carrying out this examination, it was decided to incorporate the solution into the existing Lodestar DFS system.

By using the existing system, a solution was provided more quickly, there was no need for a new procurement process and the Demand Forecasting team were able to leverage the knowledge and experience of the Lodestar Software Competency Centre team of Deirdre Feeney and Antonio di Gangi.

image shows two ladies and two men, they are standing behind a computer screen. We can see the top of the screen and them smiling at the camera

Pictured (l-r): Deirdre Feeney, Antonio Di Gangi, ITS Lodestar Competency Centre; Paul Hayes and Margaret Boyle, demand forecasting, Electric Ireland. Missing from the photo is Siobhan Summerville of Demand Forecasting Team.

The solution specified had to incorporate an automatic data feed from the SAP-ISU billing system for existing gas customers plus the capability to add in the agreed forecast of customers at each month end for a period of two years from the date of forecast.

Unlike the wholesale electricity market, which involves half-hourly trades, the gas market works on daily consumption figures and each gas customer is assigned an annual consumption figure calculated by Bord Gais Networks (there is no equivalent annual figure in the electricity market). Thus, using this annual consumption figure for each customer and the historic monthly usage of gas customers, a forecast for all of our customers is generated.

It must be pointed out that this solution was delivered by the demand forecasting team in conjunction with all the changes to the electricity demand forecasting system that were required following de-regulation in April 2011. To the credit of Siobhán and Margaret the enhancement was delivered successfully in May 2011.

Come dine with me

image shows 4 people around a table, they look like thay are going to have a food fight but are all also looking at the camera and smiling.

Serving up a storm: TV3 cookery competitors Vikki Shorten and Helena Crowley-Hayes, who is a customer services representative with ESB Electric Ireland, show narrator Dave Lamb and competitor Jaimie Knoblaugh.

ESB Online Store

By Mary Milne

image shows a head and shoulder image of Mary Milne

IN JUNE OUR TOP selling product was the LED LENSER rechargeable Head Torch. As the summer Festival season gets well under way, this is a must have for finding your way back to the tent from stage to campsite.

We have added a new category to the online store called Summertime and there you will find all the products you need for your outdoor entertainment.

We have also added some new products such as the Solar Lanterns.

These new elegant outdoor solar lanterns are ideal for creating a chic ambient atmosphere, a perfect addition for the garden table to provide decorative lighting in the evening. Whether you are entertaining or camping out under the stars these solar lanterns are a must have. As they are Solar there is no need for wiring just place and enjoy.

And if you like these then you will love the decorative bronzed solar tea light that brings the night sky closer to you either on your garden table, decking or patio. It is a perfect solar centrepiece to create a relaxing and soothing atmosphere outdoors. Whether the stars are hidden from the night sky or they are off stage at your Summer Festival, this solar tea light is sure to dazzle. At dusk sit back and enjoy the decorative stars spread out over your table, decking, patio or even your tent at night.

We are busy working on the rebranding and also implementing several enhancements based on usability testing, we hope to be live by next month.

Please include the site as one of your ‘favourites’ and visit the site to see how you can reduce your energy consumption with our innovative products, and when you have enjoyed the benefits of our large range of energy efficient products, come back and leave a review so others can read how they too can benefit.

Thank you for your continued support for the online store.