A NEWCASTLE audio visual company has designed and manufactured a new portable energy system that solves two problems that have plagued TV, film and festival producers for years.
Reed Ingram Weir, founder and director at Ingram AV, spent the lockdown months thinking about how to produce a sustainable portable energy system that would produce far less noise than traditional power generators, and at the same time drastically reduce harmful emissions.
The result is NRG V2, a 2m x 1.6m unit which easily fits on to a trailer and is capable of providing 45KVa of clean energy with 120KWh of storage that is expandable. Which means the NRG V2 could be used to power a festival for about 5,000 people for a day, if being used to power audio and lighting systems – or it could be used to power a location drama unit for a day.
Reed explained: “From our initial idea, through to concept models and our first version which was a lot smaller to our upgraded model, we’ve spent more than two years developing NRG V2. Its aimed at TV and film companies or festivals where noise from generators can be a real problem.
“Traditionally, generators have to be placed some distance from cameras or stages because of the decibels they produce and the fumes they emit.
“I wanted to produce something that did neither, and spent much of lockdown developing NRG V2. It was a time when more people were thinking of air pollution as there were far fewer cars on the roads and the reduction in fumes was clear to see.
“Our aim was to build a portable power source that was silent and produced zero emissions. We received some welcome support from The Cultural Recovery Fund, but the budget spiralled and NRG V2 is basically self-funded.
“NRG V2 can be used in various configurations. When in stand alone it can provide up to 120KWh of energy storage with 36kW output. It can also be used to supplement existing generators to reduce emissions – in most circumstances these reductions would be between 50 and 80 per cent.”
The internal elements of NRG V2 were constructed at Ingram AV’s Hoults Yard base in Newcastle, but the external canopy was manufactured in Wales.
Reed added: “Once we’d designed the unit, we spent a great deal of time sourcing the different elements we needed, many of which had to be imported from Germany and elsewhere. The batteries, for instance, had to be sourced from Europe as the UK doesn’t produce them.
“We wanted to make sure the unit was as light as possible and as small as possible to make it easy to transport and manouvre and we’ve achieved that too – NRG V2 weighs less than 2.5 tons and is only 2m x 1.5m.
“It’s virtually silent, and can barely be heard above any background noise. The only thing you can hear is the cooling fan, and despite the amount of power output, there are no emissions. And you can charge it from a normal 13amp socket.”
After comprehensive testing, NRG V2 was used properly for the first time earlier this year at a Professional Fighters League (PLF) event at the home of Newcastle Eagles.
“The catering team used NRG V2 to power their on-site provision and everything went really well. You can monitor the energy usage on a computer screen so they knew how much power was being used and when, and this information can be very useful to clients,” said Reed.
Ingram AV provides a huge range of professional audio-visual equipment for hire as well as a full technical event production service and has been based at Hoults Yard for six years. The company is a valuable resource to many local theatres, venues, and other AV companies offering equipment not available anywhere else in the region.
For more information on NRG V2 or Ingram AV go to http://www.ingramav.com
Hoults Yard is owned and operated by HyHubs, who also owns Haylofts in Haymarket, Newcastle and Hypoint on Saltmeadows Road, Gateshead. For more information, go to www.hyhubs.com