May. 13, 2024
Measurement Instruments
Looking for top-notch power quality metering solutions? Discover why our PQ analyzers and monitoring devices can enhance your facility’s energy management and machine performance.
Power Quality Monitoring offers numerous benefits, including performance improvement and better quality output. A PQM system collects, analyzes, and transforms raw energy data into valuable information. For a typical monitoring setup, you measure voltage and electric current, and in some cases, ground quality when dispersed loads or harmonics are involved. Power quality monitoring can greatly assist in energy management, preventative maintenance, and quality control in manufacturing plants, saving costs in the long term. Many modern telecommunications and computer systems don't use PQM, making them vulnerable to power quality issues. By understanding the consequences of power fluctuations, you understand why power quality monitoring is crucial.
Power outages can lead to up to 40% of business downtime. Modern power plants employ digital error recorders, smart relays, and voltage recorders to monitor power. Consumers, such as buildings and factories, use power quality meters from reputable manufacturers to prevent equipment damage and fire risks.
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MachineSenseTM Power Analyzer toroids are installed on incoming power lines to monitor power conditions and detect anomalies automatically. The sensor data is transmitted via a self-contained data hub directly to your router and onto cloud-based servers with powerful analytic software. From the cloud, results are sent to either a desktop or a user-friendly app where you can monitor power conditions and receive actionable advice to correct anomalies.
Individual Waveform Capture allows engineers to monitor changing electrical waveforms to root out mechanical failures before they occur. Using the Acuvim IIW, these variations can be isolated, recorded, and visualized graphically.
Monitoring Power Quality enables the analysis of non-linear loads that impact electrical frequencies, causing issues such as misfiring, overheating, and voltage spikes. MachineSense power quality meters provide detailed harmonic measurement.
Voltage sags and swells are short-term decreases or increases in voltage. They can affect a wide range of gear from PLCs to controllers. Often blamed on utility companies, these events usually originate within the site or building due to grounding, bonding, or shared power supplies.
Deviations in electrical frequency can disrupt logic systems and machinery operating speeds. MachineSense Power Quality Meters effectively monitor these frequency variations.
Power Factor measures the efficiency of electricity usage. Low power factor, often called “dirty power,” can lead to inefficiencies. MachineSense meters allow users to monitor and track this ratio over time.
An effective Power Quality Audit using MachineSense systems ensures comprehensive measurement. These meters, readable remotely via proprietary cloud-based software and apps, can be installed permanently for proactive power quality management.
Electrical power drives nearly every machinery globally. Just as pure food is essential for human health, machines require clean power for optimal performance and longevity. Therefore, high-quality power is absolutely essential for efficient operation in factories and buildings. According to the IEEE 1159 standard, clean power is defined by specific limits on voltage/current conditions, grounding, and harmonics. Power distribution companies maintain these standards up to the transformers, but inside factories and buildings, power quality often degrades. This degradation can result from uneven single-phase load tapping from three-phase lines, DC loads like LEDs, UPS, and chargers. Poor power quality not only shortens machine lifespan but also poses significant fire safety risks.
Power Quality Meters serve various applications, such as:
Power Quality Analyzers comprise one hardware and four software components:
The IEEE 1159 standard outlines various power quality issues that should be monitored. Though there are about 37 different types, a few commonly occur frequently:
Poor power quality may lead to electrical fires. In regions with a neutral wire, high neutral currents from harmonics and imbalance can cause fires. Motor coils may burn due to high harmonics, and poor grounding during lightning events can be hazardous.
Most equipment, except old-style tungsten lamps, are susceptible to damage from poor power quality. Motors, pumps, compressors, fans, MRI machines, CT scans, robotics, servers, and HVAC systems are particularly vulnerable.
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IEEE 1159 is the widely followed global standard for power quality, with the latest version being IEEE 1159-2019. More details are available at https://standards.ieee.org/standard/1159-2019.html
The rise in power quality problems can be attributed to several factors, including energy efficiency measures generating more harmonics, the growth of microgrids and renewable energy sources, and an increase in non-linear loads like mobile chargers and EV chargers.
The total annual loss to the United States GDP due to these issues exceeds $45.7 billion. However, power quality problems often go unnoticed until they result in machine breakdowns or electrical fires, signaling the urgency for timely monitoring and intervention.
MachineSense Power Quality Analyzers offer noteworthy applications, such as:
Monitoring energy consumption is vital for efficient facility management and informed decision-making.
Why use a power logger to monitor energy consumption?
Prepare for a load study using the Fluke 1746 Power Logger.
Electricians often need to conduct a load study before adding new electrical loads, meeting the requirements from electrical inspectors, engineers, or customers. A load study involves documenting existing load levels to ensure safety and regulatory compliance, helping avoid potential electrical hazards from overloading.
Many companies lack detailed knowledge about their energy costs beyond the monthly bills. By logging power use at key points within a facility, companies can identify energy waste and uncover opportunities for savings through operational changes.
In large facilities, sub-metering inaccuracies can raise billing questions. Comparing sub-meter readings with data from a portable energy logger ensures accurate tenant billing and reveals any metering issues needing investigation.
Utility companies offer incentives for reducing energy use, often requiring proof of savings. Conducting pre- and post-retrofit load studies helps document energy efficiency improvements, qualifying for financial incentives.
Data logging is essential for diagnosing intermittent power quality problems. An energy logger can continuously monitor loads and help identify the root cause of issues like random circuit breaker trips, which may not occur during technician oversight.
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