Monitor

Monitoring Display

Power Monitoring

An electrical power distribution system is the crucial backbone of any facility. In today’s industrial environment there are a few pivotal demands on electrical systems.

  • Reliability of supply
  • Cost control and allocation
  • Power quality monitoring and assurance

Power monitoring and energy management systems enable full overview and insight into existing and historical energy consumption. With the right implementation this information can be accessible anywhere and at any time.

Existing power monitoring equipment may already be installed in the facility. In many cases only a small step is required to bring this available data into an Energy Management System. By having an Energy Management System it allows for a centralized approach to monitor and analyze Water, Air, Gas, Electricity, and Steam (W.A.G.E.S.) data.

PowerCore Engineering can provide customized Energy Management solutions by:

  • Utilizing existing communication-ready power meters
  • Adding new power monitors in selected locations
  • Working on different hardware platforms by combining power meters by leading manufacturers
  • Providing Central Energy Management software to integrate all remote meters and integrate it in the existing Building/Process management system
  • Providing customized reporting tools based on SQL database and/or MS Excel TM
  • Web-based remote control and monitoring

Decisions on location of electrical supply for large equipment or analysis of the financial impact of production schedules is made easy. The benefits of service from PowerCore Engineering are clear in Power Monitoring whether a stand alone digital meter or a fully integrated Internet-ready Energy Management system is needed

Ground Fault System

Since Ground Faults represent 90% of all electrical faults an effective and quick Ground Fault detection system is vital to all facilities.

Detection

Ground indicator lights are the minimum requirement of the Canadian Electrical Code (Rule 10-106 (2) ). This is by no means an ideal setup since they require daily inspection. Ideally, Power Monitoring systems are used to send email, page, or SMS messages to the appropriate people to deal with the issue.

PowerCore Engineering supplies, installs, and commissions the Neutral Voltage and Current Monitoring system on any distribution system as follows:

  • Installs a current monitoring CT and voltage monitoring circuit and ties them either into an existing energy management system or supplies and installs a suitable power monitor
  • Configures the Power Monitor and the Energy Managemnt software to alarm on neutral to ground voltage and neutral current present. The alarm can be displayed using the energy management software or any other SCADA/HMI system present in the facility.
  • Configures the Energy Management Server to launch an external alarm program to email or page appropriate personnel.
Location

Once a ground fault is detected, it is advisable to clear it as soon as possible. Locating a ground fault is a task that can dishearten any electrician and can be a time consuming and frustrating task which may require shutting down vital equipment and disruption of the power supply.

An alternative non-disruptive method of locating a ground fault within the system is to implement a pulsating ground current concept.

  • A parallel grounding resistor is inserted into the circuit via a pulsating relay that operates at a predefined frequency.
  • A large probe is then applied around a set of three phase conductors at different power feeders and connected to a suitable DMM.
  • The feeder that has a ground fault on it will display a pulsating signal at a predefined frequency, thus narrowing down the ground fault search