How Power Monitoring Works

How does power monitoring work? An adequately installed power monitoring system is an invaluable asset to your household. Yet, regardless of how many they are, they all work similarly. This system is connected to online software that provides real-time data about your electrical setup. It relies on its meters to connect to the internet and monitor performance. The following reasons show why you should consider a power monitoring system.

Enhanced Efficiency

A power monitoring system will help identify various power issues and inefficiencies, addressing them on time. The information obtained will help managers implement better practices, ensuring that everything flows smoothly. In addition, you will comfortably compare different power outputs, maximizing operational efficiencies.

At the same time, you will avoid downtime in your facility. You could attribute this to the increased information you get, ensuring that you make logical decisions on time. Ideally, you will rely on this system to clarify whether your control devices, motors, and pumps are susceptible to power failure.

Sustainability and Better Control

Suppose you want to enhance environmental sustainability. In that case, it would be best to consider installing this power monitoring system. This system will help you identify various factors contributing to energy inefficiencies or wastage. It will ensure that you regulate or control your energy consumption, minimizing the carbon footprint in the environment.

Controlling energy consumption assures you of various benefits. First, you will minimize expenditure on energy bills, improving your profitability in the long run. You will also allot natural resources more effortlessly.

Unmatched Safety

Electricity is hazardous — an electrical setup could expose you to various injuries and even fatalities. You will need to monitor this system to ensure that everything functions normally. Suppose you rely on employees to do this manually. In that case, you will be exposing them to a potentially hazardous environment.

Yet, using a power monitoring system allows you to check the electrical system remotely. This way, you are not within the potentially hazardous region. It will also cushion your facility against unexpected fires or damage to various equipment.

At the same time, remote monitoring makes maintenance an effortless venture. This system will notify you when various equipment parameters are exceeded. The idea is to allow you to plan, minimizing downtime and significantly high energy costs in the long run.

A power monitoring system is an invaluable addition to your property. You need a qualified professional to install and maintain this system. Ham’s Electric, Inc. is your ideal choice! We offer multiple services, from power monitoring and power quality analysis to surge protection and energy conservation. Call us today via (909)982-7344 and enjoy services from our experienced technicians.

There are several types of power problems that can occur within a critical power system, which include voltage issues, current issues and frequency issues. Each of these types of problems can lead to disruptions in the power supply, so it is important to be aware of them and address them when they occur.

Let’s look at some of the common problems that come across critical power systems.

1. Power Sags

A power sag is a sudden decrease in voltage within a power system. This type of problem can be caused by a variety of factors, such as a lightning strike, a fault in the system or when powerful machines are started. When a sag occurs, it can cause devices that rely heavily on power to malfunction or even fail.

2. Power Surges

A power surge is the opposite of a power sag and is a sudden increase in voltage. One of the major reasons it happens is when power is restored after a blackout. This problem can also occur when heavy machines are disconnected from power after a lightning strike, or when there is a fault in the wiring. When a surge occurs, it can damage electronic devices and even cause them to catch fire.

3. Brownouts

This type of power problem occurs when there is a voltage decrease that lasts for an extended period, sometimes even days. While a sag occurs suddenly and goes away, a brownout goes for extended periods. It’s caused by overuse of the power system and can lead to equipment failure and data loss.

4. Blackouts

A blackout is a total loss of power and is one of the worst types of power problems that can occur. It can be caused by several factors, such as a natural disaster, human interference, animal interference, vandalism, planned interruptions and many other issues. Depending on the cause, a blackout can last for minutes or hours, or even days. It can cause massive disruptions in a facility, and can even lead to the loss of data or equipment.

5. Transients and Spikes

Transients and spikes are brief surges in voltage, lasting only for only a few milliseconds. They are usually caused by a sudden change in the load on the power system. While they don’t usually cause any long-term damage, they can be very disruptive to electronic equipment.

6. Harmonics

Harmonics are a type of distortion within the frequency of the supply. It can cause problems with sensitive equipment and often annoying hums and buzzes. The source can be either the generation or the load side of a system. The voltage from these different sources may combine to create an even more significant amount of harmonics, affecting more than one substation at a time.

A critical power system needs to have some harmonic filters. Harmonic filters reduce harmonic problems, protect sensitive equipment and provide a higher power factor to help improve efficiency.

7. Electrical Noise

Electrical noise is an undesirable signal that can be caused by many factors, such as faulty wiring, electromagnetic interference (EMI) or radio frequency interference (RFI). This type of noise can cause problems in electronic equipment, such as data corruption, glitches and even complete failure.

Hopefully, you’ve learned how to identify common electrical power issues. By being aware of these problems, you can take the necessary steps to prevent them from disrupting your critical power system. And when they happen, you’ll know when to contact critical power specialists to help get your system back up and running.

Improved Efficiency

One of the reasons to upgrade your power transformer and electrical system is that it could be more efficient. Transformers and electrical systems have been around for decades but continue to become upgraded and more advanced as new technology comes out. Further, older transformers can start to lose their efficiency and effectiveness as they near the end of their useful life. By upgrading to a new power transformer and electrical system, you can reverse this and improve the overall efficiency. Not only will this help to reduce your energy bills, but it can reduce your carbon footprint, and it will be better for the environment.

Improved Reliability

Nothing is more frustrating and challenging than losing power due to an issue with a power transformer. While properties that need constant access to power can back up their building with a generator, it is always important that your primary source of energy is in good, reliable condition. If you have an older transformer that needs repair, upgrading it to a new system is important. This can make your entire transformer more reliable, which can allow you to avoid outages.

Reduced Maintenance Costs

Keeping your power transformer efficient and in good condition is necessary to ensure you have reliable access to power. Unfortunately, for those with older transformers, this can mean spending a lot of money on maintenance and repairs for the transformer. One of the benefits of upgrading your transformer is that it will likely require less maintenance and repair. This could reduce the total cost of operating your electrical system.

Having a strong and reliable electrical system is always very important. One part of any electrical system is a power transformer, which helps to convert electricity from one source to another. While your transformer is designed to last, it will require occasional upgrades and improvements. One of the best ways that you can improve your transformer and full electrical system is by investing in an upgrade. There are various reasons why you should upgrade your transformer to ensure it remains effective and efficient.

Here are just a few reasons why it is beneficial for facilities of all sizes and types to invest in industrial power monitoring systems.

You’ve already had a key piece of equipment fail

Power monitoring systems serve as a preventative measure to help you predict potential equipment failure before it happens. They provide you with insight into the operation of your motors, transformers, pumps and electrical equipment and determine whether they are vulnerable to premature failure.

Pay special attention to issues such as: causes of excessive heat; micro-jogging or motor vibration in motor bearings; and heat and wear of cable insulation that could potentially result in short circuits.

If you need reliable, clean power to run safely

Any type of facility that requires constant, uninterrupted power for operation will need to be able to track its most critical power components in real time. Industrial power monitoring systems help you make sure that you aren’t overloading any of your equipment and that the equipment present isn’t setting off any alarms. You can also track metrics such as the number of times equipment has turned on or off or the total run hours for the equipment.

These metrics of reliability are important to track so you can keep the power on at your facility, increase the lifespan of your equipment and potentially cut costs.

You’ve experienced devices tripping or resetting

If you have a programmable logic controller (PLC) or distributed control system (DCS) that has been having issues with unexplained resets or power cycling or if you have a circuit breaker that keeps tripping for mysterious reasons, you could benefit from the use of an industrial power monitoring system.

Over time, this so-called nuisance tripping could have a significant negative effect on your facility. It could compromise the quality of your products or result in your emergency power supply system coming online in a situation when there is not actually an emergency.

This problem is typically a result of undervoltage, with voltage falling below IEEE standards, but there are other potential causes, all of which can be monitored and analyzed by an industrial power monitoring system.

You need to generate power reports for compliance purposes

There are many types of facilities that are required to generate and submit emergency power supply system (EPSS) reports for the purposes of compliance with federal or industry standards. Industrial power monitoring systems are able to automate this testing and reporting for equipment such as generators and transfer switches, which can make compliance a breeze and take quite a bit of work off your plate.

To learn more about the benefits of industrial power monitoring systems, get in touch with the power monitoring experts at Ham’s Electric, Inc. with any questions you have.

The basics of a power quality analysis

A trained professional will analyze how power flows through the system, along with related factors like grounding and harmonics. Completing this process requires special training, as technicians are analyzing a particular set of values in areas like voltage, currents, waveforms and more.

Power quality data analysis provides information that electrical technicians then use to determine how well a building’s power system is—or isn’t—working and which electrical issues are causing problems. Using the right power analysis could help your business save thousands of dollars every year by preventing repairs and service interruptions while also lowering utility costs.

The importance of performing power quality analysis

This is a critical part of making sure your facility runs efficiently and safely. Facility operators should schedule these tests as part of a standard maintenance routine rather than in response to a specific problem. Even in the absence of obvious power supply issues, regular analyses are vital.

That’s because they provide an opportunity for technicians to spot small problems before they become big ones. This can result in drastically reduced downtime and, over the long term, save you money. A technician will use a variety of tools and diagnostic equipment to evaluate whether each power source is performing to its best ability.

Tools technicians use in power quality analysis

Obtaining and interpreting quality, usable data in this process can be intimidating for the uninitiated. Power quality analyzers are the most common tool utilized to monitor real-time readings and collect data that is then sorted through automatically. These handheld analyzers are generally between 4 and 5 pounds and used to record amperage, frequency, dips and swells in voltage values, inrush current values, harmonic currents and light flicker. When the analyzer records these parameters, it’s possible to address most power issues.

Bringing in the pros

It is possible to obtain your own power quality analyzer and complete the process on your own. However, a trained electrician will be able to provide you with much more accurate and relevant information. They’ll identify problems accurately and present potential solutions that will work. Unless you have a deep background in and understanding of electrical work, this is a task best left to licensed professionals.

We hope this guide answers your questions about power quality parameters and analysis. At Ham’s Electrical Inc., we’ve been in the business of providing essential electrical services since 1986. We do it all, from data center upgrades to hospital systems to critical power systems and more. Our talented team of technicians is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for installation, service, maintenance and more. Give us a call right now to schedule a consultation or service appointment.