Data Acquisition for Individual Panelboard

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Sider

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Hi all,

I'm looking for some low-cost options to get automated power usage data for a single panelboard. The panel in question is rated 400A, three-phase, 120/208V, and serves a variety of building loads (part warehouse, part office in this case). Since this panel currently lacks a dedicated meter, I've been looking into both clamp-on and split-core CTs, and it seems the split-cores tend to be quite a bit cheaper.

For the data acquisition, we'd ideally like to receive reports either via e-mail or through a designated FTP upload location. We do not need advanced measurements, only kWh readings at designated intervals. Also, this is the only panel we are monitoring at this location, so the equipment does not need to be expandable to multiple metering locations.

I've been looking into a combination of these two items by Veris:
H8050 split-core CT (400A)
H8803 AcquiLite (Data Acquisition)

The manufacturer told me that the AcquiLite outputs CSV files for data and has an IP address, so you can log into it to extract data or configure it from a remote location. So it would seem nothing further is required except for an ethernet cable and Excel.

Has anyone had an experience with this system, or a similar one? If so, would any other equipment be required to achieve the result we're looking for? Also, are there any specific products you would recommend? I'm kind of new to data acquisition myself, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
 
J

jdsmith

Senior Member
Location
Ohio
I have some experience with power monitoring systems, but my system is implemented differently than what you're looking for. I have a number of EPM 5300, 5350, and 9650 meters throughout the plant that are networked together. A computer polls the meters every 5-7 seconds for metering data then displays and logs the data. I believe the EPM 9650 (now owned by GE Multilin) has the functionality that you're looking for - to log data internally in the meter and have some way to pull the reports remotely. I'm not sure if the 5350 has this capability or not. There are a couple of products in the Multilin/EPM product line between the 5350 and 9650 but I haven't used them. Any of these meters will have an ethernet port and you can assign an IP address and ftp into them to grab a csv file with all of the data. If you have a server and a handy IT guy available they could write a script to grab the csv file on a regular basis and email it to you. The manufacturer might offer some slick software to do this too, but be skeptical of any meter/relay software - it has a small user base that is stuck with the software once you have their brand of relay and the software tends to be buggy, expensive, and poorly supported.

I'm most familiar with GE meters, but I know that the Square D Powerlogic family has a unit with the type of logging you're looking for as well.
 
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