Switchboard meter sending phone calls when alarm triggers

[EE_Wisco]

I was wondering if anyone knows of a way to have a switchboard meter or online meter platform to send plant managers a phone call in the instance the meter alarms from phase loss, over current, over/under voltage, etc. which is set up during commisioning. I know, currently, the online meter platform is capable of sending emails, but the owner would like a phone call. If no meter allows such function, is there a third-party device that can do so? I know if could potentially be set up through a BMS system via CTs on the mains and ran to the BMS controller to send the phone call. Let me know what y'all have seen.

Thanks

 

[jim dungar]

Are you looking to spend thousands or just a few hundred dollars?
I would look for a meter/relay with a hard contact output to a standalone autodialer.

 

[Todd0x1]

this could be easily done for maybe 1200-1500 in stuff incl the meter

 

[hillbilly1]

Something like this?
Just use the alarm output to trigger the autodialer.

Voice Dialer - SECO-LARM USA Inc

When triggered by an alarm system, the ENFORCER Voice Dialer can dial up to 6 numbers (up to 3 times for each number) and deliver an 18-second user-recorded message, repeating up to two times. The last 6 seconds of the message can be customized depending on which of the three inputs has...

www.seco-larm.com

 

[Todd0x1]

Something like this?
Just use the alarm output to trigger the autodialer.

Voice Dialer - SECO-LARM USA Inc

When triggered by an alarm system, the ENFORCER Voice Dialer can dial up to 6 numbers (up to 3 times for each number) and deliver an 18-second user-recorded message, repeating up to two times. The last 6 seconds of the message can be customized depending on which of the three inputs has...

www.seco-larm.com

That's pretty cool.

I tend to overcomplicate these sorts of things. I would use a meter with modbus TCP (I like the accuvim ii). Then I would have a small embedded PC or raspberry pi with asterisk/freepbx and nodered on it. Node red reads whatever modbus registers I want from the meter and triggers a sip call based on whatever criteria I set, those sip calls from nodered go into freepbx and initiate the outbound phone call and playing of recorded message. The beauty of such a setup is the ability to have any number of different autodialed recordings based on different criteria retrieved from the meter.

Is this thing calling a mobile phone, or a POTS landline? Could you use text messages instead of phone calls? Another, and slightly less complicated way to do it would be with SMS. Not only could you send the alert, you could include the meter data in the SMS message. Just need node-red for this and not the asterisk/freepbx setup.

Example SMS message something like: "ALERT PHASE LOSS phase C <TIMESTAMP>" or "ALERT GROUND FAULT 135 AMPS <TIMESTAMP>" or "ALERT OVERVOLTAGE EVENT PHASE A-N 148v rms <TIMESTAMP>" (I just made these up, I have no idea what your desired alarm parameters are)

 

[EE_Wisco]

Are you looking to spend thousands or just a few hundred dollars?
I would look for a meter/relay with a hard contact output to a standalone autodialer.

At this point, money isn't an issue, but looking into options for industrial usage. I see what you mean with the meter/relay. This would ideally be connected to a PM8000 meter or PXM4000 meter.

 

[EE_Wisco]

Something like this?
Just use the alarm output to trigger the autodialer.

Voice Dialer - SECO-LARM USA Inc

When triggered by an alarm system, the ENFORCER Voice Dialer can dial up to 6 numbers (up to 3 times for each number) and deliver an 18-second user-recorded message, repeating up to two times. The last 6 seconds of the message can be customized depending on which of the three inputs has...

www.seco-larm.com

This potentially could work with certain I/O alarm triggers from switchboard meters I think. If not, it may need some sort of connector interface to make it work.

 

[EE_Wisco]

That's pretty cool.

I tend to overcomplicate these sorts of things. I would use a meter with modbus TCP (I like the accuvim ii). Then I would have a small embedded PC or raspberry pi with asterisk/freepbx and nodered on it. Node red reads whatever modbus registers I want from the meter and triggers a sip call based on whatever criteria I set, those sip calls from nodered go into freepbx and initiate the outbound phone call and playing of recorded message. The beauty of such a setup is the ability to have any number of different autodialed recordings based on different criteria retrieved from the meter.

Is this thing calling a mobile phone, or a POTS landline? Could you use text messages instead of phone calls? Another, and slightly less complicated way to do it would be with SMS. Not only could you send the alert, you could include the meter data in the SMS message. Just need node-red for this and not the asterisk/freepbx setup.

Example SMS message something like: "ALERT PHASE LOSS phase C <TIMESTAMP>" or "ALERT GROUND FAULT 135 AMPS <TIMESTAMP>" or "ALERT OVERVOLTAGE EVENT PHASE A-N 148v rms <TIMESTAMP>" (I just made these up, I have no idea what your desired alarm parameters are)

My intial thought is that this would work. I'd think I would want to use something with a little more security than freepbx. I could have them set up a Honeywell Spyder for this use and utilize their language to read errors and program the output to the same voice dialer. Some switchboard meters have capabilities for SMS messages, but in this situation, the client is looking for a phone call in case it is the dead of the night and this happens, they are more likely to wake up from a phone call in lieu of an email/message.

 

[Todd0x1]

My intial thought is that this would work. I'd think I would want to use something with a little more security than freepbx. I could have them set up a Honeywell Spyder for this use and utilize their language to read errors and program the output to the same voice dialer. Some switchboard meters have capabilities for SMS messages, but in this situation, the client is looking for a phone call in case it is the dead of the night and this happens, they are more likely to wake up from a phone call in lieu of an email/message.

A bit confused. What would the Honeywell spider do, and what voice dialer would you use? What are the security concerns with freepbx (I would keep this whole system firewalled from the rest of the network and only allow internet access to the sip trunk provider for calling -or you could even airgap it and have it use a POTS line or pbx port for outbound calls)?

 

[Jraef]

LOL, reminds me of a time when I was doing a commissioning of a well pump control system for a small town, and almost the entire town showed up to witness it, maybe 30 adults in the pump station room. When it came time for me to program the autodialer, I asked for the numbers and they gave me the 3 guys on the volunteer fire brigade, but I could do one more. So they looked around and someone said "Give him Ralph's number, he couldn't bother to come!" I did. They were all laughing for a while on that.