Products 4 Automation has launched a new, low cost, highly flexible power monitoring system that can be easily programmed to collect data from external devices, providing centralised monitoring of all types of energy- intensive operations in industry and commerce, to determine areas where savings can be achieved.
Easy to install and operate, the power monitoring system can be programmed to quickly identify the 15% to 20% annual energy savings, which according to energy industry estimates, are available simply by reducing the costs of lighting, HVAC and the operation of plant and machinery. Achieving these savings will ensure that the P4A system quickly pays for itself.
The power monitoring system is based upon P4A’s low cost Monitouch range of flat panel, programmable HMI’s. Offering SCADA -like performance at HMI prices, the Monitouch range is capable of interfacing to a wide range of external devices; of providing multiple screens depicting all aspects of power monitoring; and of data logging in CSV format.
With programming of the Monitouch based system, it is possible to monitor values from up to 31 distributed nodes (power monitors), such as power, voltage, current, power factors (etc). These values can then be logged at user- defined intervals and saved in the CSV format. This data can easily be saved to an Excel spreadsheet on a PC, simply by saving it on a CF card or USB memory stick.
The Monitouch provides three levels of screen imaging, starting with Simplified Power monitoring graphs, which plot simulated demand expectancy, based on current power values, and also display accumulated power values. The second level is Batch Monitor; this shows measured values from multiple power monitors at a glance. The third and final level, Accumulated Power Monitor, shows accumulated power data for each month, displayed as a bar graph.
“If you can measure your energy usage then you can effectively manage it and reduce costs,” said Paul Hurst MD of P4A. “Usually, though, the investment that has to be made in energy management systems to obtain this data is really quite high. In contrast, the initial investment with our system need not be expensive. That’s because the modular nature of our power monitoring system means that users can start with a single centralised Monitouch and just a few nodes. This ‘pilot’ package will be enough to enable users to prove the value of the system, by obtaining a picture of their energy usage. Once this is achieved, the ability of our system to expand seamlessly means that new nodes can be added, as required, bringing all energy consuming activities under the umbrella of one centralised easy-to-use system.”
*Energy Industry estimates that, by “Measurement and Management”, businesses can save around 15% to 20% of their energy bill per annum.
