New Generation of Power Management Solutions

PACTECH / ICP DAS (EC17W35_01, by Kevin Ho)

ICP DAS provides total-solution products for the second phase, measurement and analysis, providing products from power meters for measurement to power meter concentrators for data logging and report analysis. The solution is comprehensive and easy to use, and can save time and cost in system planning and implementation. It is flexible so that you can freely add or remove power meters depending on the measurement scale. The following is a suggested architecture provided using the ICP DAS solution. The ICP DAS Power management solution is easily installed, is flexible, and helps to quickly introduce a power measurement and analysis system to end-users using easy-to-modify operations, a reasonable price, and low demands on manpower.

Introduction

When implementing an energy-saving project, it is recommended that the project be implemented step by step. A general energy-saving project is usually divided into the following stages:

Phase I:
Onsite investigation and inquiry: Initiate an energy-saving profile and investigate potential energy-saving opportunities.

Phase II:
Measurement and analysis: In this stage, the power measurement system operators should get involved to collect relevant data so as to relate an energy-saving baseline.

Phase III: Planning and negotiation
Phase IV: Implementation and improvement
Phase V: Energy saving performance validation

To implement an energy-saving project at a company, the general department or factory facility management department will usually take charge of the relevant issues, as they are more familiar with hardware in general situation. Sometimes the manufacturer can also help to install the hardware. However, when implementing software, the IT department will usually need to get involved or require a system integration expert to assist with program development. This process will be quite complicated and the cost will be high.

ICP DAS Solution

ICP DAS provides total solution products for the second phase (measurement and analysis): providing products from a power meter for measurement to a power meter concentrator for data logging and report analysis. This solution is comprehensive and easy to use, and can save time and cost in system planning and implementation. It is flexible, you can freely add or remove power meters based on the measurement scale. The following is an overview of the architecture provided by the ICP DAS solution.

★Reduced Costs

An Ethernet/RS-485 converter is not required, so costs can be reduced

The MV146-MCM is a Modbus/RTU to Modbus/TCP converter that allows SCADA software to access data on a power meter via the Ethernet. Using the ICP DAS PMC-5231 Power Meter Concentrator, which provides an Ethernet connection, the MV146-MCM converter is no longer required, so costs can be reduced.

A panel board is not required, so costs can be reduced

The ICP DAS power meter features standard DIN rail installation, so a panel board cut out is not required for installation compared to a general panel power meter.

Software & Trials: PC and SCADA software can be replaced by the power meter concentrator to save costs and time

To implement the software aspect of an application using SCADA software, the outlay not only includes the software license fee and the project development costs, but also the cost of a PC to host the SCADA software. In addition, it typically takes a long time to communicate with the end users regarding the requirements for a variety of functionalities and reports.

The ICP DAS PMC-5231 power meter concentrator is specifically designed for electricity measurement. The software functions have been well designed, including real-time/historical data log/display/inquiry functions. The software can generate a wide range of analysis reports. In addition, all software settings can be adjusted via PC, mobile phone or tablet via remote operations. With a few clicks on a web page, the whole process only takes about 10 minutes.

When increasing the number of power meters, it is easy to add devices and expand scale

The design of the software for the PMC-5231 power meter concentrator is based on web operations. It is easy to modify the settings when increasing or decreasing the number of power meters connected to the PMC-5231.
System integrators usually charge an additional fee to modify SCADA software when required to expand the scale, unless you have a wel thought out plan that includes adding or deleting power meter functions in the system at the very beginning. However, if you decide to expand the scale, you only need a qualified technician to install the power meter, as the software aspect can be easily taken care of by the users themselves.

Conclusion

The ICP DAS power management solution is easily installed, is flexible and helps to quickly introduce a power measurement and analysis system to end-users using easy-to-modify operations, a reasonable price and low demands on manpower.

Related Products

• PMC-5231: The Power Meter Concentrator supports at most 24 ICP DAS Modbus Power Meters
• PM-3033 / PM-3133P Series: Three phase Power Meter for 1 circuit
• PM-3112/PM-3114 Series: Single phase circuits Power Meter for 2/4 circuits
• PM-4324P: Multi-Channel Power Meter for 8 three phase circuits or 24 single phase circuits