Late last year, Siemens Power Automation Department announced the release in South Africa of the Simeas-P power meter, a high-performance measurement instrument for use by plant engineers, electricians or technicians in a power-engineering environment.
Pieter van Niekerk, Power Automation Department Manager, says the Simeas-P is a cost-effective and versatile instrument that incorporates three devices - a transducer, an indicator and a quality of supply meter, which results in a significant saving in costs.
"The cost savings are not limited to the unit itself, but also in the ease of design of substation automation systems. Largely maintenance-free and very easy to service, thanks to the modular construction, the Simeas-P offers a substantial reduction in engineering time and major savings in maintenance and support costs. The device is also ready to be interfaced to other substation automation equipment, as it has a serial port already built-in."
The Simeas-P power meter is simple to configure, can be adapted to the user's requirements and easily integrated into networks. As a control panel display instrument, the device sets new standards for medium- and low-voltage systems, and can also serve as an element of a TIP (totally integrated power) management system. More than 80 measured values - including phase voltages and currents, active power, energy output, reactive power, apparent power, symmetry factor, voltage harmonic content and harmonic current - are shown directly on the graphic display. This data can also be transferred to a central computer system for further processing.
Measured values are quickly recorded and updated. Regardless of the loading, this power meter can be connected to any network - from a single-phase to a four-wire system - either directly (networks of up to 690 V) or through a transformer. Its universal power supply unit can accommodate nominal input voltage ranges of 24 to 250 V d.c. and 100 to 230 V a.c. - making it a uniquely universal unit.
Users can customise the display of measured values on the graphic screen to meet their individual requirements. Up to 20 configurable screens can be selected using three pushbuttons on the front of the unit, which makes the Simeas-P as easy to use as the menu-based parameterisation system. The number, nature, content and sequence of these screens can be configured at will. The measured value screens, which are refreshed once a second, include a status bar that displays the status, interface connection and any diagnostics messages. The high-resolution graphics display has blue background lighting - a combination proven to be most relaxing on the eyes.
Fully functional, input voltages and currents are scanned and used to derive the effective values, which can be displayed on the screens or transferred to another system through the serial port, as the Simeas-P meter works as a slave on Profibus-DP. There are also two relay outputs that can output energy pulses, limit violations and status messages.
Developed and manufactured to high standards of quality in Siemens' ISO-9001-accredited factory in Berlin, the Simeas-P guarantees high levels of system safety, reliability and a long service life. Further evidence of quality is provided by its consistently high precision over a long period of time, its CE label, its electromagnetic compatibility and compliance with all relevant national and international standards.
The accompanying user-friendly software contains three programs that enable even more efficient use of the unit's functionality. Parameterisation allows for quick configuration of Simeas-P devices, which means the parameters can be configured and saved even in the absence of the unit. The visual display software allows users to monitor and evaluate measured values or print out measured values with a time stamp from a PC or notebook - even over considerable distances, while the evaluation software allows users to professionally display, edit and print out the sine or effective values shown in graph or table format.
Phineas Baloyi, Siemens Power Automation
011 652 2732
© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd | All Rights Reserved
printer friendly version