Electrical Power & Protection


Omniflex cures NHS energy monitoring headache

September 2012 Electrical Power & Protection

When Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in the UK decided to collect energy consumption data in real-time from over one hundred energy meters around its two hospitals, it chose Omniflex to provide the server and communications infrastructure.

The challenge

The NHS Foundation Trust wanted to upgrade its existing energy reporting over the two hospitals to obtain usage data every 30 minutes, reliably over the entire site. There was a mix of existing intelligent meters and pulse meters that could not be replaced due to the cost constraints. Furthermore, the Trust wanted to minimise network installation costs, by utilising its existing Ethernet backbone, but a limitation of the number of available IP addresses was also a consideration that had to be taken into account. Network downtime is a reality and dealing with these network outages without losing the 30 minute updates was also a challenge to be overcome.

The solution

Omniflex supplied and commissioned an on-site 'Omnergy Data Server' and 13 metering gateways to communicate with more than one hundred new and existing energy meters around the two sites, counting pulses from the pulse meters and polling the smart meters for the data. Http://tinyurl.com/bo352n5 for full details on how Omniflex provided a cost effective solution for monitoring energy usage and presenting the data to the facilities manager.

For more information contact Ian Loudon, Omniflex, +27 (0)31 207 7466, [email protected], www.omniflex.com



Credit(s)



Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

Power supply with scalability optimised
Schneider Electric South Africa Electrical Power & Protection
Schneider Electric has introduced the Easy UPS 3-Phase Modular to the South African marketplace. This robust uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is designed to protect critical loads while offering third-party verified Live Swap functionality.

Read more...
Prioritising arc flash safety
Comtest Electrical Power & Protection
Comtest has developed a range of thermal imaging and wireless testing tools from Fluke, designed to ensure safety is the top priority for engineers working in potentially dangerous arc flash zones.

Read more...
Monitoring the voltage drop in cables
Turck Banner Southern Africa Electrical Power & Protection
With its new M12Plus connectors, Turck Banner is directly shifting the condition monitoring of cables subject to severe stress to the connection technology. The connectors, which come with voltage and current monitoring and a Bluetooth chip, enable measured voltage and current values to be sent wirelessly to a controller.

Read more...
Mesh networks: a multidirectional electrical superhighway
Schneider Electric South Africa Electrical Power & Protection
Today, many power industry stakeholders are faced with mounting requirements for improved grid reliability, resilience and distribution efficiency. It’s a challenge which requires power service providers to rethink their infrastructure. Enter mesh networks, which can overcome the limitations of traditional star networks.

Read more...
Versatile flexible copper busbar
Electrical Power & Protection
Referro Systems specialises in the supply and support of industrial electrical, automation and global software and hardware brands, and is now able to offer the Cubic range of Cu-Flex flexible copper busbars.

Read more...
Trafo Power Solutions upgrades DRC mine transformers
Electrical Power & Protection
With its experience in Africa and its agility in executing projects rapidly, Trafo Power Solutions is supplying three mini-substations and two transformers to a copper-zinc mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Read more...
Acquiring locally-manufactured transformers
ACTOM Electrical Machines Electrical Power & Protection
Speed and efficiency are of the essence in the fast-evolving power generation and distribution space; but a significant challenge is the prolonged lead times associated with acquiring transformers – key components in any electrical infrastructure.

Read more...
Seaward testers power PV specialists
Comtest Electrical Power & Protection
One of Asia’s leading clean energy specialists, Solarvest, uses the latest electrical safety test equipment to ensure the solar photovoltaic (PV) installations it services and maintains operate at peak performance levels.

Read more...
Multi-purpose contact block
Electrical Power & Protection
The TME catalogue has been expanded to include products from Schlegel. This German, family-owned company has been specialising in the production of high-quality electromechanical components for almost 80 years.

Read more...
ACTOM supplies transformer units to Kamoa Copper Mine
ACTOM Electrical Machines Electrical Power & Protection
ACTOM Distribution Transformers, recently secured an order for the supply of its neutral electromagnetic couplers, with earthing resistors, and an auxiliary transformer) to Kamoa Copper Mine in the DRC.

Read more...