Distributed energy monitoring unit
February 2022
Electrical Power & Protection
Opto 22 has expanded its groov RIO edge I/O series with a new energy monitoring unit (EMU) designed to help plant managers, machine operators and financial analysts understand electrical costs and track changes in load that might give early warning of equipment faults.
Using 0,333 V, 1 V or 5 A current transformers (CTs), the device measures live AC power and energy consumption from any three-, twin- or single-phase load up to 600 V and provides 64 simultaneous field measurements and calculated values directly to analytics software, databases and other connected systems.
For many industrial ratepayers, a lack of visibility into energy consumption means that operational costs may be higher than necessary. Relatively simple changes and operational improvements can often reduce peak power usage, resulting in significant savings. But without strategic data collection, these improvements can be difficult to identify. Additionally, measuring power draw at the machine level is an effective way to assess machine health, detect impending problems, and make timely adjustments to equipment such as motors, bearings, filter pressures and lubrication, without instrumenting each component.
The groov RIO EMU module measures AC RMS voltage and current for up to three phases (wye or delta) and is rated to UL 61010-3 measurement category III. From the measured field inputs, additional values are calculated for each phase including true, reactive and apparent power; power factor; frequency; net energy; as well as combined totals for all phases. The small form factor allows for installation at the point of use, permitting granular measurement of electrical loads like pumps, heating/cooling systems, solar power generation and many others.
The unit is built on Opto 22’s proven edge I/O platform. It includes Power over Ethernet (PoE) and a wide operating temperature range for easy installation. Module operation and data distribution are protected with cybersecurity features including mandatory user authentication, a configurable firewall and SSL/TLS encryption. Both OT and IT communication options are supported, including a full REST API, VPN client and MQTT/Sparkplug client.
The groov RIO EMU is compatible with traditional control programming and scada systems. Data can also be accessed through the embedded Node-RED IoT programming environment and IT programming languages like C++, Python and Java.
For more information contact Opto Africa, +27 11 792 4886, [email protected], www.opto.africa
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