November 2008
Innovative power monitoring technology is being employed by
K E Brown Electrical Switchboards to radically expand energy efficiency and systems security for industries with dynamic load capacities, including data processing, "green" buildings and process control systems.
KEB's Peter Silsby shows the new technologyThe KEB group is using Schneider Electric Power Logic family H704 series branch circuit monitors to measure the individual current draw of each breaker in a distribution board, rather than the collective draw created by boards that may include many dozens of such breakers.
The benefit of this fine monitoring technology is that switchboard controllers can see exactly how much power individual circuits are drawing, enabling them to achieve load-based cost allocation, overload protection, load management and load balancing, for example. PowerLogic SMS Software helps minimize energy costs, reduce peak demand charges, reduce power factor penalties and ultimately downtime.
The H704 solid-core Modbus® RTU branch circuit monitor updates power usage data about once a second, helping to safeguard security of data processing and industrial processing operations by determining precisely the level at which current draws in individual circuits should provide alerts to operators and when they should close down an operation to prevent damage. Such fine control also greatly facilitates trouble-shooting in commercial, retail and industrial data control and intelligent building processes.
One immediate benefit is that the technology enables users to accurately bill clients according to exact usage of power in their sub-circuit, which is a radical improvement. Individual sub-circuits can represent individual clients in data processing applications, for example, or individual building or factory functions in an intelligent building. This helps operations managers target problems and prevent energy waste.
The new KEB technology has already been adopted by leading telecommunications, computer and retail organisations in Australia.
K E Brown's innovative power monitoring technology was a finalist this year in Australia's premier manufacturing awards, the Endeavour Awards sponsored by Manufacturers Monthly.
Nominated by Schneider Electric, this was the first time we had ever entered any such awards and a delight to be chosen in the Industrial Product of the Year category, joining a record field of finalists for 2008.
