When it comes to saving on electricity costs there is one axiom that holds true; “If you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it!”
Measuring and controlling your electrical motors, appliances, geysers etc. is referred to variously as Building Management or Building Automation. For example modern systems allow you to access them remotely and interrogate or turn on or off any appliance connected to your system.
There are many different products available but generally Schneider controls are recognised as the most robust on the market.
The BA Systems division of the Stratlec Group deals almost exclusively with Schneider Controls – notably C-Bus Components.
BA Systems have installed these products in some fairly decent installations: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Campanile, Coega Head Office, Transnet Head Office, SAPS 1011, Product Testing Institute (for which they won a National Award for the most energy efficient building), Livingstone Hospital, upmarket private homes and more – some of which can be found on our BASystems.co.za web site.
As part of the companies commitment they also carry local stock for these projects and when there is no more need for them (due to upgrades/replacements) this stock is released at fairly decent prices – sometimes 50% less than the factory recommended pricing.
Take for instance the Acti9 iEM3555 series energy meters which offer an attractive range of three-phase DIN rail-mounted energy meters with an LCD display.
Additional local signaling includes green LED power-on indicator, flashing yellow LED for accuracy checking, an overload alarm and communication indicators. This meter can be used in sub-billing applications and supports 4 tariff schedules.
These meters can monitor energy consumption by usage, by zone or by feeder in the cabinet. They can be used to monitor feeders in a main switchboard or to monitor the main in a distribution cabinet.
The meters provide the essential measurement capabilities (for example, current, voltage, and energy) required to monitor a 1-phase or 3-phase electrical installation.
The key features of the meters are:
- Measurement of active and reactive energy
- Multi Tariffs (up to 4) controlled by internal clock, digital inputs or communication
- MID/MIR compliance for many of the meters
- Pulse outputs
- Display (current, voltage, and energy measurements)
- Communications via Modbus, LonWorks, M-Bus or BACnet protocols
Remember – If you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it!
Proper measurement leads to proper management which helps contain your costs in any energy hungry environment.
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