Why You Need a Power Quality Analyzer
For most of everyday life, power is a matter of ON and OFF. Whether that means turning on lights with a wall switch or the lights going out with a circuit breaker, the transition between ON and OFF is simple, sudden, and obvious.
In reality, ON is not simple—especially in industrial settings. When your power supply is riddled with fluctuations in voltage, current, and power, small problems become big ones over time.
How small are these problems? So small you might not notice. Maybe your lighting flickers and you aren’t sure why. Maybe the electric motors in your machinery run too hot. Maybe sensitive electronics fail at a suspiciously high rate. Simply put: Power quality issues increase your energy bills and shorten the life of your equipment.
That’s why you need a Power Quality Analyzer.
What Does a Power Quality Analyzer Do?
Power quality analyzers measure voltage, current, and power parameters to identify variations from acceptable values. They also monitor harmonic activity, surges and sags in voltage, transients, and alarm events.
Power quality analyzers help identify repetitive, cyclical disturbances which can significantly reduce the service life of business-critical hardware. With proper data logging, power quality analyzers are also incredibly useful for tracking down the anomalous, intermittent disruptions—an early warning sign of problems with sensitive equipment.
Choosing a Power Quality Analyzer
Data Storage and Connectivity
Do you need to store data on the power quality analyzer directly? Do you simply want to view live data—if so, do you need to do it remotely? Do you want to record the power quality parameters over time and review it later?
Most professionals use power quality analyzers with enough memory to store data for at least one week, but prefer to make use of connectivity features to control, monitor, and manage power usage from anywhere in the world.
Display and Interface
Basic displays with numeric data are ideal for routine maintenance applications where you need to know if your power quality is outside acceptable parameters. When you want to see actual waveforms for a more detailed picture of power conditions—typically when troubleshooting live and in-person—you need a full color display.
AC Power Quality Analyzers by AEMC Instruments
Ionizers can be based on Direct Current (DC) or Alternating Current (AC).
DC ionizers are less expensive, which is their only advantage. The nature of DC electricity means each emitter can only emit positive or negative ions—not both. If an emitter fails, the DC ionizer no longer produces an even balance of ions, which can increase the rate of static buildup.
On an AC ionizer, each emitter produces an even amount of positive and negative ions as the electrical current itself alternates between positive and negative.
Power & Energy Logger Model PEL 103
This instrument is ideal electricians, engineers and contractors for system monitoring and upgrades, as well as residential and overall energy audits. The PEL 103 logs one, two (split phase) and three phase power/energy data. All vital energy data is easily measured, recorded, and analyzed. Standard reports can be generated with minimal effort. Custom report configuration is also supported.
PowerPad III Model 8336 Power Quality Analyzer
This compact three-phase power quality analyzer is easy-to-use and shock resistant. It enables technicians and engineers to measure and carry out diagnostics and power quality work on one-, two- or three- phase networks. Five voltage and four current inputs are provided. It is IEC 61000-4-30 Class B and safety rated to 600V CAT IV.
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