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A BRIEF NOTE ON BASIC FUNCTIONS, FEATURES & ADVANTAGES
CONCEPT :
Energy conservation is the buzzword of industry today. While every body is striving to cut down energy costs and investing in various energy saving measures for application in different areas like electrical power, thermal energy, mechanical engineering etc., inadequate follow up and monitoring / assessment of energy savings achieved seems to be creating a doubt in the user's mind about their effectiveness.
This seems to be happening due to various reasons including inadequate control and monitoring devices / techniques.
Prithvi Technologies Pvt Ltd has introduced SUPER MONTROLLER
with the intention of providing a single consolidated unit which would extend substantial flexibility to the user and give him a one-point source to enable both - Control and Monitoring - the load in any particular feeder.
PRODUCT :
The brand name - SUPER MONTROLLER - is a combination of two functions that this device is capable of performing: Monitoring and Control.
The Monitoring part consists of a microprocessor based circuit which is capable of monitoring, recording and storing information pertaining to all the electrical parameters (like voltages, currents, wattages, reactive powers, power factors, energies (KWH) in each phase individually as well as a summation of all three phases) of the load feeder.
Storage of information is possible at regular user-definable intervals for periods between 1-day upto 1 year (depending on the frequency of data collection). This data can then be downloaded onto a PALM held device with the help of specific software and then further downloaded onto a PC for analysis (again with the help of specific software) and archival. The
proprietary software for all above activity is branded under the name
`EINSTAN' (Electromizer Information Storage and Analysis)
The Controlling part consists of a RTC based - microprocessor controlled 8 channel timer. Each channel is independently programmable for upto a total of 32 ON-OFF cycles with relay outputs for operating any controllable switchgear device like contactor. All programmability is user definable and is driven by extremely user-friendly software.
Moreover, the SUPER MONTROLLER offers the flexibility of automatic operation of relays on the basis of SEASONAL CHANGES IN SUNRISE AND SUNSET TIMINGS.
Aside of the above, the SUPER MONTROLLER also offers a useful feature in the form of three different Energy saving modes (ESMs). This feature is particularly advantageous where multi-tap series reactance or transformer based energy savers are employed. These three modes are as under:
1. Time based - Here, it is possible to control the operation of the lighting loads in
BYPASS or ENERGY SAVING modes on the basis of time.
2. Input Supply Voltage Based - Here it is possible to AUTOMATICALLY select suitable taps
for applying reduced or even enhanced voltages to the lighting feeder on the basis of variations
in the input supply voltage. This mode enables application of OPTIMUM voltages to the lighting
feeder irrespective of variations in input supply AUTOMATICALLY. The various levels at which
tap changing is desired is user settable.
3. Cyclic Phase cutoff : Here, it is possible to switch off 1, 2 or all 3 phases in any sequence as
desired by the user.
APPLICATION :
It is a matter of common observation that loads like lighting feeders generally have a fixed cyclic operation. There could also be other such loads needing a fixed cyclic time-based control. However, for the time being, we will just look at LIGHTING LOAD FEEDERS (which, in any case, by themselves, constitute a fairly large percentage of the total energy requirements of industry) since, by virtue of their technical characteristics, present a tremendous potential for energy conservation.
Streetlights and shop floor lighting are typical applications where fixed cyclic operation is observed. In our experience, a large number of users have independently tried out various ways of saving energy. These
include :
1. Automatic switching 'ON' and 'OFF' of lighting feeders instead of Manual. This eliminates the
possibility of excess power consumption due to lights being switched
'ON' earlier than required and
also being put 'OFF' later than necessary due to unpredictable human behavior.
2. Automatic variation in switching 'ON' and 'OFF' of lights strictly on the basis of NEED depending on
the seasonal changes in SUNRISE AND SUNSET times.
3. Automatic application of OPTIMUM voltage depending on unpredictable input supply voltage to get
best possible energy savings.
4. Automatic phase cutoff to enable cyclic switching 'OFF' of one, two or all three phases at user
settable times in a sequential manner such that the same phase will not be put off on more than
one occasion and at the same time in three nights.
BENEFIT :
These features potentially eliminate almost all possible routes of energy wastage and that too automatically i.e. without any further manual intervention. Employment of the SUPER MONTROLLER
could result in direct savings anywhere in the range of 10 - 50% or even more depending on the extent of current energy wastage on account of the above factors. Apart from direct savings, elimination of manual labor and the operational inconsistencies are another benefit.
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