Energy Spy – Power Usage Monitor

Know Your Realtime Electrical Usage – Manage Your Electrical Costs: Affordable Instantaneous Plant-Wide Energy Monitoring

Your electric bill may be based on total demand, peak demand and power factor. Most consumers are not aware of these actual values until the electric bill arrives. By then your chance to remedy the situation affecting these values is too late resulting in paying a premium or penalty. The Energy Spy Power Usage Monitor, with adjustable alarm limits, will indicate when your power factor drops to lower levels and when your total demand reaches new levels allowing you to take corrective action.

The Energy Spy unit displays, records and alerts you to plant-wide energy use. It has user-settable alarm levels for Power Factor and Kw Demand. When these alarm levels are reached, red or yellow indicators on the front of the unit (and optionally in larger, remotely mountable “light trees”) are displayed. The light trees help with “on-the-plant-floor” understanding of energy usage.

The Energy Spy Displays

• Power Factor with 3 Stages of Alarm
• KW Demand with 3 Stages of Alarm
• Records accumulating KWH (with reset feature)
• KVAR and KVA values

Power Factor Monitoring

Your electric company may be penalizing you for poor or low power factor. This is a fact most manufacturers are not aware of until their next electric bill arrives. By then your chance to remedy a low power factor is too late and you pay the penalty. Energy Spy, with 3 adjustable stages of Power Factor indication (NORMAL, ALERT, ALARM) will indicate when your power factor drops to lower levels allowing you to take corrective action.

Download PDF

KW – Electrical Demand Monitoring

Your electric bill includes a peak or demand charge which you pay every month. Energy Spy, with three levels of Total Demand indication (NORMAL, ALERT, ALARM) will indicate your KW demand, allowing you to manage your demand charge.

Download PDF

Visual/Audible Alarm and Data Capture

Reported values from the Energy Spy can be communicated to a computer for long term data retention and analysis. The optional remote light tree allows ON-THE-FLOOR understanding of energy use and can be used to broadcast the current status for a quick remedy of the situation. Relays can also be incorporated to activate with each of the three alarm levels. These relays can be wired to control (or disable) external devices (for load shifting, for example) or make/break signals to existing equipment.

A built-in piezo buzzer can be used to sound an alert when alarm levels have been reached.

Windows compatible software generates report values which can be communicated to a computer for long term data retention and analysis.

Energy Spy Advantages

• Empowers consumers by giving real time feedback of energy usage
• Helps determine causes of high energy bills
• Enables short term load shifting to reduce peak demand
• Helps determine when a capacitor bank has a blown fuse by monitoring power factor
• The optional light tree gives power consumption reminders that can encourage “on-the-floor” understanding of energy usage
• Setting a shorter adjustable measurement time interval than the power company uses can allow you to make changes before getting hit with a high energy bill
• Historical energy data can be saved for comparison through the PC interface
• Alerts you before being hit with power factor penalties
• Enables you to verify capacitor bank sizing through real time operation

Features and Specifications

Hardware

• Optically isolated dry contact inputs
• Configurable to accept Form A or Form C pulse inputs
• Relay drivers to interface to existing equipment
• RS232 serial output to PC included (RS-485 or Ethernet are optional)
• Case is wall-mounted, steel, 8”x10”x4”

Functionality

• User programmable alert and alarm levels for PF and KW demand
• On panel visual indication of alarm or alert
• Built-in audible piezo buzzer for alarms (enabled/disabled)
• Able to drive two alarm light stacks (optional)
• Adjustable measurement time interval (1 – 150 min)
• Displays: Power Factor, Kilowatt, KVAR, KVA, and KWH (accum.) for each interval
• Individually scalable pulse input channels (KVarh, Kwh)

Optional Software (Windows version)

• Runs in two different modes
• Display mode: Displays run time or historical data graphically or in a table
• Collect Data Mode: Runs minimized in system tray (event driven so not a big resource drain) – can be set to automatically run in system tray at startup
• Saves data in standard Comma Separated Variables format (Excel, *.csv). No practical limit to data storage (data storage files separated by date)
• Date and Time stamps saved with each sample

Energy Spy User’s GuideQuestions to Ask Power Company – Dry Contacts Required