Fluke Power Quality Offering

Think of power quality as a measurement of how well power is used at facilities and asset levels. As power flows from the utility, and throughout the facility to where it is needed, there are many issues or scenarios that can impact how well that power is utilized. Depending on the situation, these factors can impact how much power is making it to the end-point, keeping assets running correctly and efficiently. This is why ensuring proper power quality at installation, monitoring for power quality changes, and analyzing assets and issues as they come up is a required first step in ensuring long-term power quality.

Whether trying to verify proper installation, uncover hard-to-find intermittent problems, or trying to find and eliminate reoccurring issues, Fluke power quality tools enables technicians to quickly and easily take measurements whenever and wherever they need to.

What power quality tool do I need to do my job?

Man vs. machine (Fluke power quality edition)

Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium: Power quality testing

Whether installing new equipment or monitoring assets after installation, the goal is to safely operate at maximum efficiency. Proper installation and regular monitoring can help keep assets running at peak efficiency.

To ensure a motor is running properly, technicians must monitor the following:

• Proper voltage: When replacing motors, it is important to size the motor to the job
• Phase: Determine whether a three-phase or single-phase motor is required
• Design letters: NEMA design letters define four motor classifications based on efficiency and torque ratings
• Code letters: NEMA code letters designate motors to classify based on inrush current per horsepower
• Horsepower rating: This is the manufacturer rating for a motor's optimum operating power

In many cases, critical assets have built-in sensors that provide early indications that a problem needs to be addressed. These assets can bring an entire production line to a standstill if a breakdown occurs.

However, not all assets have these sensors. Vital assets such as pumps, heat exchangers, or motors that also keep the plant up and running often experience silent issues. Using condition monitoring tools makes it possible to catch these problems early and save on upkeep time and repair costs.

When motor issues occur, technicians should check to see if the motor is overloaded or drawing more than its rated current. Whether it has bad bearings, a misaligned shaft, other maintenance issues - or just excessive load on the motor - one this is for sure: Excessive heat is being produced in the windings. And heat deteriorates insulation and is the leading cause of motor failure.

1. Continuously and safely monitor assets: To prevent total production shutdown, condition monitoring software continuously saves power, vibration, and temperature measurements; for over four weeks, sensors continuously send data that syncs with a computer or mobile device.
2. Discover the root cause faster: By leaving the sensors in one place and employing continuous monitoring, it is easier to troubleshoot and identify intermittent events. It is also possible to conduct point measurements for troubleshooting, commissioning, and calibrating, as needs arise. Quickly identify events based on measurement data and visualize measurements over time to determine comprehensive asset health.
3. Monitor equipment safely from anywhere: A technician - and his or her team - can feel like they are in more than one place at one time, by placing sensors on assets and simply walking away. These sensors will stream data and measurements remotely. The same technician can now redeploy his or her team to a more productive project, because the job of maually collecting daily or hourly readings has been eliminated. The technician can also monitor equipment using real-time measurements and quickly identify where a recorded event or events have exceeded a preset threshold.
4. Deliver real-time alarms: The tech can set the threshold options and assign who will be notified if the threshold is exceeded. Receiving real-time alarms means users are notified when the defined parameter is exceeded.
5. Fast, cost-effective setup and maintenance: Wireless sensors equipped with condition monitoring software are easy to install and can be moved by existing technicians. The sensors have no screens, which maximizes battery life. By spreading a number of sensors over a series of assets, more comprehensive monitoring is possible without the same expense as a fixed system.

Poor power quality can shorten the life of vital equipment, trip automated equipment, and produce extraneous and sometimes damaging heat. Each equipment type - from just outside of the facility, to the inner workings of a motor - has its own set of symptoms and potential causes that impact power quality. Power quality issues can be limited to a specific piece of equipment, spread peripherally to nearby equipment, or impact the entire facility.

Power quality problems are most associated with electrical distribution systems and equipment connected to circuits. It is easy to write the symptoms off as being associated with old breakers, or as just a one-time reset, but what to do when the problems persist?

Root cause analysis of power quality problems starts with the desire to get to the primary problem and solve it. With power quality issues, start by looking for harmonics, unbalance, or disturbance patters. Voltage and current anomalies can produce problems, too.

Symptoms:

• Dimming lights
• Computer lockups
• Relay and contactor chatter, or complete dropout
• Equipment and system shutdowns
• Spurious and unexplained alarms and shutdowns

Potential root causes:

• Starting large loads, especially large inductive
• Similar operations in neighboring facilities
• Severe weather

Network hub failure application note (pdf)

• Fluke 1738 Three-Phase Power Quality Loggers
• Fluke 1748 Three-Phase Power Quality Loggers
• Fluke 1777 Three-Phase Power Quality Analyzers

Sypmtoms:

• Failed power supply
• Overvoltage shutdowns and alarms on variable frequency drives (VFD)

Potential root causes:

• Fault on single phase of three-phase system
• Sudden load decrease
• Capacitor bank switching

• Fluke 1738 Three-Phase Power Quality Loggers
• Fluke 1746 Three-Phase Power Quality Loggers
• Fluke 1777 Three-Phase Power Quality Analyzers

Symptoms:

• Flashover and arcing effects in distribution
• Damaged insulation
• Failed electronics
• Computer lockups

Potential root causes:

• Lightning strikes
• Switching of capacitors
• Reenergizing systems after power failures
• Sudden stoppage of large equipment
• Dirty or worn contactors

• Fluke 1746 Three-Phase Power Quality Loggers
• Fluke 1777 Three-Phase Power Quality Analyzers

Symptoms:

• Equipment shutdowns

Potential root causes:

• Momentary loss of utility power

• Fluke 1738 Three-Phase Power Quality Loggers
• Fluke 1748 Three-Phase Power Quality Loggers
• Fluke 1777 Three-Phase Power Quality Analyzers

Symptoms:

• Overheated three-phase motors and transformers

Potential root causes:

• Unbalanced loads across individual phases of three-phase panelboards
• Unbalanced utility supply
• Operation of single-phase welders
• Open-delta transformers

Three phase motor failure application note (pdf)

• Fluke 1746 Three-Phase Power Quality Loggers
• Fluke 1748 Three-Phase Power Quality Loggers
• Fluke 1777 Three-Phase Power Quality Analyzers

Symptoms:

• Overheated neutral conductors
• Overheated transformers
• Overheated inductive motors
• Spurious and unexplained alarms and shutdowns of electronic equipment

Potential root causes:

• Nonlinear loads such as switching power supplies
• Converter sections of uninterruptible power supply (UPS), VFDs, and battery chargers
• Welders
• Arc furnaces

Common Power Quality Factors Affecting Transformers Application Note (pdf)

• Fluke 1738 Three-Phase Power Quality Loggers
• Fluke 1746 Three-Phase Power Quality Loggers
• Fluke 1775 Three-Phase Power Quality Analyzers

Power quality recorders capture the most detailed data and help techs discover the most difficult-to-find problems. With the supporting application software, a recorder can help the user see the full picture, enabling them to fix power quality problems.

Fluke Power Quality Recorders:

• Fluke 1760 Three-Phase Energy Logger

Three-phase power quality analyzers are ideal for power quality testing, troubleshooting, logging, and creating detailed reports in conjunction with the easy-to-use PowerLog-430 software.

Fluke Power Quality Analyzers and Troubleshooters:

• Fluke 1773 Three-Phase Power Quality Analyzer
• Fluke 1775 Three-Phase Power Quality Analyzer
• Fluke 1777 Three-Phase Power Quality Analyzer

sPower and energy loggers are used for conducting three-phase energy and load studies to discover where savings are possible. With Fluke Energy Analyze Plus software, it is possible to create detailed reports to focus in on power quality problems.

Fluke Power and Energy Loggers:

• Fluke 1732 Three-Phase Power Measurement Logger
• Fluke 1734 Three-Phase Power Measurement Logger

• Fluke 1736 Three-Phase Power Quality Logger

• Fluke 1738 Three-Phase Power Quality Logger

• Fluke 1742 Three-Phase Power Quality Logger
• Fluke 1746 Three-Phase Power Quality Logger
• Fluke 1748 Three-Phase Power Quality Logger

From testing the performance of transformers, lighting or switching electronics, Fluke's high-precision power analyzers perform at a high level of accuracy and can handle the most difficult waveforms.

Fluke Precision Power Analyzers:

• Fluke Norma 4000 Series Power Analyzers
• Fluke Norma 5000 Series Power Analyzers
• Fluke Norma 6000 Series Portable Power Analyzers

Permanently installed in a panel door allows voltage and current connections without opening the door. Increase efficiency by quickly connecting a logger or analyzer, and begin taking measurements faster than ever.

Fluke Electical Measurement Windows:

• Fluke PQ400 Electrical Measurement Window

Single phase recorders satisfy the needs of maintenance and facilities management personnel in industrial, utilities, and large service organizations where reliable power quality is essential to the operation of the business; power quality parameters including RMS average, transients, flicker, and harmonics.

• Fluke VR1710 Single Phase Power Quality Recorder and Voltage Recorder