Current monitor checks up on three-phase supplies

The EL040 is a three-channel AC current monitoring device from Pico Technology.

The EL040 is a three-channel AC current monitoring device from Pico Technology.

is Supplied as part of a mains supply monitoring kit, the device is ideal for measuring single- and three-phase supplies as well as machine monitoring, balancing three-phase supplies and carrying out energy efficiency studies.

The mains supply monitoring kit contains: the power monitor, an EnviroMon data logger, three current clamps, a network cable and a power supply.

Mike Green, Managing Director of Pico Technology comments: "With the present drive towards energy efficiency, the EL040 will find uses both in industry and at home.

Current monitoring gives detailed information about where and when electricity is used.

Armed with this information, it is easy to see how to eliminate waste and thus reduce costs".

The EL040 unit can be used to monitor up to three AC signals from the outputs of the AC current clamp transformers (TA011).

Up to ten EL040 units can be connected to an EL005 data logger by using a network cable (with a maximum length of 400m).

The logger records readings at user programmed intervals (from 1 sample every minute up to 1 sample every 240 minutes), and can also trigger alarms when conditions preset by the user are exceeded.

Impressively, up to 250,000 measurements can be recorded, which means the EL005, used in conjunction with the EL040, can monitor a three-phase power supply (sampling every 240min) for 38 years.

Monitoring supply currents in industry, as well as around the home, can highlight areas of excessive current consumption.

Once the problem has been identified, measures can be implemented to reduce this excess.

As machinery gets older, the current consumed will often increase as parts become worn and the machinery becomes inefficient.

Green concludes: "Data collected from separate machines over long periods of time can highlight problems before they become critical or before machinery fails.

Hence, the servicing and/or replacement of machinery can be scheduled - and the EL040-based mains supply monitoring kit from Pico is an extremely cost-effective means of anticipating machinery failure through changes in power consumption".

The mains monitoring kit is priced at GBP 499 +VAT, and offers a significant cost saving over buying all of the products separately.

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