Power Quality Study & Power Quality Audits General Information
PQI/PQT have been conducting Power Quality site audits, energy audits, site PQ troubleshooting, grounding audits and Power Quality base line audits since 1985. In the past 30 years PQI/PQT has conducted more than 1049 site audits worldwide. As a pioneer in the power quality industry, PQI/PQT engineers have made significant contributions to the state of the art of Power Quality monitors and Power Quality Engineering.
In addition to PQ and energy usage PQI/PQT offer extensive classes for thru our Power Quality Practitioner TM training program. Power Quality, Power Quality site audits, Power Quality troubleshooting techniques and Power Quality testing. During the past 32 years PQI/PQT staff have trained more than 1500 engineers worldwide on the various aspects of Power Quality, PQ meters and PQ analytical software.
Mr. Chandler the founder and director of engineering has published more than 100 technical papers at international conferences, co-authored PQ booklets and conducted hundreds of Power Quality and energy efficiency seminars in North and South America and Asia
Power Quality Site audits or Site surveys have different agenda’s depending the reason for the site audit.
1. Preconstruction audit. These audits record and evaluate the quality of voltage as delivered by the utility to a potential factory site. The report and data from this type audit is critical for the electrical engineering design team as it allows them to design the electrical system to be compatible with the known power quality and reliability. PQI has conducted these surveys for large multinational companies in nearly every country Asia. The parameters recorded in these audits are voltage, voltage distortion, harmonics and interharmonics, frequency, voltage sags and surges, voltage transients, voltage waveform variations and voltage flicker.
2. New plant start up problems PQ audit. These audits are used where a new factory is being commissioned or a major remodel has taken place. PQI/PQT have assisted hundreds of facilities worldwide in the start up phase. The parameters monitored include all the voltage parameters, all the current parameters, power parameters and grounding parameters. Additional items that maybe measured include EMI, RFI and static electricity.
3. Base line PQ Audit or pre-installation equipment audits. These audits are designed to record the base line of the various PQ parameters before new equipment is installed. These audits are routinely conducted by equipment manufacturers before installing very expensive sensitive equipment like CAT scans, lasers, wafer fab equipment etc. PQI/PQT both conducts these audits but also teaches the equipment manufacturer engineers how to conduct these audits.
4. Utility level customer PQ compliant audits. These audits are conducted to determine the source of the problem and determine the most cost effective PQ mitigation solution. PQI/PQT conducts these audits under contract to the utility and teaches the utility engineers how to conduct these audits.
5. Power user Power Quality troubleshooting audit. These audits are used to determine the source of the problems in factory, hospital, hotel, airport, ship, airplane, office building, shopping center, military base etc. The normal situation is there is some piece of equipment that is not operating correctly. The equipment manufacturer has a difficult time keeping it working. Or the equipment is failing in a random fashion. Or the lights blink and the automated machine stops. These audits use a variety of Power Quality and other parameters instrument to isolate the problem. Or in many cases prove the problem is not from the electrical supply.
6. QOS audits. Quality of Supply audits are conducted to verify the quality level of voltage delivered is in compliance with a contract between the utility and the user.
7. Energy audits. These audits are conducted to document the actual amount of energy used by a facility or by a piece of equipment.
Which audit is right for your facility? Start by defining the problem. Then state the objective of conducting the audit. If you still have a question, email info@powerquality.co.th or terryc@powerquality.org
What do audit costs? The cost is determined by the type of audit, the length of time, the monitoring equipment is needed, the amount of engineering hours, the amount of travel time involved. PQI/PQT will provide a budgetary estimate upon request.
What are some typical problems discovered during these audits:
1. Wiring errors and ground loops
2. Incorrectly installed or misapplied PQ mitigation devices
3. Voltage sags/surges caused by other user equipment.
4. Voltage sags/surges from the utility
5. High frequency, high voltage transients locally generated.
6. High frequency, high voltage transients generated by lightning
7. Medium frequency transients generated by utility switching of capacitor banks
8. Voltage distortion and or current distortion caused by the loads.
9. Voltage distortion from the utility source.
10. Voltage variation in “flicker” range caused by loads internal or near by neighbors
11. No AC power problem but grounding or EMI or RFI caused problems
12. Human error either accidental or intentional
13. Software problems
14. Intermittent connections at all levels of voltage
15. Electrical equipment oversensitive to Power Quality issues.
16. Intermittent equipment or electrical problems that occur for no apparent reason.
17. Electrical system elements overheating or failing unexpectedly.
With more than 30 years of PQ studies and experiences, PQI/PQT staff have seen all these many times.
In addition to in house engineering staff, PQI/PQT has working agreements with several Specialty Power engineering firms that specialize in High voltage Power Quality, Ultra-high reliability data center power quality, Harmonic simulations, RFI and EMI consulting services. PQI/PQT regularly teams with these companies on large multi-discipline projects.
Additional services available from Power Quality Companies
1. PQ quality monitor rental in most countries in Asia.
2. Power Quality training classes
3. PQ monitor repair and calibration
4. PQ monitoring system design and specification writing.
5. PQ monitoring system integration, installation, testing and maintenance
6. PQ business consulting.
For additional information please contact:
Power Quality Inc. USA
Tel: 1-928-344-9008 Fax: 1-928-344-8847 Email: info@powerquality.org
Power Quality Thailand LTD
Tel: 662-373-6340 Fax: 662-373-2532 Email: info@powerquality.co.th