Energy Monitoring Unit From Opto22 is on the Market

Groov RIO energy monitoring unit (EMU). Image courtesy of Opto22

 

Energy Monitoring From Opto22

Late last year, Opto22 announced a three-phase power monitoring module for their Groov EPIC programmable industrial controller and now Opto22 is adding another three-phase monitoring module. Opto22’s product line consists of standard industrial automation control hardware and software. Their flagship product is the Groov EPIC controller, this controller is PC-based automation, with a focus on IIOT and industry 4.0 technology.

 

Groov EMU power supply and I/O connectors. Image used courtesy of Opto22

 

Three-Phase Power Monitoring

Opto22’s energy monitoring unit (EMU) GRV-R7-I1VAPM-3 is a smart device that is capable of monitoring three-phase power with multiple measuring configurations. The EMU is a standalone product that can be configured using a web browser to monitor;

• AC RMS voltage and current on Cat 3 wye (up to 400 VAC)
• Monitor 18 data points per phase including voltage, current and true power
• Measure power and energy use
• Share data between databases and dashboards
• Includes leading security features
• Can be powered with POE (power over ethernet) or with standard 10-32 VDC line power

Stand Alone Monitoring

This particular IO device is a stand-alone device, meaning it doesn’t require a control system to configure or pass data to other systems. The Groov RIO EMU has internal security features and internal ethernet connections so that the monitoring data can be passed directly to databases or other systems for further analysis. This reduces processing time on the control system and frees up inputs. The Groov RIO EMU can also be added to an existing Groov EPIC processor where the data from the EMU can be processed or passed to other processing equipment.

As for powering the unit, Opto22 has provided two options POE on a dedicated ethernet port, or provide 10-32 VDC to dedicated power ports. The Groov RIO EMU also comes equipped with a USB port that can be used to expand the capabilities of the EMU, such as adding a Wi-Fi adapter for wireless connectivity, USB to serial adapter for serial messaging, or a USB memory stick to log recorded data or to increase data storage.

 

Groov EMU connection ports. Image used courtesy of Opto22

 

Typical Energy Monitoring

Usually, power monitoring equipment consists of current transformers and bulky devices that will only connect to a proprietary software or cloud service. While these products do offer simplicity, they lack function and customizable features. With Opto22 being an industrial control system manufacturer, they have built-in features to their EMU that allow user flexibility in how the system monitors power and where the collected data is then sent.

Applications

When making products, we need a workforce, raw materials, and the energy to process those raw materials. If we use the analogy of baking a cake we would need a baker, flour, eggs, sugar, and a device to heat the cake. One way to confirm an effective, efficient process is to monitor energy usage. By monitoring the consumed energy of the oven we can start to generate a picture of our kitchen efficiency. If we are using more energy than we expect we might be able to prevent maintenance issues and address inefficiencies before they cause unplanned downtime. Maybe our oven door is not closing all the way allowing heat to escape, and requiring a spike in electricity usage.

By using an energy monitoring device we can automatically alert the proper staff about future issues with the oven because of excessive energy usage. With the Groov RIO EMU being designed around IIOT and Industry 4.0, these alerts can be made available remotely or throughout the plant almost instantly.