Design of an Energy Monitoring System for a Medium-Scale Plant

Abstract

In this study, energy monitoring system of a medium scale industrial plant is achieved through a computer interface both in real time and retrospective using recent data. In order to measure the energy, a measurement card is designed to convert the voltage and current signals in suitable levels for a programmable logic controller (PLC). Current and voltage signals received from the measurement card are sensed by the analogue channels of the PLC. A zero-crossing detector is also designed to measure the power factor of the system. Time difference between the signals which are obtained from the zero-crossing detector is measured by using FM 350-01 counter module. All data received are transferred into a database located at the host computer by the PLC using RS485/RS232 communication protocol. Data obtained from the system can be monitored momentarily through an interface that is designed in C# programming language. Furthermore, retrospective energy analysis of the system is made possible by saving the data obtained continuously. Thus, active, reactive and apparent power values can be observed for a specific time interval. By using the retrospective energy analysis system, time periods in which the energy is more consumed can be determined. Thanks to this feature, work load of the plant can be programmed to specific times when the energy is cheaper in order to reduce the energy costs.