EC: Power Xpert Insight monitoring software

Power — Energy, Power Protection: Power Xpert Insight is a power and energy monitoring software that can help industrial facilities proactively reduce energy consumption, control costs, and improve reliability by providing a comprehensive, real-time view into power and energy information. This is a Control Engineering 2015 Engineers’ Choice honorable mention.

By Control Engineering October 20, 2014

Power Xpert Insight is a power and energy monitoring software that can help industrial facilities proactively reduce energy consumption, control costs, and improve reliability by providing a comprehensive, real-time view into power and energy information.

In addition to real-time monitoring, the software allows users to view and compare trends from any number of channels across all devices. With the click of the mouse, users can generate bar charts or line graphs from the collected data, and configure data collection parameters over time to meet the needs of evolving energy management programs. That energy data can then be downloaded as a CSV-format file for deeper analysis.

These features help identify equipment or system issues before major problems occur and aid in troubleshooting or diagnosing reasons for equipment or system failures afterward. The data can also help ease decisions related to budget planning, capital equipment replacement or expansion, and production and operations scheduling.

Longer-term benefits allow users to develop and maintain energy budgets, extend equipment life through proactive maintenance, and reduce energy costs through the identification of the most power-hungry loads.

The product was first launched in April 2013. A March 2014 upgrade built upon these features with enhanced alarm notification and advanced building integration capabilities, as well as tools for simplified setup and commissioning.

The update included the Power Xpert Notify system, an integrated program that provides email notification of pre-configured alarms to help users remotely address potential power system issues before they result in unplanned downtime.

An enhanced Modbus protocol adapter was engineered into the software to strengthen communications with equipment from a variety of manufacturers. Providing a more unified view into building status, the upgraded protocol adapter can ease integration into building management systems for seamless and comprehensive oversight of facility energy consumption.

Eaton, www.eaton.com