|
This document is available for downloading
as an Adobe PDF document.
Field Testing of Self-Contained Meters
Meter Registration, Power Quality, and
Customer Usage
Self-contained meters are an ideal choice for many
installations due to cost savings (time and money) but have their own special
field test needs. Especially with the introduction of 400 and 600 amp meters,
field meter test sets have been prohibitively large and field testing is time
consuming. Using a traditional test set, the following steps are required to
test a self-contained meter:
- Travel to the site
- Bypass each power path of the meter inside the housing
- Remove the meter from its base mounting
- Mount meter into a test adapter
- Test the meter using the tester
- Remove the meter from the test adapter
- Re-install the meter into its base mounting
- Remove the power bypass shunts.
The Powermate System Power Analyzer provides an
alternate method of not only testing the self-contained meter registration but
also the customer power quality and power usage information. Using proprietary
methodology, the Powermate uses clamp-on
current sensors and performs field testing without
shunting or interrupting the normal power
feeds. To fully test a site, the 3-phase clamp-on current probes are connected
around the conductor bundle feeding the meter and the 3-phase voltage leads are
clipped to the potential terminals. Selecting the Integrated Test mode
automatically measures the site characteristics including voltage and current
waveforms, vector diagram, system power data, and harmonic details. With an
InfraRed (IR) detector attached to the meter to measure meter pulse information,
the Powermate determines the meter Registration in accordance with ANSI
C12.1-2001 (5.1.5.3) using the actual customer load conditions (ie, voltage and
current variations) over the desired test interval (1 pulse to several hours).
Data is stored in nonvolatile memory in the Powermate until returned to the
office for download to a computer for review, printing, and data sharing.
Field Testing of Self-Contained Meters
Actual Field Test Results Collected and Stored by Powermate
Analyzer
(Actual Images)
|
|
|
| Figure 1. Meter Registration
Results |
Figure 2. Customer Usage Vector
Diagram |
|
|
|
| Figure 3. System Power Usage
Details |
Figure 4. Harmonic Analysis of
3-Phase Currents |
|
|
Figure 5. 3-Phase Voltage and Current Distortion
Waveforms |
|
