Building power outage "alarm" from a meter

[michael_luczak]

Hi all, 

I am working with one of my customers and they recently asked about monitoring the state of power for a building with an existing power meter for said building.  They have over 100 buildings and for the most part a 5000 series, 8000 series or PM8 on the main for each building.  They wanted to know if power was lost to that building and use the power meter to do that.  Almost like a ride thru module needed to keep the meter up and running for a few seconds to send a signal i.e maybe,, not sure... low voltage alarm down the comms cable back to PME.  Then the meter would die after the ride thru time was expended.  Or I was thinking that the signal would actually come from the ride thru module vs. the meter.  not sure and I could not locate a LV ride thru module other than an older one from the telemecanique brand  LADLVRT120V.  Something small like a DIN rail mounted, 3 mod (54mm) or 4 mod piece of hardware.   I just thought that SE has to offer a more elegant solution if this is a use case that was considered.  Thanks for any insight!

[Charles_Murison · Accepted solution]

Hello @michael_luczak ,

Have you looked for DIN mounted UPS? could https://www.se.com/ca/en/product/SUA500PDR-S/apc-din-rail-panel-mount-ups-with-standard-battery-500v... possibly serve your needs?

There may be other APC UPS products that may serve your needs. There are many rack mount UPS that are available.

Regards,

Charles

[michael_luczak]

Thanks @Charles_Murison.  I will investigate further.  The size of this sample is too large for the space available but I will see if there are any smaller alternatives.  Thanks again for the reply!

[SDL]

I have been working with Schneider Meters for ~30 years.  Every opportunity I get, I mention that the meters come with add-on modules for inputs or outputs (relay modules).  Why then haven't they come up with a battery or capacitor add-on package for the same reason: "dying gasp" power outage alarms. 

The meters miss sending alarms also on meter reboot. 

Another idea; Meter displays that are remote:  Maybe a battery pack that is sandwiched on the front behind the display?

UPS's represent more maintenance that gets overlooked.

[michael_luczak]

I can empathize with your frustration. The majority of my "career" has been spent in Product Marketing/Mgmt (here and other companies) and have seen, heard and reviewed thousands of WANTs and NEEDs from the globe.  I have failed, many times, to fulfill a WANT or NEED from a customer/future customer relative to "my" product/offer(s).  It can be a challenge and often times the role turns into "death by a thousand cuts".  All the good you do is overlooked and it is just what is expected, every thing you miss is pointed out and communicated around the world.  So it can be challenging to meet/exceed "all" the WANTs and NEEDs.  Not excuses, just my 2 cents from doing the job for a quarter century.  All that aside, I agree with you and it seems we have been heard to some extent.  The ION9000 does have ride thru capabilities included.  Snap shot from the manual attached. Maybe a sign that we can expect this from other meter families in the future?  Keep pushing SE to get better.  I know it is/can be frustrating and the SE wheels can turn slowly at times but we can influence product/offer direction.  (Sometimes SE comes along kicking and screaming, granted but we can influence things) Thanks for the reply and insights!