Electrical and Energy

Installing a power quality analyzer in your home that will help to kill two birds with one stone. By using these devices, you can curb power wastage in your homes, which will in turn reduce the burden on your electrical supplier. You will thus be able to enjoy uninterrupted power supply.

By using a quality analyzer, you can calculate the power cleanliness, demand, and actual consumption in your home. Power cleanliness refers to the harmonics that are observed in the electric supply due to fluctuating loads. The presence of these harmonics results in the improper functioning of the electrical equipment that can lead to overheating, wear and tear, tripping of circuit breakers, and other dangerous situations that can cause fire hazards.

According to electricians, electric demand refers to the energy that is needed for the proper functioning of electrical equipment. A power quality analyzer is able to accurately find out the average amount of power required by a device to work properly by taking into account the power needed during peak time, as well as low load phases.

There is a big difference between the power demand and the power that is actually consumed by the device. You can correctly measure the power consumed in terms of kilowatt hours or watt hours when you use an analyzer.

Once you have analyzed the electricity and the amount of consumption, you can come up with a power factor. Power factor = actual amounts of watts consumed/ apparent watts delivered. As any expert electrician would be quick to point out, the power factor should be less than 1. This is because the power that is used is less than the power delivered as some amount of electricity is lost due to frictional loss, heat dissipation, and work performed. The lower the power factor, the more the power wastage; this value will then assist you in taking corrective measures.

Various brands of power quality analyzers are available in the market. It is possible to find an analyzer designed for a single phase or three phase systems that would cost you anywhere from $1200-$6500. Buying a power analyzer is a good investment, as it could help in bringing down your electric bills, increase equipment life, and help you avoid power downtime.