US 12,449,451 B2
Electric power data collection and analysis system and process of implementing the same
Walter Morgan Curt, Mt. Crawford, VA (US); and Christopher Fisher Mullins, Mt. Crawford, VA (US)
Assigned to Power Monitors, Inc., Mt. Crawford, VA (US)
Filed by Power Monitors, Inc., Mt. Crawford, VA (US)
Filed on Dec. 31, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/566,864.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/132,746, filed on Dec. 31, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0206047 A1, Jun. 30, 2022
Int. Cl. G01R 21/133 (2006.01)
CPC G01R 21/133 (2013.01) 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus for electric power data collection and analysis comprising:
at least one transducer configured to measure an electrical parameter of a monitored element;
at least one environment sensor configured to measure an environment of the monitored element and generate environment measurements;
one or more data collection units configured to collect data that comprises at least the electrical parameter measured by the at least one transducer and the environment measurements of the monitored element measured by the at least one environment sensor;
a processor implemented as a digital signal processor configured for data collection, pre-processing, and/or analytic operations; and
a data concentrator configured to receive periodic data blocks from the one or more data collection units that comprises the data collected by the one or more data collection units,
wherein the electrical parameter comprises at least one of the following: voltage, current, and/or power;
wherein the processor is configured to provide power quality monitoring that comprises power quality metrics including flicker and harmonic measurements;
wherein the at least one environment sensor comprises at least one of a temperature sensor configured to measure an ambient temperature of the monitored element, an air pressure sensor configured to measure an ambient air pressure of the monitored element, a humidity sensor configured to measure an ambient humidity of the monitored element, a solar flux sensor configured to measure an ambient solar flux in an environment of the monitored element, a rainfall/precipitation sensor configured to measure an ambient rainfall/precipitation in an environment of the monitored element, and/or a vibration sensor configured to measure an ambient vibration of the monitored element;
wherein the monitored element comprises at least one of the following: an electrical substation, a solar farm, a wind farm, a Distributed Energy Resource (DER), a portion of a utility transmission infrastructure, a portion of a utility generation infrastructure, one or more circuits, one or more machines, and/or one or more components; and
wherein:
the one or more data collection units comprise an analog to digital converter implemented in a sampling system;
the one or more data collection units comprise a second processor configured for data buffering and communication of the electrical parameter measured by the at least one transducer and the environment measurements of the monitored element measured by the at least one environment sensor;
the sampling system is configured to implement oversampling at a first frequency and a first resolution;
the sampling system is further configured to output the oversampling to the second processor;
the second processor is further configured to receive the oversampling from the sampling system and down sample the output to a second frequency and a second resolution, the second frequency being lower than the first frequency, and the second resolution being greater than the first resolution;
and the at least one transducer comprises at least one of the following: a voltage transducer and/or a current transducer.