Technical data

2CMC480022C0003| Electricity meters 5
Industrial applications
ABB electricity meters find many uses in industry, usually
in one of three areas; cost distribution, effective use of
energy, improved control. One common feature is that
they generally interact with a plant’s Energy Management
System, which reads the meter and then forwards the
result for further handling.
Meters used in industrial applications do not need special
approval. Common sense, however, says that high-quality
meters like ABB’s are essential. That they should meet
accepted international standards is also obvious. And as
industrial plant owners frequently mount electrical equipment
on DIN-rails, ABB electricity meters with this capability has a
clear advantage.
Fair and flexible cost distribution
Industry faces a never-ending challenge to keep down its
operating costs. One of the pre-requisites for achieving this
goal is to first identify where costs occur. Only then can
factory management draw up guidelines on how these should
be allocated and who should pay for them, i.e. according to
department, profit center or even individual products.
Meters help maximize energy efficiency
Making the most effective use of costly energy remains a key
priority. Measuring the electrical consumption of equipment,
especially heavy equipment, is a vital job for ABB electricity
meters in this respect. For example, an unexpected increase
in the energy use of an individual item can signal an urgent
need for maintenance – and a return to more acceptable and
budgeted levels.
Peak-shaving saves unnecessary extra costs
Many industrial contracts for electricity supply specify a
maximum power that can be taken from the grid. Exceeding
this level can mean costly extra tariffs, especially in energy-
intense operations. Peak-shaving uses ABB meters to monitor
electricity consumption and identify when penalty levels are
at risk. In the long-term, industry wins by better-planned and
more economic use of energy.
Max demand also cuts industrial energy consumption
Measuring the highest average power during a set time inter-
val (e.g. 15 min to one hour) results in the max demand value.
Using ABB meters to measure max demand helps cut con-
sumption by more easily identifying time periods when energy
use is very high so that appropriate measures to reduce it can
be taken.
Mitigating the effects of harmonic distortion
Harmonic distortion is the change in the waveform of the
supply voltage from the ideal sinusoidal form. The phenome-
non can adversely affect industrial equipment such as induc-
tion motor windings, transformers and capacitors. What’s
more, its effects may go unnoticed for years.
Reducing harmonic distortion first requires a harmonic analy-
sis, and here ABB meters have an important role to play.
ABB meters help industry manage
electricity cost distribution and make
more effective use of the energy it
consumes.