Sustainability CorrelationsET 494 Interim Project Report

Computer and Mechanical Engineering Technologies

ET-494

Spring 2017

Students: Vaughn Ferrara, Ra’Najawhan Poullard, Deuel Vaughn

Advisor: Dr. Koutsougeras

Professor: Dr. Koutsougeras

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand the systems that are in place at the Southeastern Louisiana Sustainability Center and propose methods, designs, and solutions to manage its data needs. The operations of Sustainability Center are controlled and are assessed based on data and thus the collection and assessment of data is very important. Our target tasks are to design a data collection system for the various subsystems that comprise the Sustainability Center. We will do our own research to develop a system of our own that would be more efficient, user friendly, and convenient than what is already available at the Sustainability Center. We will use off-the-shelf technology to design a data communication system that can be used on the existing or new mechanical apparatus to facilitate data collection and controls.

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Introduction/Background

The Sustainability Center’s goal is to make the campus more environmental friendly. One method is to install solar panels around the campus to create more renewable energy. Since the installation of their systems, they have been collecting data on their energy production and consumption. The Sustainability Center has other systems in place besides solar panels such as; geothermal, solar thermal, and photo voltaic systems. All of these systems run through the Sustainability Center and can be monitored in real time. They are shown in the descriptions below.

The photovoltaic energy system consists of multiple grids of solar panels across campus and uses them to turn sunlight directly into electrical power.

The solar thermal energy system consists of multiple grids of solar panels across campus and uses them to turn sunlight directly into energy used for heating purposes.

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The geothermal system takes energy from the ponds they have and transfers energy across campus to be used for heating and cooling buildings.

Our Purpose

The original purpose of this project was to take the data the Sustainability Center has been collecting form their energy management system, and do analysis of the data they have been collecting. However, after conversations with the system monitors and our advisor, we discovered there had been some miscommunication on what was already in place at the Sustainability Center. Now our advisor has suggested we shift our goal to selecting of off-the-shelf technology to design a data communication system that can be used on the existing mechanical apparatus to facilitate the data collection and pertinent controls.

Progress

After our changed objective, we began doing research on how to develop and construct data communication systems for power meters. With none us having a background in this subject we began doing research on the basics of data communication systems. While researching how to do so, we also needed to look into the equipment required. As a reference, we spoke with the Sustainability Center and asked if they had information on their existing system they could share. We discovered they have a web application they use to see the real time data of the energy systems they have in place. We were given a username and password so that we can have access to it. We discovered it had the following information.

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Screen capture of the home page of the web application.

From the home screen, they can navigate to see the current energy use of any building on campus. This webpage displays all of the energy meters that you may choose to view. There are many readings available through this web application, more than just a single power meter reading. It can give information on the solar panel grid, solar heating pumps, and boiler temperatures and other systems they have in place on campus.

Below is a webpage that displays the energy usage of every building on campus that is monitored but the Sustainability Center.

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Below depicts three solar panels. The far left is for the one at the Sustainability Center. The one in the middle is and far right are the two at the physical plant.

The issue we were having is that we were not given acces to the trednlogs they have. When trying to gain acces to the trendlogs, we were directed to the blank page as shown below.

We tried to gain acces to this information multiple times but have been denied everytime. The trendlogs are on different secuirty clearnce than what is allowed to us. We asked if it was possible to give us acces, but they said it would cause potential issues with the system so our request for acess was denied. We also asked if they could make a copy the data for us into table or word document. They said that they did not know how or if it was permitted. Since we did not have a sufficient amout of access to their equiptment and data, our group and advisor decided that it would be best for the sake of our project to devise our own design and design a system that would collect data and display it in real time while displaying past records for easy analaysis.

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Possible Solutions

We researched ways of setting up data communications network, but now we need to find the equipment to do it. We looked at other companies to see how they went about setting up an energy monitoring system. Power companies like Entergy use things like smart meters. Smart meters are power meters that automatically send data upon request to the companies. There are smart meters on normal homes that energy companies use to collect data for the monthly usage wirelessly from the road instead of going directly to read the meter. We decided that this is not the type of communication we want.

We spoke to the workers at the Sustainability Center about what kind of power meters they have in place currently. They gave us a manual for one of their power meters called the Acuvim II Series. According to the manual, it has real time metering, data logging, time of use, and waveform capture. The problem is it uses a program called a Modbus protocol. Therefore, we researched what Modbus protocol is. Modbus is one of the staples in the industrial technology world with regards to communication networks. Modbus is used in multiple master-slave applications to monitor and program devices to communicate between intelligent devices, sensors, and instruments to monitor field devices using PCs and HMIs. Finding material on this software has been difficult, but we found a book called Practical Industrial Data Communications: Best Practice Techniques, that covers the basics of Modbus. After learning what was used and how it was implemented, we looked at different power meters to compare them.

Shown is a map of the current installations of solar panels on campus.

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When deciding on what meter to use, we looked at what we need for this particular job. Upon picking a meter, we discovered that we needed to know if the energy system we are trying to measure is a single or three-phase system. Company called TSUN makes the solar panels at Kinesiology and Sustainability Center. A company called Schuco makes the solar arrays at the biology and greenhouses at Sustainability Center. A single-phase system is where you only have one voltage source or circuit. Most homes in the United States are examples of a single-phase system. Whereas a three phase system is when there is more than one voltage source meaning it there is more than one circuit connecting to power system. A three-phase system is usually used when some devices require more power than others like a motor, pumps, or HVAC. They could be either because some are connected to the geothermal pumps in the Sustainability Center meaning, they could be three phase. While some could be independent like the ones on the biology building. After further discussion with the Sustainability Center, we discovered that they use a single phase system that is fed into a three phased system. Since it is fed into a three phased system, it can be considered a three phased system.

The Sustainability Center has a control room where they have someone always monitoring the energy systems across campus. The newer power meters have a built in alarm system. Each user can set the limits for when the alarms go off and a warning is sent through either an email, or web application. We took this into consideration when researching meters. The main function we are looking for in a power meter is the type of communication it has to relay this information elsewhere. What we want are ones with internet communication. Through things like MasterSlave, BACnet IP, ModBus, TCp, Modbus/BACnet, and via Ethernet.

Another critical function a power meter should have is the capability of data logging. All smart meters can read current power usage, but there are some that can store data for later use for analysis. This makes it so we can see data from past days and months. When you have data over a long period of time, it creates a more accurate means for analysis of the system and its efficiency. Data logging can store waveforms of voltage and current. The waveform of the voltage and current can be seen over a predetermined period of time. These waveforms are useful for analysis a daily cycle when the most power is produced by the solar panels.

Then looked into simpler solutions like home wireless measuring systems. There are many ways for homes to easily measure their own power usage remotely other than going outside to look at a power meter. Most companies use the same method of measuring the energy usage using a device called a Current Transformer sensor (CT). Like any other transformer, a current transformer has a primary winding, a magnetic core, and a secondary winding. A current transformer is similar to a voltage transformer. It has an iron or ferrite core and two windings, but unlike the voltage transformer, it comes with only one winding on the secondary side. The primary winding is supplied in the form of the cable that passes through the transformer core. This means it only works for currents. Thus, it will generate an output current flowing in the secondary winding that is proportional to the current in the cable that is the primary winding. The CT will generate whatever voltage is necessary to drive the secondary current. There are two types of CT’s, a ring core and a split core. The ring core requires the circuit panel to be disconnected to put on the ring. Whereas, the split core is in two parts that clips around the live

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wire without having to disconnect them. When installing a CT, it is important to make sure it is in the right direction because that will effect whether if it shows if power is positive when exporting or importing. One last note about the CT sensors are the ground and power connections must be two separate wires for the sensors to work. If the ground and voltage are combined as one the sensors will not work.

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Photo of Current Transformer sensor (CT)

One company that primarily uses CT sensors is 2 Save Energy Ltd. who produces solar monitoring equipment. The difference is they have their own hardware that is not just a modified Raspberry Pi. Also the setup for the OWL Intuition-PV involves using two CT sensors instead of one. One CT is connected directly after the grid invert from the solar panels, and the second is before the fuse box, examples can be seen in the pictures below.

Another company that primarily uses CT sensors is Open Energy Monitoring. They offer a variety of methods for measuring energy usage. The one that caught our attention the most was the EmonPi. The EmonPi is an all-in-one Raspberry Pi based energy monitoring unit that can utilize either Ethernet or Wi-Fi. The data collected from the EmonPi and can be accessed from the company’s website application called EmonCMS. The EmonPi and EmonCMS then can monitor the real time and historic performance of the generation from the solar panels, and grid import,

Those are some the qualifications we looked for one researching the type of meters to use. With those in mind, here is a list we complied that we believe are the closest with what we need.

Power Meters

Embedded Web Server

Communications 3 Phase or Single Phase

Waveform Capture

Trend Logging

Internal Memory

Alarms

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Power Xpert Meter 2280

Yes HTTP, HTTPS, Modbus RTU, Modbus TCP, BACnet/IP, SNMP, SMTP, NTP.

Single Phase, and 3 Phase

Yes Yes 768 MB Yes

Power logicION7550 RTU

No DNP3 Modbus TCP/IP Telnet ION

Single Phase, and 3 Phase

Yes Yes 10 MB Yes

Acuvim II Yes Ethernet, Profibus-Dp, BACnet,Rs485

Single Phase, and 3 Phase

Yes Yes 8 MB Yes

Power Scout

No Modbus/BACnet MasterSlave, BACnet IP, ModBus TCp over Ethernet

Single Phase, and 3 Phase

Yes No None or N/A

No

OWL Intuition-PV

No Transmits over frequency to node gateway that connect over Ethernet

Single Phase Only

No Yes N/A No

EmonPi Yes Ethernet or Wi-Fi

Single Phase and 3 Phase

No Yes N/A No

Our Selections

We decided to go with the EmonPi because it uses CT sensors, has the option of using cloud based storage, or servers. The EmonPi has everything needed for data monitoring of the systems. The EmonPi is cheaper than other meter monitoring systems they already have in place at the sustainability center. Such as the Veris meter that prices around $1200, or the other meter Alerton that is in the price range of $2500, whereas the EmonPi is $200 dollars for the base model. Another positive for the EmonPi is much smaller device then the other meter currently in use. Its size is only 103mm x 85mm x 99mm, which can be seen in one of the images below. The

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main reason we choose the EmonPi is that it use the CT sensors that are easy non-intrusive installation process. This means they can be installed right away without any rewiring. Below is a mockup design of how it would work.

Mock Up Design

Dimensions of the EmonPi

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That is what we have completed so far in terms of research for designing a data commutation system for the energy systems around Southeastern.

Conclusion

Overall, in the first half of the design project has helped us all learn the basics of a data communications networking system. In our second semester, we choose what energy monitor we had thought that would be best for this project. The solution that is easy installation, easy maintenance, and overall one of the cheaper ways to monitor the system. We believe the EmonPi will be a great way to better accurately measure and store the energy usage than what is currently in place. We aim to use this knowledge, and skills obtained from the Engineering Technology program, to successfully demonstrate the capability to perform and find solutions to new task regardless of prior knowledge. Next, we plan on exploring the available technologies and developing a design that will well suit the Sustainability Center or even other work places.

Objectives Completed

1. Looked at what subsystems the Sustainability already has in place2. What equipment is being currently used.3. Research sensors that can be used for measuring power4. Researched what options were available on today's market5. Research networking concepts6. Looked into what other business have done similar concepts7. Choose the CT sensor

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8. Have finalized on using the EMonPi as the network communication device to send the information

9. Finish research on the remaining software and networking devices

Objectives to Do

1. How and where will we store the data if we were to actually build the network 2. Compare efficiency with current system at the Sustainability Center

Updated Timeline

Software and Networking Research—February 1st-14th

Design System – February 15th – March 7th

Determine data storage location - March 8th -28th Determine System efficiency March 29th – April 18th Compare Sustainability system with our own April 19th – May 2nd

Contributions

Research Sensors/ Storage - Vaughn Ferrara, Ra’Najawhan Poullard Research Data Communications- Deuel Vaughn, Vaughn Ferrara Research on the Sustainability Center - Ra’Najawhan Poullard Identify Best Components for System - Vaughn Ferrara, Deuel Vaughn, Ra’Najawhan Poullard Note: Meeting times either Wednesdays or Early morning ThursdaysReferences

1. "Campus Map." Campus Map. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2016. <http://www.southeastern.edu/map/>.

2. “CT Sensors - Introduction." OpenEnergyMonitor. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.”3. "High Performance Power and Energy MeterAcuvim II Series." Power and Energy Meter

- Acuvim II Series. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2016. <https://www.accuenergy.com/product/acuvim-ii-power-energy-submeter>.

4. Reynders, Deon, Steve Mackay, and E. Wright. Practical Industrial Data Communications: Best Practice Techniques. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2005. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 16 Nov. 2016.

5. "PowerLogic ION7550 RTU - Schneider Electric." Schneider Electric. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2016. <https://www.schneider-electric.com/en/product-range/1872-powerlogic-ion7550-rtu/?parent-category-id=4100>.

6. "PowerScout 3037 Power Submeter." DENT Instruments. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2016. <https://shop.dentinstruments.com/collections/powerscout-product/products/powerscout-3037-ps3037>.

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7. "Power Xpert Meter 2000 Series." Power Xpert Meter 2000 Series. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2016. <http://www.eaton.com/Eaton/ProductsServices/Electrical/ProductsandServices/PowerQualityandMonitoring/PowerandEnergyMeters/PowerXpertMeter2000/index.htm#tabs-2>.

8. "Solar PV Monitoring." The Owl. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2016.

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