In this category, practical and real examples should contribute to a better understanding of the field of power quality as well as the resulting problems.

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Cyber security is essential

The topic of cyber security is becoming increasingly important due to the constantly growing level of networking. Especially in the areas of energy and SmartGrid. Due to the threat situation, effective cyber security is essential there.

Cyber security is essential

Cyber security is essential

Potential risks (data theft & data manipulation)

  • Hacking & Cracking
  • Listening
  • Datamining
  • Theft of passwords and other information
  • Unauthorized access (intranet, end devices, servers, …)
  • Modification of data & data telegrams
  • Delete data
  • Changing configurations
  • etc.
Data flow in the context of the 7 network layer
The seven network layers

The seven network layers

  • Electrical interconnections must communicate with each other
  • Integration into the World Wide Web (www)
  • Integration of more measuring points
  • Users on grid level 7 (local distribution grid <1kV) become (app) specialists (e.g. SmartHome, energy procurement, …)
  • SmartGrid applications are becoming popular and also demanded
  • Planning with simulation and trends are becoming increasingly important for the networks
  • Dynamic load management (e.g. Redispatch, …)

The basic problem of cyber security

Risks cyber attacks

Risks in the energy infrastructure during cyber attacks

  • Individual approaches take up only partial aspects of essential cyber security
  • IT experts mostly have a technical focus and less on the overall context
  • ISO/IEC27001 on cyber security provides a complete, holistic management system and is very complex
  • IEC62443 on cyber security is in principle only applicable to the subarea of industrial automation
  • There is still no IT security standard according to IEC for power quality instruments as well as power monitoring devices at device level. This is currently in the committees of EC TC 85 / WG 20 – Equipment for measuring and monitoring of steady state and dynamic quantities in Power Distribution Systems under the project title: “Cybersecurity aspects of devices used for power metering and monitoring, power quality monitoring, data collection and analysis “is discussed.

Potential solutions on cyber security

Cyber security is essential - and here are the solutions

Cyber security is essential and here possible solutions are presented

In this blog, solution approaches are to be found at the level of measuring devices, which are also used in sub-areas of software solutions. From this, approaches from ISO/IEC27001 (Annex A; Reference measure objectives and measures) can be found, such as. For instance:

  • Access control for systems and applications
  • Cryptographic measures
  • Physical and environmental security
  • Protection from malware
  • Data backup
  • Logging and monitoring
The following approaches should make a significant contribution to a significant increase in safety at the level of measuring instruments:

Learn more while klicking.

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Infrastructure from the manager’s perspective

Would you like to see energy infrastructure from a manager’s perspective? This is how you might want it to be as a business manager or even as an overall responsible manager. In fact, this allows you to monitor specific individual performance indicators of a factory, a single plant, an entire complex, etc. Last but not least, to possible benchmark with other comparable companies or locations.

The Areal View: The interactive & areal view from the manager’s perspective

 

Interactive Areal View

The Areal View of the SmartCollect SC² offers you an interactive display from different perspectives. For this purpose, you can define photos, graphics, floor drawings, renderings, infographics, and much more as backgrounds. Depending on your needs and available budget, you can store the views both in a 2D format and in an interactive 3D model.

 

Floor plan data center

Example floor plan of a data center for visualization from the manager’s perspective

 

Floor plan

Example floor plan of a single floor from the manager’s perspective

The advantage of interactivity

In the overall view of the Areal View, you keep the overview from the bird’s eye view. However, if you want to take a closer look at individual objects or even analyze them, click on the area and open the details. There, the complete measuring point is grouped in various panels, just as it was set up for you. You can view real-time data in a trend history. In addition, you will be able to define historical time periods and contextualize the measurement data to each other. This allows you to perform meaningful and beneficial comparisons and analyses. Synchronized zoom functions and various selection options of individual data support you. This makes it possible to keep the full overview in a simple way.

Full Dashboard

Dashboard of a measuring point with trend and analysis functions

And if you are no longer satisfied with your individual display in the course of the application, then simply adapt it again to your new circumstances. Because flexibility in visualization is part of the SmartCollect SC² as an easy-to-use HMI. And if you want to align yourself according to ISO 50001, then the energy monitoring system of the SmartCollect SC² will help you advantageously.

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Energy Monitoring System of the SmartCollect SC²

The SmartCollect SC² energy monitoring system, known as EMS for short, gives you full transparency of energy data in accordance with ISO50001. For analytical purposes (e.g. reduction of CO2 emissions, increase of energy efficiency and evaluation of savings potential as well as energy audits), the EMS supports you with relevant panel views within the EMS dashboard. Various manual or automatic reporting functions help you with your individual business analytics.

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Single Node or Distributed Installation

With its hardware and software network components, an IT infrastructure represents a complex and sometimes very complicated system. Especially if you want to map and optimize the energy infrastructure across companies.

SmartCollect®SC², with its web-based architecture, can help overcome a lot of headaches while still providing the highest level of security. In this blog you will find two main types of installation. On the one hand, the so-called “Single Node Installation” (single node connection) and on the other hand, the so-called “Distributed Installation” (distributed connection).

SIngle Node Installation of SmartCollect SC2

Single Node Installation of SmartCollect SC²

 

Distributed Installation of SmartCollect SC²

Distributed Installation of SmartCollect SC²

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Lazy feeders

For some years now, one has repeatedly recognised power electronic feeders, such as photovoltaic inverters, wind turbines and battery storage systems, which show a striking similarity in the current and voltage curve shape.

What is desirable and advantageous for purely resistive consumers – namely the pure purchase of active power without fundamental oscillation and harmonic reactive power – has an unfavourable effect on the network feedback in all voltage levels for feeders of electrical energy. Because in the classical sense, the current of the connected loads – and thus the ideal sinusoidal curve shape of the voltage – is the central control parameter. This applies to large synchronous generators in power plants as well as to generators in emergency power systems and the power electronics on the secondary side of UPS systems. A synchronous generator – even a synchronous motor – will react to deviations of the voltage from the sinusoidal form with a correspondingly opposite current feed. Due to this operating principle, in simplified terms, the classic power plant generators always provide the reactive power at the fundamental frequency and at the harmonics that are demanded by the loads. This is at least within the scope of the respective design-related possibilities.

If, however, a modern power electronic feeder largely follows the voltage curve with its current control, it optimises its own frequency-dependent reactive current, but at the same time denies the grid the reactive power required by the consumers. Thus, in the worst case, it even acts as an “amplifier” of the mains feedbacks prevailing in the network. Such effects static in the frequency range and dynamic in the transient range are becoming more and more frequent.

Now, this frequency-dependent reactive power can also be provided by active, passive or hybrid filter systems. However, these possibilities already exist in purely physical terms in the designated feed-in plants. Put simply, all that is missing for this is the corresponding control parameter in the control system of such systems.

This calls for a rethink in approval and standardisation. It is of little help if the relevant standards demand the lowest possible current harmonics from feeders. It would be more helpful to promote such systems that, in addition to supporting the voltage, also participate effectively in maintaining the shape of the sine wave. Just like the good old synchronous generator in the power plant.

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Speechless – electrical socket mounted in the dishwashing sink. Purpose of goodwill or madness very close together.

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PQ meters looking for trouble!

“Electricity comes out of the socket” and why should it be of different quality? Does this mean that not all electricity is the same?

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IEC 61850 standard application examples of substation automation

From ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING PORTAL

Why IEC 61850

The IEC 61850 standard has been defined in cooperation with manufacturers and users to create a uniform, future-proof basis for the protection, communication and control of substations. In this brochure, we present some application examples and implemented stations with the new IEC 61850 communication standard.

IEC 61850 already has an excellent track record as the established communication standard on the worldwide market for the automation of substations.

Task

In the simple example described here, the coupler and the two feeders of a double busbar system exchange the information items necessary for substation interlocking (Fig. 1).

Figure 1 – Double busbar system with 2 feeders

Figure 1 – Double busbar system with 2 feeders

The information to be exchanged for substation interlocking are the following:

1. From the coupler to the feeders:

Information that the coupler is closed. If this condition is met, the disconnectors may always be operated in the feeder bays (even if the circuit-breakers of the feeders are closed).

2. From the feeders to the coupler:

Information that the busbars are connected via the disconnectors. As soon as the two busbar disconnectors are closed in at least one bay, coupler C02 can no longer be opened because otherwise it would no longer be permissible to operate the disconnectors in the feeders.

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Harmonic measurement

Non-linear power consumption and decentralized power generation creates more and more disturbances into the grid. With this short blog we would like to introduce how easy it is to setup a measurement – but of course, less easy will be the problem solving. But there must be starting point somewhere.

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The use of suitable current transformer sensors pays off

Accuracy of the measurement questioned.

Measuring instruments are usually classified according to standards and accuracy. Accuracy is an important indicator for being able to usefully build on a solid measurement result in the analysis and its resulting measures. However, it can be observed that although the measuring devices used correspond to a required accuracy class, the necessary sensors are often less in focus.

It can be seen that although class A measuring devices used in power quality applications correspond to a data sheet accuracy of 0.1% for U/I and 0.2S at the energy meter, upstream current transformers are often designed significantly worse (e.g. 0.5% or worse). And this is apart from the fact that not only accuracy plays a role in power quality measurements, but also the inevitable compatibility against harmonics – one of the modern and growing main players in power quality. Read more

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