Glossary (Explanation of terms)
APFC
Active power factor correction
3S
3S is synonymous with Software, Systems and Solutions and is intended to represent a hoilsitic approach to solutions.
24/7
24/7 stands for general availability in a period of 7 days at 24 hours each. It thus generalises unrestricted availability.
Blog
The blog /blɔg/ or weblog /ˈwɛb.lɔg/ (a combination of the English words web and log for logbook or diary) is a diary or journal, usually kept on a website and thus usually open to the public, in which at least one person, the blogger, also known internationally as weblogger, keeps records, posts facts or writes down thoughts. The activity of writing on a blog is called blogging.
Most of the time, a blog is a list of entries sorted chronologically downwards, which is broken up at certain intervals. The blogger is the main author of the content, and often the posts are written from a first-person perspective. The blog forms a medium for presenting aspects of one’s own life and opinions on specific topics, depending on professionalism up to the level of an internet newspaper with special emphasis on comments. Often, readers’ comments or discussions about an article are also possible. This means that the medium can serve both to file notes in a note box, to make information, thoughts and experiences accessible, and somewhat subordinately also for communication, similar to an internet forum.
CENELEC
CENELEC is the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation. CENELEC is therefore responsible for European standardisation in the field of electrical engineering. CENELEC Members (2020) are the National Electrotechnical Committees of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Northern Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
CODESYS
CODESYS is a manufacturer-independent IEC 61131-3 automation software for project planning of control systems. In this way, device manufacturers realise their own programmable and configurable automation components with CODESYS, which are scalable with calculable effort thanks to a wide range of functions.
COMTRADE
COMTRADE, an acronym for Common Format for Transient Data Exchange, is a file format specified in IEEE standard C37.111 for storing oscillographic and status data related to transient disturbances in the power system. COMTRADE is maintained by the IEEE Relay Communications Subcommittee of the IEEE Power System Relay Committee (PSRC). More information can be found on the IEEE Power System Relay Committee website.
CSV
A CSV file, from the English “comma separated values“,describes the structure of a text file for storing or exchanging simply structured data and ends in the data format with csv.
A general standard for the CSV file format does not exist, but it is described fundamentally in RFC 4180. The character encoding to be used is also not specified; 7-bit ASCII code is widely considered the lowest common denominator.
CSV files can be used to represent tables or a list of different lengths.
More complicated, for example nested data structures can be stored by additional rules or in concatenated CSV files. However, to store them in a file, other formats such as JSON, XML or EDIFACT are more suitable.
However, it is important to know that csv exports usually require appropriate expertise. If you use the MS Excel format, you will notice that Excel translates the files according to the Excel settings, which will lead to changed terms and representations and thus inevitably to conflicts.
DACHCZ
The D-A-CH-CZ establishes technical rules for the assessment of grid feedback. As can already be seen from the wording, various countries participate in this rule as editors.
Decarbonization of the Internet
Here, it is described under various aspects how the ever-increasing volume of data should behave in the context of reducing CO2, i.e. in terms of climate change. Crucial to this are intentions such as charters, Fridays for Future, declarations of intent such as in Davos 2020, EU guidelines on reducing energy demand, etc. Companies such as HPE, Ethernetics, etc. provide products and software services for this purpose. To this end, companies such as HPE, Ethernetics, etc. provide products and software services (SaaS) that are intended to make these goals climate-positive as well as economically attractive.
Demand Side Power Quality (DSPQ)
Here, the process for safeguarding the power quality on the consumer side is defined according to PoCC as per IEC TR 63191.
Distributed Energy Ressources (DER)
Distributed Energy Resources (DER) are energy sources such as small power plants, wind turbines, or photovoltaic systems that contribute to stable energy production through aggregation.
Distributed Energy Resources (DER) are energy sources such as small power plants, wind turbines, or photovoltaic systems that contribute to stable energy production through aggregation. In this context, one also speaks of distributed generation. The small-scale systems are integrated into the smart grid or microgrid of the low-voltage grid, which can lead to degradation of power quality due to voltage spikes or blackout. Distributed Energy Resources (DER) form a useful extension of the existing low-voltage grid and are typically installed close to consumption, such as on an electric customer’s rooftop. Energy generation is recorded in meters that are transmitted to the smart meter gateway (SMGW).
The capacity of DER power generation plants ranges from a few kilowatts (kW) to about 50 MW. Electricity can also be generated by generators or by water-powered microturbines.
Disruption (Disruptive technologies)
Disruptive technologies are innovations that replace the winning streak of an existing technology, product or service, or drive it completely out of the market and render obsolete the investments of previously dominant market players. Often disruptions are not to be seen as a single element, but involve an upstream and downstream chain. For this reason, disruptive technologies from other or entirely new market competitors often present established companies with major challenges.
DranView
DranView is a power quality analysis software for Mavowatt and HDPQ series mobile meters. This enables experts to quickly and easily display and evaluate data on network quality and monitoring.
EMC
Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) refers to the ability of a technical device not to interfere with other devices by unwanted electrical or electromagnetic effects or to be interfered with by other devices. Unintentional mutual interference is not only a question of technology in electrical engineering, but also one of law. Power quality is therefore a subchapter of EMC and is defined in IEC61000-x-xx.
EN 50600
EN 50600 defines the standards for data centre facilities and infrastructures.
EN 50160
Characteristics of voltage in LV, MV and HV public supply networks (measurement at PCC). It also serves as a contractual safeguard of the grid quality between the energy supplier and the energy customer. It is not useful for assessing the power quality within a consumer network, as actual faults according to the PCC are often not reflected in the statistical assessment.
EVU
EVU stands for an energy supply company that distributes energy to the PCC but can also generate energy.
Heatmap
Heat maps are a method in energy management to clearly depict three-dimensional data in only two dimensions. Here, the two axes of the two-dimensional space represent two time dimensions (e.g. date and course of the day), while the value dimension is visualised by a colour gradient. This means that all consumption data for long periods (from several months to years) can now be displayed at a glance.
Many consumption patterns that are very difficult to see in the traditional consumption graph are immediately revealed by the heat map.
High voltage
High voltage defines the transmission voltage in a network between 52kV (60kV) and 110kV.
Maximum voltage
Transmission grids in the range of 220 kV, 380 kV, 500 kV, 700 kV, 1150 kV. These are used for large-scale supply, form interconnected grids for supraregional energy exchange and the connection of large-scale power plants.
IEC
IEC stands for the International Electrotechnical Commission organisation and defines international standards and conformity assessment for all electrical, electronic and related technologies.
IEC 61000-4-30 Ed. 3
Method for measuring the power quality of the network. According to chapter 5.9.1 “Measurement method”: Measurement up to the 50th harmonic (bandwidth of 2.5 kHz at 50 Hz, requires a minimum sampling rate of 5 kHz).
IEC 61850
IEC 61850 ist ein internationaler Standard, der Kommunikationsprotokolle für intelligente elektronische Geräte in elektrischen Unterstationen definiert. It is part of the reference architecture of the Technical Committee of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) for electrical power systems. The abstract data models defined in IEC 61850 can be mapped to a number of protocols. Current assignments in the standard are MMS (Manufacturing Message Specification), GOOSE (Generic Object Oriented Substation Event), SMV (Sampled Measured Values) and Web Services. These protocols can run over TCP / IP networks or substation LANs using high-speed switched Ethernet to achieve the required response times of less than four milliseconds for the protection relays.
IEC 61850-GOOSE
GOOSE stands for “generic object-oriented substation event” and is a particularly fast communication service that works independently of the communication between the server (bay controller) and client (ward control center).
IEC 61850-MMS
MMS stands for Manufacturing Messaging Specification and is used for the object-oriented exchange of data in the production area. It is used for coupling distributed automation systems.
IRIG Timecode
Interrange instrumentation group time codes , commonly known as IRIG time code , are standard formats for transmitting timing information. Atomic frequency standards and GPS receivers for precise timing are often equipped with an IRIG output. The standards were developed by the Tele Communications Working Group of the Inter-Range Instrumentation Group (IRIG) of the US military , the standardisation body of the RRange Commanders Council, created . Work on these standards began in October 1956 and the original standards were accepted in 1960.
The original formats were described in IRIG Document 104-60, later revised and reissued in August 1970 as IRIG Document 104-70, later upgraded this year as an IRIG document to the statusI of a standard, IRIG Standard 200-70. The latest version of the standard is IRIG Standard 200-16, dated August 2016.
The IRIG time code is subdivided into the following subgroups, which are distinguished by the number of synchronisation pulses transmitted per second, the data formats and the used modulation techniques differ from each other:
- IRIG A: 1000 Impulse per Second
- IRIG B: 100 Impulse per Second
- IRIG D: 1 Impuls per Minute
- IRIG E: 10 Impulse per Second
- IRIG G: 10000 Impulse per Second
- IRIG H: 1 Impulse per Second
ITIC
The ITIC curve is a modified version of the CBEMA power acceptance curve, but the concept remains unchanged. It was developed by a CBEMA working group that changed its name to the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) in 1994. In addition, the ITIC curve was created in collaboration with EPRI’s Power Electronics Application Center (PEAC). The aim was to derive a curve that could better reflect the performance of typical single-phase 120 V, 60 Hz computers and their peripherals, as well as other information technology elements such as fax machines, copiers and point-of-sale terminals.
The ITIC curve has been applied to general power quality assessment, although just like the CBEMA curve, it has been developed mainly for 120 V computer equipment. It is also used as a reference to define the resistance of various loads and devices to protect against power quality problems. This is because the curve is generally applicable to other equipment containing solid state devices, apart from being specifically applicable to computer type equipment. But one should be careful and keep in mind that the ITIC curve is not meant to reflect the performance of ALL electronic-based devices. There are too many variables – power load, rated operating voltage level and process complexity – to attempt to apply a one-size-fits-all ITIC curve.
IPC’s (In-Plant Points of Coupling)
According to IEC [TR] 63191, this defines the network distribution according to the Point of Common Coupling (PoCC). So it is on the consumer side.
Calibration
The topics of calibration, adjustment and certification are often mixed up or even confused with each other. During calibration, nothing else is examined but whether the respective measuring device delivers the accuracy of the measurement data according to the criteria of the specification (e.g. according to IEC, etc.). In this process, variables are simulated on the input side of the measuring device by a calibrated generator, to which the measuring device reacts with an equivalent value. This output value must then correspond to the relevant specifications within the tolerance window. If this is not the case, the calibration has failed and the customer must decide whether a readjustment is an option for him. If the measuring instrument passes the calibration, this is confirmed by a calibration certificate. In the case of calibration, a distinction is also made between factory calibration and accredited calibration, which may only be carried out by an accredited (officially approved) company.
Class A in context IEC 61000-4-30 Ed. 3
Measuring instruments according to IEC 61000-4-30 Class A provide measured values that are comparable across measuring instruments and manufacturers. In the case of legal cases, class A is mandatory.
Class S in context IEC 61000-4-30 Ed. 3
IEC 61000-4-30 class S power quality analysers are intended for basic / advanced power quality analysis and provide useful monitoring data. Instruments that meet the Class S performance requirements are used for statistical power quality surveys and contractual applications where there are no potential disputes, i.e. no comparable measurements are required. The accuracy and performance requirements for class S are less stringent than for class A and thus also set lower in price. They are often used in industrial and supply engineering.
KPI
The KPI stands for Key Performance Indicator, i.e. a key figure that indicates a partial status of a situation. It is imperative that this figure be subjected to a dynmaic in order to detect changes and derive measures from them. KPIs are often confused with overall goals, i.e. the result (e.g. target figures, budget figures, etc.). This leads to not following the actual triggers to reach the goal and the result does not fit the planned goal. Therefore, KPIs should also monitor the triggers for target achievement.
Measuring campaign
A measurement campaign describes a specific measurement over a defined period of time. The time period depends on the type of measurement (e.g. EN 50160 requires a recording of at least 7 days) and the expected result (e.g. energy balance in the distribution network).
Trasnmitter (Transducer) according IEC 60688
This International Standard applies to transmitters (transducer) with electrical inputs and outputs to measure AC or DC electrical quantities. The output signal can be an analog DC current, an analog DC voltage or it can be in digital form. In the latter case, the part of the transmitter used for communication purposes must be compatible with the external system. This standard applies to transmitters used to convert electrical quantities such as current, voltage, active power, reactive power, power factor, phase angle, frequency, harmonic or harmonic content (distortion), apparent power into an output signal.
This standard is not applicable to instrument transformers conforming to the IEC 60044 series of standards, transducers for industrial process control conforming to the IEC 60770 series of standards, and instruments for measurement and monitoring of operational behavior (PMD) conforming to the IEC 61557-12 standard.
METAS
The Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology (METAS) is the competence centre of the Swiss Confederation for all questions of measurement, for measuring instruments and measuring procedures. As such, it has the mandate to ensure that measurement in Switzerland can be carried out with the accuracy required for the needs of the economy, research and administration. Through metrology, it also acquires an international character.
Meter
The term meter is often used abroad as a substitute for Power Monitoring Devices (PMD).
Medium voltage
In electrical power engineering, medium voltage is understood to be high voltage in the range above 1 kV up to and including 52 kV. The upper limit is not clearly defined. Areas of application are the supply of smaller cities and interurban supply. Smaller power plants and larger industrial plants are also connected at this voltage level.
MQTT
MQQT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) describes an open network protocol for machine-to-machine communication that enables the transmission of telemetry data in the form of messages between devices. And this despite high delays or limited networks. In measurement technology, the use of the MQQT protocol is referred to as an IoT-compatible measurement connection.
The advantage of using the protocol is the reduction of communication layers, as the measuring devices no longer communicate exclusively via protocols such as Modbus, IEC61850, REST API, etc. to higher-level systems, which in turn have to communicate the measurement data with other systems in a complex way downwards, sideways or even further upwards. Rather, the measuring device can deliver or receive data directly to various systems. Communication barriers are thus dismantled (Industry 4.0).
Low voltage
Low voltage is usually considered to be the range up to 1,000 VAC.
Urbanisation
Urbanisation is the spread of urban lifestyles. This can be expressed on the one hand in the growth of cities (physical urbanisation or “urbanisation” in the narrower sense), on the other hand through an infrastructural development of rural regions comparable to urban standards (functional urbanisation) and through changed social behaviour of the inhabitants of rural areas (social urbanisation). While the term urbanisation stands more for the expansion of old cities through building activity, commercial and industrial areas, urbanisation includes processes of social change.
PDCA
PDCA, also called Deming Circle, stands for Plan-Do-Check-Action and was invented for quality assurance. The cycle describes continuous learning and improvement and has not lost its meaning since its first publication in the 1930s until today. But often the headings Plan and Do are interchanged and confused, which can lead to confusion and standstills in the processes. The Check & Action part is essential as this is where the improvements are to be implemented. Key performance indicators (KPIs, SPIs), which are indicative and show the actual status, are essential.
Power Quality Instrument (PQI)
Definition eines Messgerätes gemäss IEC 62586-1/2 zur Analyse der Netzqualität in Stromversorgungssystemen.
Power Quality Monitor (PQM)
The term PQM is often used as a substitute for the correct term PQI according to IEC.
Power Monitoring Device (PMD)
The IEC 61557-12 standard describes the requirements for power measurement and monitoring devices (PMD) used to measure and monitor the electrical quantities in power distribution systems and optionally other external signals. These requirements also define the power in single-phase and three-phase AC or DC systems with nominal voltages of up to 1 000 V AC or up to 1 500 V DC
Point of Common Coupling (PCC)
This point defines the contractual transfer point from the energy supplier to the consumer.
PQ
PQ is short for power quality and has become an internationally recognised synonym.
PQaaS
PQaaS stands for Power Quality as a Service and is based on the service understanding of the data centre scene. Here, the focus is on services for all industrial sectors, which not only relate to classical measurement, but go further. For example, analyses, troubleshooting, consulting, software services, project planning, etc.
PQDIF
PQDIF, an acronym for Power Quality Data Interchange Format, is a file format specified in IEEE Standard 1159.3 that is used to exchange voltage, current, power, and energy measurements between software applications. PQDIF is maintained by the IEEE P1159.3 Task Force of the IEEE Working Group on Monitoring Electric Power Quality. This work is sponsored by the IEEE Power Quality Subcommittee.
Although the PQDIF format has been standardized according to IEEE 1159.3, variances in the data structure are part of everyday life. For this reason it is advisable to check the respective generated PQDIF format for correct readability. This is especially true in the context of higher-level software.
More information can be found on the IEEE P1159.3 Task Force website.
PQView4
Developed in collaboration with EPRI® and Electric Utility partners worldwide, PQView 4 is the flagship product of Electrotek Concepts, Inc. – designed from the ground up as the industry’s best power quality data concentrator and analysis software. PQView can collect and store data from multiple sources and provide powerful data analysis and reporting capabilities through a responsive web-enabled user interface.
PSA
PPE stands for Personal Protective Equipment and is defined by standards and official requirements.
RBAC
Role Based Access Control is a procedure and a design pattern for access control and control to files or services in multi-user systems or computer networks. The RBAC model was described by D. F. Ferraiolo and D. R. Kuhn in 1992 and adopted in 2004 as ANSI standard 359-2004.
Sankey diagram
A Sankey diagram is a special type of flow chart in which the flow quantities are indicated by arrows proportional to the quantity: The width of the arrow represents the quantity to scale.
Moreover, in a Sankey diagram, directed flows always run between two nodes (processes); consequently, they transport other information besides quantities, such as the division or structure of systems.
Sankey diagrams are thus an effective alternative to conventional flow charts or bar and pie charts, especially when it comes to representing energy flows and quantity flows in production plants.
Sankey diagrams are used, among other things and significantly, in energy management, facility management (building services engineering), process engineering or plant engineering.
Skin effect
The skin effect is the property of alternating currents in which only the surface of a conductor is available for the transport of charge carriers. With direct current, the entire conductor cross-section is flowed through by charge carriers. With alternating current, eddy currents and electric fields are generated depending on the frequency, which displace the charge carriers into the skin of the power unit. In this process, the electric fields serve as carriers of the energy. Thereby, the cross-section of the conductor that can be used for the charge carriers also decreases, whereby the effective resistance of the conductor increases. Simply put, the skin effect describes the tendency of a high-frequency alternating current to flow only through the outer layer of a conductor.
SPI
The SPI is basically the same as the KPI and stands for Success Performance Indicator, i.e. an indicator that shows the partial status of a situation. It is imperative that this figure be subjected to a dynmaic in order to detect changes and derive measures from them. Since KPIs are often confused with overall goals, i.e. the result (e.g. target figures, budget figures, etc.), it is advisable to choose the term SPI. This leads to a better understanding of the actual triggers, i.e. the success factors for achieving the goal, and the result can certainly develop more positively towards the planned goal.
Wide-range power supply unit
A wide-range power supply unit is always used where no service socket can be found in the vicinity of a measurement object. This means classically in the area of mobile measurements, e.g. in transformer stations, etc. The wide-range power supply is a voltage transformer with a high safety characteristic. It usually allows connection to the same location of the voltage taps of the actual voltage measurement. Depending on the manufacturer, the wide-range power supply unit can be designed in different forms. For example, with a socket for the PQI power supply unit, as an inline device or as a feature built directly into the PQI.