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Energy Data Integration: Site Survey Questionnaire

Energy Data Integration: Site Survey Questionnaire

Questionnaire to help AiElements specify your turnkey energy management solution (hardware+software)
Anas Hawwari avatar
Written by Anas Hawwari
Updated over a week ago

FOREWORD:

At AiElements our goal is to help you choose the most suitable metering and IoT hardware to maximise data reliability as well as simplify installation and commissioning costs.

With over 10+ years experience, we have developed a deep knowledge of data integration and, so far, we have not seen a meter solution that can be considered to be the 'best' for every use case in any market. Every project has its own set of requirements and the solution provided has to be built around these. In other words, there is no 'one-size-fits-all' solution.

It is for this reason, that we have and continue to develop our compatibility with major meter brands such as Schneider, Carlo Gavazzi, Accuenergy, Iskraemeco, eGauge, Socomec and many others to create plug & play solutions so you can scale your projects fast.

For some brands, you have the ability to purchase the whole turnkey solution (hardware+software) from AiElements. We always seek to provide hardware at distributor price, helping to keep costs low for our customers. The advantage is that if the hardware is purchased from AiElements, we take responsibility for pre-programming the units and remotely supervise the activation of the platform for those meters. 

For us, the goal is to get your data onto the platform quickly and seamlessly. In order to do this and provide you with a competitive hardware quote, we need the following information:

  1. The type and number of current transformers (CTs) required, if any. We have several sizes available:


2. The type and number of metering units required

Below is a questionnaire that will allow our Customer Success team to guide you in your metering units choice: 

METER DATA INTEGRATION QUESTIONNAIRE:

1. Do you have to install metering hardware to monitor energy, active power, reactive power, power factor in real-time from two or more three-phase circuits from the same distribution board?

1.a If the answer is YES, can you can bring an internet cable to the board or tap into a WiFi network?

If you can bring an internet cable to the distribution board or tap into a WiFi network, the AcuRev from Accuenergy is a great solution for these types of scenarios: The advantages are:

  • It can attach CTs and Rogowski coils and monitor all electrical parameters for up to 18 single-phase circuits or 6 three-phase circuits;

  • It has up to 4 GB internal memory to cope with internet disconnection;

  • You can buy the AcuRev meters from AiElements at distributor price and we will pre-configure each channel to communicate with the AiElements platform, and pre-configure the unit to communicate with our secure HTTPS server;

  • We can also pre-configure the unit's network settings (DHCP or Static IP) to match your customer's IT department requirements;

  • We can pre-configure each channel with the right multiplication factor to take into account the corresponding CT rating; and

  • We can train the installer to test the connection and confirm if the platform is receiving data at time of installation.

1.b If the local internet is not an option then:

  • The AcuRev from Accuenergy is still a great solution but you need to purchase an additional M2M GPRS or 3G router and a local SIM card with data traffic to access the Internet and push the data to AiElements. We discourage buying a standard 3G dongle as it is not meant to work perpetually and will periodically disconnect. Through AiElements, you can purchase pre-programmed Virtual Access M2M 3G routers that are common in the IoT industry for devices that are meant to stay active 24/7.

2. Do you have to install metering hardware to monitor one three-phase or three single-phase circuits from the same distribution board and you need to collect energy, active power, reactive power, power factor in real-time ?

2.a If YES, can you can bring an Internet cable to the board or tap into a WiFi network?

If you can bring an internet cable to the distribution board or tap into a WiFi network, the Acuvim II from Accuenergy is a great solution for these types of scenarios: The advantages are:

  • It can monitor all electrical parameters for up to 3 single-phase circuits or 1 three-phase circuit;

  • It has up to 4 GB internal memory to cope with Internet disconnection;

  • You can purchase the Acuvim II from AiElements and we will pre-configure each channel to communicate with the AiElements platform, and pre-configure the unit to communicate with our secure HTTPS server;

  • We can also pre-configure the unit's network settings (DHCP or Static IP) to match your customer's IT department requirements;

  • We can pre-configure each channel with the right multiplication factor to take into account the corresponding CT rating; and 

  • We can train the installer to test the connection and confirm if the platform is receiving data at time of installation.

2.b If the local internet is not available then:

  • We recommend Iskraemeco Mx382 GPRS that we can provide as a plug & play solution with AiElements. The Iskraemeco Mx382 GPRS meters are equipped with cost-effective SIM cards operating in most of the countries around the world. This solution can push all electrical parameters per phase (kW, KVA, KVAr, PF) and aggregated energy (kWh) across the three phases. We can provide Iskraemeco meters that are direct connect or rely on external CTs. Single and three-phase versions of the meter are available.

  • As an alternative, Acuvim II is still a great solution but you have to purchase an additional M2M GPRS or 3G router and purchase a local SIM card with data traffic to push the data. We discourage buying a standard 3G dongle as it is not meant to work perpetually and will periodically disconnect. Through AiElements you can purchase pre-programmed Virtual Access M2M 3G routers that are common in the IoT industry for devices that are meant to stay active 24/7.

3. Do you have Modbus metering hardware already installed and would like to read data from those meters and push it to AiElements? 

3.b If the answer is YES

  • We have partnered with Carlo Gavazzi and developed a universal Modbus gateway solution that can read data from virtually any daisy chain of Modbus RTU (RS-485) meters in the market, provided that we have a Modbus driver for those meters. Modbus TCP devices connected via Ethernet can also connect to AiElements using this gateway.

Let us know the brand and model of your meters and we will advise if a Modbus driver has already been developed. Please contact us at: success@ai-elements.com

  • If your answer to question three is NO, proceed to the next question (question 4) 

4. Do you have meters/counters that provide pulse outputs already installed, and would like to read data from those meters and push it to AiElements? 

4.b If YES,

  • Depending on your IT requirements, we have different solutions. If internet is not available, the Iskraemeco Mx382 GPRS can also retrieve data from these pulse counters (It is also capable of acquiring from your M-Bus meters). Otherwise if the internet is available, we recommend using a Carlo Gavazzi gateway.

  • Let us know the brand and model of the devices you have installed so that we can advise the best data integration strategy. Please contact us at: success@ai-elements.com

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