Portable Data Collection Devices Help Manage Energy Use

2007-05-02 10:04:19

( Computers )



Building commission professionals often use portable data collection instruments to gather information to monitor how their systems and equipment are performing over a set period of time. You must be familiar with hand-held instruments that building engineers have used for years; for instance, you have thermometers to measure temperature, ammeters for electric currents, and other manual portable data collection devices.

There are also electronic instruments designed for portable data collection. These are called portable data loggers, which enable their users to do more analysis with the data gathered. The versatile portable data loggers have multiple channels that can accept data from several portable data terminals.

One important use of portable data collection devices is in monitoring the energy management systems of buildings. Energy service technicians will use these devices to complement the trend logging capabilities of fixed systems inside building. Energy monitoring is particularly important: since power usage happens over time, you need precise programmable instruments to measure energy consumption at designated times.

If you are an energy manager, you will find that portable data loggers increase your capability to manage energy usage. There is a saying among energy managers that you can only manage energy consumption if you can measure it. The other thing to remember about energy is that the causes of persistent waste are not easy to spot.

But with portable data collection devices, strategically placed in critical users of energy in the building or in electrical circuit board panels, you are able to gather useful data about after-hours usage of energy. You can then analyze these data and devise appropriate counter-measures to address the problem. Keeping track of your monthly energy bill tells you whether energy use has increased, but the data gathered from portable data collection instruments helps you to understand the cause, timing and location of that increase in consumption.


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