Category: Tools

Connect to a Remote ELITEpro XC Using Port Forwarding

What happens if your ELITEpro XC Portable Electric Data Logger is on a local area network at a remote project site, but you’re hundreds of miles away, at your office, and need to download data off the meter? Port Forwarding makes it possible to complete the download. And, with a little planning, you probably already have everything you need to successfully download your data.

Port forwarding is a name given to the combined technique of:

  1. Translating the address and/or port number of a packet to a new destination
  2. Possibly accepting such packets in a packet filter (firewall)
  3. Forwarding the packet according to the routing table

Port forwarding allows remote computers (for example, computers on the Internet) to connect to a specific computer or service within a private local area network (LAN). In the case of the ELITEpro XC  (or ELITEpro SP) with Ethernet, port forwarding allows remote connection between the ELITEpro XC and a computer on another network through the firewall via ELOG software.

For instance, if the ELITEpro XC is on the local area network at a remote project site, but you wish to download data off the meter from the office, you can remotely access the ELITEpro XC from any computer with an Internet connection through ELOG.

REQUIREMENTS

Prior to beginning, confirm the following information:

  1. Know the external IP address of the router on the network with the ELITEpro XC. This address is usually assigned by the ISP and is typically static. However, it may be dynamic, changing the address every other day. This can be easily found by someone inside the network by visiting www.whatsmyip.com.
  2. Confirm that your router can be configured for port forwarding. Verify this with your router’s documentation or by visiting the manufacturer’s website.
  3. Know the ELITEpro XC meter’s IP address.
Note: The ELITEpro XC itself does not need to be configured for Port Forwarding. All the configuration takes place on the router.

Each router manufacturer uses slightly different software. Check your router’s documentation for specific directions on how to port forward with your router’s software. Regardless of what software is on your router, you’ll be required to enter the same general information.

  1. A text field where you can type the name of the application or service (in this case, it’s helpful to reference the “ELITEpro XC” or the EXC’s serial number).
  2. Incoming port the router should watch for.
  3. The protocol to watch for: TCP or UDP. Choose “both” if you’re unsure.
  4. The IP address that is the destination for this port’s request (i.e., the EXC’s IP address).
  5. Which port the request should be targeted to on the destination IP. The default is 3001.

INSTRUCTIONS

Here are the steps to connecting your networked ELITEpro XC from a different network:

  1. Obtain an internal IP address that is routable to an external IP address. If you are unsure of which IP address to use, check with your IT department.
  2. The external IP address gets forwarded to the internal IP address. For instance, the external IP address 212.45.67.89 may be forwarded to internal IP address 192.168.1.50.
  3. Determine which port should e used to connect to the ELITEpro XC. The default port is 3001. Check with your IT department if you are unsure.
  4. Using ELOG on the remote PC, go through the menu: Logger > Communication > Network Connect.
  5. Enter the external IP address for the network you wish to connect to in the Network IP address box.
  6. Enter the Port Number for the logger you wish to connect to.
  7. Click OK.
  8. You should now be connected to the remote ELITEpro XC.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

You may download a PDF copy of this document to take with you into the field here.

If you need technical assistance with your ELITEpro or ELOG software, contact DENT Tech Support.

Measuring DC Loads with an ELITEpro XC

The ELITEpro XC current input channels can accept +/-1VDC. The ELITEpro XC Portable Power Data Loggers analog channels can accept any sensor that has a 0-10 V or 0-20 mA or 4-20 mA signal. What does this mean for DC measurements? Non-DENT sensors may be used on the current and/or analog inputs to measure DC loads. Note that when the DC transducer is connected to the ELITEpro XC CT input, DC power will be reported as long as the DC voltage is connected to the voltage inputs. When the DC transducer is connected to the analog inputs, DC power will not be reported.

Below are two options for measuring DC loads with an ELITEpro XC instrument.

USING THE AEMC MR521 AC/DC CURRENT PROBE

The AEMC MR521 can be used either on the CT inputs or the analog inputs.

USING THE MR521 ON THE CT INPUTS

When using the AEMC MR521 on the ELITEpro XC CT inputs, you may select from two amperage ranges: 100A or 1000A.

  1. 150A:10 mV/A range = 100 Amps DC max
  2. 1500:1 mV/A range = 1000 Amps DC Max

USING THE MR521 ON THE ANALOG INPUTS

If the CT is used on the analog inputs, the full 150A or 1500A range can be used.

OTHER INFORMATION

Note that the AEMC MR521 has a 50 hour battery life and a 2-5% accuracy. List price is $389 (cannot be ordered from DENT). Also keep in mind that a minimum of 80VDC is needed to power the ELITEpro XC.

USING THE NK TECHNOLOGIES DT SERIES DC CURRENT TRANSDUCERS

The NK DT Series current transducers can be used on DC currents from 0-50A or 0-100A depending on the NK DT model chosen. The NK DT Series have 3 available output ranges that must be chosen at the time of purchase.

USING THE NK DT ON THE CT INPUTS

If you wish to use the NK DT on the ELITEpro XC CT inputs, select an NK DT model with 333mV out.

USING THE NK DTON THE ANALOG INPUTS

If you wish to use the NK DT on the ELITEpro XC analog inputs, select an NK DT model with 10VDC output.

POWER SUPPLY OPTIONS

The NK DT Series current transducer has two power supply options. If you plan on using the CT with the ELITEpro XC’s CT input channels and power the NK DT transducer via the ELITEpro XC’s 6VDC power out, choose the 5VDC power supply option. Cannot be ordered from DENT.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For questions outside the scope of this document, please contact DENT Technical Support at: support@dentinstruments.com / 541-388-4774.

Stop Overpaying the Power Company: Energy Audits are Key to Savings

Most companies want to decrease their energy consumption, either for financial reasons, or to be active in reducing their carbon footprint, or both–but some of them aren’t sure where to begin. When the only measure of a facility’s energy usage is the bill customers receive at the end of the month, they may feel their facility is more like the proverbial black hole: power goes in, business happens inside, but it’s not clear exactly how much energy is used where and when. Factory owners may want to know where the heavy usage is inside their plant–how much consumption is used to operate compressors, chillers, pumps, lighting, etc. Office building owners may want to break out the energy consumed in their HVAC vs. lighting systems.

To get an accurate breakdown of energy consumption, a common method is to conduct a short-term energy audit. In an audit, monitoring devices are installed for a period of time to measure all the circuits that are responsible for the overall energy usage of the facility. The resulting data are recorded, demonstrating what areas are consuming the most power. By comparing the consumption of these with industry averages, it’s possible to identify areas where energy can be saved. For example, lighting energy usage that is higher than typical for a business of its size could mean that the facility has unnecessarily high illumination levels or lights in use when not necessary.

When starting an audit, there are many areas of a building that need to be investigated for potential savings. A good building energy audit will indicate how to reduce your energy costs by 10% to 40%, depending on the building. Energy audits typically focus on the following areas within a facility:

  • Lighting Systems
  • HVAC Systems and Controls
  • Compressed Air Systems
  • Renewable Energy Applications
  • Electric Motors and Drives
  • Process Systems
  • Steam Systems
  • Heat Recovery
  • Building Envelope Upgrades

A variety of tools are part of every energy auditor’s toolkit. These items may include an infrared camera, digital pressure and flow gauges, a gas leak detector, a carbon monoxide detector, a combustion analyzer, a moisture meter, and others.

But to determine if there has been a reduction in energy consumption, a recording power meter is also required. For example, the DENT ELITEpro XC, can capture kWh/kW energy and demand data as well as many other relevant energy parameters for diagnostics and monitoring on three-phase or single phase systems. The ELITEpro XC is also ideal for capturing baseline energy consumption before any changes are made to an energy program. This baseline information is crucial in determining the success of any program.

In many cases, a load study can last for a month or more. If a recording power meter is not already part of your toolkit, or if the study is a one-time event, the smart choice may be to rent this equipment instead of purchasing.

DENT Instruments has a network of authorized distributors around the United States, some of which provide equipment rentals. If your next project is short term, give the distributor in your area a call for rental pricing. In addition to the equipment, they are a fantastic resource for advice on how to get started with your measurement project.

HERE ARE THE DENT AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTORS WHO RENT EQUIPMENT:

        HANOVER TECHNICAL SALESMain Office: Virginia800-304-9043sales@hanovertechnical.comWebsite: http://hanovertechnical.com/
     PANEL COMPONENTS & SYSTEMS (PC&S)Main Office: New Jersey800-523-9194Bill Renshaw (ext 19): bill@pc-s.comRon Aloisio: raloisio@pc-s.comWebsite: http://www.pc-s.com/
 LAKELAND ENGINEERINGOffice Locations: Minneapolis (HQ), Denver, Kansas City, Omaha1-855-544-0321meck@lakelandengineering.comrkucksdorf@lakelandengineering.comWebsite: https://shop.lakelandengineering.com/brands/dent-instruments
 PQ TESTING & RENTALSMain Office: Florida407-421-0846pqtesting@yahoo.comWebsite: http://www.pqtesting.com/

Selecting a Power Meter: Find the Right Tool for the Job

“I need a meter.”

This is where the majority of customer conversations begin at DENT. When you learn that your project includes metering or logging energy consumption, it’s clear that you’ll need some piece of equipment to make that happen. Here’s a list of questions to help you decide which DENT meter is the right one.

QUESTION 1: HOW LONG WILL YOUR PROJECT LAST?

Is your project a 30-day load study or will you permanently be installing a meter within your building? The answer to this first question often dictates which meter is best for you.

If your answer is a 30-day load study, an energy audit, or a measurement and verification (M&V) project, the ELITEpro XC is a solid choice. The ELITEpro XC is portable and can be easily moved between panels or to a new location at the end of one project. This is why it’s often the best choice for a temporary study.

On the other hand, if you plan on permanently installing a meter for building submetering, tenant submetering, or demand response, the PowerScout 3037 or PowerScout 24 will be more suitable. The PowerScout is hard-wired into the panel (as opposed to connecting with croc or alligator clips), making it less portable than the ELITEpro.

QUESTION 2: HOW DO YOU WANT TO COLLECT THE DATA?

The ELITEpro and PowerScout instruments handle data collection in two different ways. How data is collected will likely have a large impact on which meter you decide to use.

The ELITEpro has 16 MB of on-board, non-volatile memory for data storage. Data is recorded as the metering session continues and, once the session is complete, the user can download the data from the meter using a USB cable, over Ethernet, or Wi-Fi (depending on meter configuration). Data is downloaded from the meter using a program called ELOG. Once downloaded, the data can be analyzed using ELOG or can be exported to Excel.

If you prefer walking up to the logger, connecting a laptop, and downloading your data, then the ELITEpro is the right choice.

By comparison, the PowerScout does not have any on-board memory for data collection. Instead, data is sent from the meter via Modbus or BACnet communications to a separate data logger or building automation and controls system. The PowerScout can use either BACnet IP or MS/TP protocol or Modbus TCP or RS-485 protocol for sending commands or retrieving data.

If your preference is to interface with the meter through your building automation system or via a remote dashboard display, the PowerScout is right for you.

QUESTION 3: HOW MANY PHASES DO YOU NEED TO MEASURE SIMULTANEOUSLY?

Are you measuring single or three-phase loads? How many of each do you wish to monitor simultaneously?

With the ELITEpro or PowerScout 3037, you can measure single phase loads or one three phase load. The PowerScout 24 allows for up to 24 single phase or 8 three-phase or a combination of single and three-phase using any mix of CTs.

If you require on-board memory (ELITEpro), but need to measure more than one three-phase load at a time, using multiple ELITEpros may be your best option.

QUESTION 4: DO YOU REQUIRE REVENUE GRADE ACCURACY?

The PowerScout 3037 is a revenue grade meter with accuracy of 0.2% or better (ANSI C12.20-2010 qualified Class 0.2). The PowerScout 24 is revenue grade with accuracy of 0.5% or better (ANSI C12.20-2010 Class 0.5).

The ELITEpro accuracy is better than 1%, which is ideal for energy audits, load studies, and M&V work.

QUESTION 5: WHY CAN’T I JUST USE A SMARTLOGGER INSTEAD OF AN ELITEPRO OR POWERSCOUT?

Actually…you can, under certain circumstances. But it’s important to understand what the SMARTloggers were designed for and their limitations.

SMARTloggers are time-of-use loggers. They are designed to give you run-time information for a load. There are four different “flavors” of SMARTlogger:

  • CTlogger: Has an external CT for using on energy-consuming devices with a power cord
  • LIGHTINGlogger: Has an internal photo-sensor for measuring on-time of lights
  • MAGlogger: Measures on-time for motors (or anything generating a magnetic field)
  • CONTACTlogger: Has dry contacts for monitoring closures (such as with a door or switch)

Take the LIGHTINGlogger, for example. If you have the LIGHTINGlogger installed in your light fixture, it’s going to sense when the lights turn on and off. It will record that information with a time and date stamp. Once you download the data from the logger using SMARTware, you will see the on/off transitions for the light. Maybe your light was turned on at 12:38 AM and turned off at 12:58 AM. It’s easy to see exactly how long your light was on. Here’s a sample of the data output:

All SMARTloggers work in the same manner, but are designed to monitor other types of loads, as outlined above.

What happens when you want to know how much energy your light was consuming. The logger itself doesn’t tell you this information without doing some post-processing. You can set the connected load’s kW in SMARTware software to make an estimate on energy consumption.

This is the real difference between the SMARTloggers and a true power meter, such as the ELITEpro or PowerScout: The SMARTloggers will only be able to give you an estimate on energy usage based on the time a load is on multiplied by how many kW you input in the software. If your question is, “How long has my pump been running?” and not “How much energy is my pump consuming?” then the SMARTlogger is an excellent choice.

QUESTION 6: I’M STILL NOT SURE WHICH METER TO CHOOSE. HELP!

Give DENT Instruments a call and we will help you find a solution for your project. Also, be sure to download our  FREE Metering Project eBook for time & money-saving tips for your next project. The eBook also features multiple checklists to keep you project on track.