A company that hinges on the reliability of their power had a problem: the power quality analyzers they’d depended upon for years had become obsolete. No longer produced or supported by the manufacturer, the old power analyzers left the company facing a tough dilemma:
Do nothing, and be unable to receive support or tech updates from the legacy analyzers,
Retire the overall system and rebuild from scratch, or
Find a replacement solution that could integrate with their existing workflows.
They had built years of infrastructure around these analyzers. Their power quality data funneled into PQView®, a data concentrator and analysis tool still considered best-in-class. Starting over with new infrastructure wouldn’t just be costly—it risked gaps in critical data, equipment downtime and operational disruptions.
They called in Powerside for help.
The Solution
Powerside understood that the company didn’t need just any replacement—it had to offer comparable or improved power quality analysis, be quickly implemented across their facility and offer full compatibility with PQView®.
These needs led Powerside to a fast and convenient solution: retrofitting the PQube® 3 power analyzer into the legacy system architecture.
Key features of the retrofit included:
PQube 3’s compact size made it easy to slot into the company’s existing architecture (Fig. 1)
Direct compatibility with OEM accessory modules eliminated the need for modification
A retrofit cable connects the existing current/voltage PODs to PQube 3’s input channels (Fig. 2)—no additional CTs or rewiring required
Figure 1 | The PQube 3 easily fits into the space previously occupied by the legacy power analyzer. Figure 2 | A new retrofit cable easily connects to the legacy POD without the need for extra CTs.
The ease of implementation meant that the company could simply plug in the PQube 3 and immediately resume monitoring their electric power quality. Crucially, PQube 3 seamlessly integrates with the PQView platform—also owned and operated by Powerside—preserving the customer’s visibility into their fleetwide power analyzers.
With PQube 3, they can now monitor advanced power metrics including supraharmonics, high-frequency transients, current/voltage disturbances, overloads and more, all with:
High onboard memory for both islanded or networked deployments
Flexible communicationcapabilities, including support for DNP3 and Modbus protocols
Optional cloud connectivity via QubeScan, Powerside’s secure AWS-based monitoring platform
Best of all, because Powerside operates both the PQube 3 devices and the PQView analytics platform, the customer now benefits from a fully integrated, single-vendor solution—one that helps them maximize uptime, improve efficiency, extend equipment life and exert more control over their utility costs.
Updating your power analyzer fleet doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking. Reach out today to learn more about implementing a full replacement with a simple retrofit.
