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How This PQube® 3 Alerted on Recent California Rolling Blackouts

Right out of the box, the PQube® 3 detects, records, and alerts you for rolling blackouts and brownouts 

Rolling blackouts were ordered in the Bay area on September 6, 2022 to relieve stress on the California electric grid. One of Powerside’s PQube® 3 power quality monitors captured the blackout as it occurred, and immediately alerted upon this event.

In a rolling blackout or brownout, critical equipment can be knocked offline or possibly even damaged. Because the blackouts can be isolated to specific regions and can happen at odd times, they may occur at a site without anyone knowing. In some cases, critical equipment may not restart upon the restoration of power leading to critical business loss.

One way to detect and find out about these rolling blackouts and brownouts, wherever they occur, is to install a PQube® 3 power quality monitor. 

Event was captured by a PQube® 3 during an actual rolling blackout in California, and waveform is viewed using the Powerside cloud platform QubeScan.

The PQube® 3 is configured right out of the box to detect blackouts and brownouts. Brownouts are referred to as voltage sags and although power is not lost completely they can severely impact your operations. 

Just enter your email address and connect the PQube® 3 to your network or enable communications on it, and the PQube® 3 will alert you upon a voltage loss during a rolling blackout. Voltage sags can also be detected and events or anomalies in your Power Quality will be recorded, and the PQube® 3 is configured to be ultra-sensitive for brownouts.

Analog and digital inputs on the PQube® 3 can be configured to monitor the operation of critical equipment, including backup generator startup. The PQube® 3 can monitor a backup generator for proper operation too giving you peace of mind away from the plant. The PQube® 3 would alert you upon generator startup and restoration of your critical equipment.

The PQube® 3 can be configured for a variety of low voltage, medium voltage, and high voltage applications, using current and voltage sensors and add-on modules. Discuss your application with a Powerside engineer by contacting us at [email protected].