The key objectives of power efficiency and accuracy are at the core of the launch of the new WT300 series of digital power meters from test and measurement specialist, Yokogawa. This latest launch is the fifth generation of the company’s digital power meters ‘that are instrumental’ for optimum standards of energy efficiency and conservation by measuring the power consumption of electrical equipment.
The new instruments are an important factor for ensuring devices are compliant with emerging IEC and EN standards and that they are delivered inline with increasingly complex and stringent specifications on energy efficiency.
Key features of the new instruments include a basic accuracy of 0.1 percent of reading, guaranteed accuracy is said to be over the entire measurement range (from 1 percent to 130 percent), a wide measurement range from standby power levels of a few milliamperes up to the 40 A currents used in induction cookers, and flexibility to enable users to target different technical and commercial applications.
This includes a range of communications interfaces, allowing thisseries to be integrated into laboratory test benches or automated test set-ups on production lines. USB and GPIB or RS232 is fitted as standard, and Ethernet is available as an option.
In addition to standard power measurements, the new meters are said to offer a wide range of harmonic measurement capabilities, including the ability to carry out simultaneous measurement of normal power parameters such as RMS, mean or DC power along with measurement of harmonics up to the 50th order.
As a result, overall measurement times are reduced, allowing users to allocate their effort and time to other tasks.
The guaranteed accuracy of the new power meters is described as resulting from the fact that the company has its own European standards laboratory at its European headquarters in The Netherlands.
This facility is said to be the only industrial (i.e. non-government or national) organisation to offer traceable power calibration, to national and international standards, at frequencies up to 100 kHz: a requirement for higher harmonic measurements specified in quality standards such as ISO9000.
Other features of the new instruments include a bandwidth of DC and 0.5 Hz to 100 kHz (up to 20 kHz for 40 A on the WT310HC), plus an auto-range function for measurement and integration.
Software is also available for testing equipment compliance to industry energy-saving standards such as IEC62301 Ed2.0 and IEC62018 for standby mode equipment or for dealing with waveforms having a crest factor of 5 or more.
Yokogawa Test & Measurement
