Yokogawa Corp. of America has announced its latest precision power analyzer, the WT1800E. This updated edition offers innovative measurement functions with high performance and flexibility, allowing engineers to make electrical power measurements with high accuracy and precision. It is suitable for testing product efficiency and the design of inverters, motor drives, lighting systems, uninterruptible power supplies, aircraft power systems, renewable energy generation products, and various power-conversion devices.
In developing the WT1800E, Yokogawa engineers improved measurement efficiency in two basic areas. One goal was to obtain highly precise and simultaneous measurements on the input and output of power-conversion devices. The other objective was to improve equipment evaluation efficiency by making simultaneous power measurements and tests easier and faster. The WT1800E can perform up to six power measurements simultaneously, which enables efficiency tests between the input and output of products such as inverters. The WT1800E was designed for both today’s power measurements and for the advanced complex requirements of future power conversion products.
Many power-conversion circuits use energy saving switching techniques that can cause distorted voltage or current waveforms with high harmonic content. To measure these waveforms accurately, the WT1800E uses high-resolution 16-bit analog/ digital converters with a digitizing rate of 2 MS/s. Users can measure power from DC and 0.1 Hz to 1 MHz. Basic power measurement accuracy at 50/60 Hz has been improved to 0.05% of reading plus 0.05% of range.
For electric-motor testing, the WT1800E offers a “motor evaluation” function as an option. With a single WT1800E, you can measure all the electrical power parameters along with rotation speed, torque, mechanical power, synchronous speed, slip, motor efficiency, and total system efficiency. In addition, a measurement function has been added to enable detection of the rotation direction of the motor and the electrical angle.
Applications that require continuous automatic testing of EV/PHV/motor drives and other rotating devices with varying speed can benefit from the new ability to automatically set the measurement interval. The WT1800E offers nine data update rates from 50 ms to 20 s that can be set manually or automatically.
In photovoltaic power generation, a maximum peak power tracking (MPPT) measurement is performed to maximize the harvested power generated by photovoltaic cells. To accomplish this, the WT1800E is capable of measuring voltage, current, and power peak values.
The power-integration function measures the amount of power sold or purchased in grid interconnection applications. The WT1800E features autoranging during integration and Yokogawa’s “average active power” function, making it possible to measure power consumption under conditions where the power fluctuates greatly.
Several options assist with more direct connection to sensors, simplifying tests by avoiding the use of separate hardware. A new current sensor power option can power up to six current sensors directly with a ±15-V supply. With dedicated accessories, the current sensor power option can dramatically improve immunity performance against noise (influence caused by high frequency common mode voltage).
Communication interfaces such as Ethernet, USB, and GPIB are included in the WT1800E. New support for the Modbus/TCP protocol enables connection with PLCs and recorders. Further, users can plug in USB removable storage media for local data transfer. The base price for a three-phase WT1803E is $13,165.
