Quasar Blog & Updates - Quasar

New Product - Portable Meter

2/4/2021

We’re excited to announce the release of the Quasar Portable Meter.

When you need to quickly collect data for decision making or to find power quality issues, a portable meter is a cost-effective solution.

Our portable meters gather power and energy data including high-speed transients that are often hard to capture and provide you with real-time data from your system.

What data does the portable meter measure and log?

The portable meter contains an ION9000T meter which measures and logs:

Power quality events including
- high-speed transients
- harmonics
- flicker
- sag/swell
Energy data

How do I access the data collected?

Your data is sent to Power Monitoring Expert (PME) software that is hosted by us and has a variety of dashboards and reports that allow you to view your data and see trends, issues, or areas to investigate more easily.

We also give you a training session at the start of your hire period, where we teach you how to access and interpret your data in PME.

The portable meter is simple and quick to install, and although this does need to be done by a licenced electrician, as soon as they have connected the meter and contacted us to verify this, data will start to be logged.

More information

You can find more info about the portable meter here or contact our sales team on 03 343 9150 or at sales@quasar.co.nz.

Latest ION Meters now approved for Revenue use in NZ

1/10/2016

EEA 2014 - Thank you for visiting us

9/7/2014

Quasar's stand at EEA 2014, SkyCity Auckland

We had a very successful show this year and thank you to those who visited us. This year we showcased our SCADA, Video Surveillance, Metering, and Communications Solutions.

We also launched our very own, brand new, Quasar Control software specifically designed for NZ's Industrial and Utility load control requirements. This is a stand-alone application that can also be integrated to our Metering and SCADA solutions.

See you again next year!

Pull the Plug on Power Quality Problems

22/10/2013

Don't wait for transient voltage excursions to take your network, plant or process down! ION power meters monitor critical electrical parameters and spot trouble so you stay in control.

As new more efficient equipment is connected to electrical distribution systems, voltage quality degrades. Much of the new equipment is non-linear, drawing power from electrical systems in ways that increase distorting harmonic currents. Transient voltage excursions can destroy microprocessor-based equipment, snarl communications, and wipe out valuable data. Highly distorted voltages waste power, overheat motors and transformers, and shorten equipment life. ION power meters capture and log data in real-time. This data can lead to predicting, preventing, and resolving power quality problems.

IEC 61850 Protocol for PowerLogic ION 7550 7650 power meters

29/11/2011

ION7550/ION7650 high end revenue and power quality meter meters are certified by KEMA to meet the IEC 61850 specifications.

Applications:

Power systems in electrical utilities
Oil & Gas industry
Large industrial sites
Any industry that needs to monitor, control and automate their power system

Multi-vendor Benefits:
IEC 61850 was developed as a utility substation automation protocol, enabling easy incorporation of products from multiple vendors in the same SCADA system.

Overview of ION7550/ION7650 meter IEC 61850 functionality:

Operational metering data (V, I, F, PF, Power, Energy)
Some Power Quality values (harmonics, unbalance)
Access to read and write meter digital and analogue I/O
Time synchronization via SNTP
Reporting service for 61850 data
COMTRADE formatted waveform data, transferred via FTP
Custom mapping of ION values into 61850 in addition to standard models
Up to 4 client connections, 1 buffered and 5 unbuffered reports per client connection

What meters will support the new feature:
ION7550 - with Ethernet card and 5MB memory option
ION7650 - with Ethernet card and 5MB memory option

Upgrade existing Meters:
It is possible to upgrade installed meters to support IEC 61850 protocol. Contact Quasar for details.

ION8650 Achieves Revenue Compliance Certification

29/11/2011

The new ION8650 advanced revenue & power quality meter was recently awarded ‘Electricity Industry Participation Code 2010, Schedule 10.1, Code of Practice 10.4’ compliance with this certification, these meters are now ready to be sold into Revenue compliant installations within New Zealand.

Used to monitor electric energy provider networks, service entrances and substations, PowerLogic ION8650 meters are ideal for independent power producers and co-generation applications that need to accurately measure energy bidirectionally in both generation and stand-by modes. These meters give utilities the tools to manage complex energy supply contracts that include commitments to power quality. Integrate them with our ION Enterprise™ operations software or other energy management and SCADA systems through multiple communication channels and protocols, including our PrimeRead MDM solutions as well as Itron MV-90 and Stark RT.

Vector Uses "Intelligent Substation"

23/11/2011

Zhelyko Popovich, Senior Engineer and a Control Room Operator using an ION Enterprise® workstation at Vector.

Vector is one of New Zealand's largest network infrastructure companies with a portfolio of businesses and services delivering electricity, gas, and high-speed broadband voice and data communications in the Auckland and Wellington regions.

Vector’s core business is the delivery of high quality and reliable power to customers. To support their customer satisfaction goals, Vector recently upgraded its bulk metering system. The upgrade provided Vector with an opportunity to take the first steps toward an "intelligent substation" solution. The vision included direct data transmission over the Internet as well as high-speed Ethernet, automatically generated reports for data sharing within the company and with customers, and advanced power quality analysis.

Cold Snap Brings High Load at Northpower

27/9/2011

Realtime Load Monitoring

Realtime monitoring of Peak Load by Northpower’s ION7700 and ION7650 meters became hot news in the Northern Advocate newspaper following a recent cold snap. Mike Hayes, Commercial Manager - Network of Northpower reports that the cold weather event imposed a peak load on Northpower’s network, and that the data from their ION meters enabled them to control peak demand and keep a close watch on events as they progressed during the day.

Quasar’s Unique Solution

Quasar supplied ION meters and an ION Enterprise Energy Monitoring system in 2008 which it supports remotely. This ensures that Northpower always has reliable, real-time and historical network information readily at hand.

3 Winding Transformer Loss Compensation

14/3/2011

ION8600 Power Meter

Transformer Loss Compensation is used when a revenue meter’s actual location is different from the electrical location where a change of ownership occurs; for example, where meters at a power station are connected on the low-voltage side of power transformers when the ownership change occurs on the high-side of the transformer. This physical separation between meter and actual billing or reconciliation point results in measurable losses. The most common implementation of this technology is in relation to 2 winding transformers.

Providing a solution for 3 winding transformers is a considerably more complex scenario as the delivered power may flow in more than one direction. Quasar’s solution was developed and proven using ION 8800, ION8600, and ION7650 meters and ION Enterprise™ software.

Quasar Systems Wins Revenue Meter Replacement Contract

29/10/2010

Quasar Systems NZ’s leading supplier and integrator of revenue and power quality meters and metering systems to local power generators and distributors has recently been awarded a contract by Transpower New Zealand for the supply of revenue meters following an extensive evaluation programme.

Transpower has approximately 450 legacy revenue meters installed at some 152 substations throughout New Zealand. When purchased in the early 1990’s the meters were ‘state of the art’ technology but are now nearing the end of their physical life.

Quasar Completes Contact Energy's Generation Meters Project

15/10/2010

Clyde Power Station

Contact Energy is a large, dynamic company playing a pivotal role in New Zealand’s energy sector. Generating between 25 and 30 percent of New Zealand’s electricity, the Company recently celebrated the completion of their Generation Meters Project by Quasar Systems.

The works and services undertaken for this contract relate to the replacement of obsolete metering and data recorder hardware with modern technologies, and the supply of a metering system suitable for delivering generation metering data to external metering data collection and other business applications.

ION8800 Power Meter

Legacy meters and data loggers that had been installed in the mid 1990s were replaced at all nine Contact generation stations. The sixty new ION 8600 and ION 8800 IEC class 0.2s meters measure energy flows at the point of connection between Contact and the national grid.

Features such as transformers and line loss compensation, meter-based bus and station aggregation, and dual mastering of meters, were included. ION Enterprise software manages data collection, monitoring of real-time power conditions, report generation, and deliver metering data for down-stream applications.

“Thanks to you and your team for Quasar’s excellent input to the project;
an outstanding result and everything has settled down fine"

Murray Hill - Generation Engineer - Contact Energy

New Quasar ION Meters commissioned at Waipara Substation

15/10/2010

ION8800 Revenue Meter

The first ION8800 revenue meters were commissioned by Transpower recently at their Waipara substation in North Canterbury. Over the next 3-4 years approximately 450 legacy revenue meters will be replaced by ION8800 meters installed at some 152 substations throughout New Zealand.

Keith Hitchings Managing Director of Quasar Systems the supplier of the new meters says “these new devices provide the information necessary to perform grid capacity planning and stability analysis, monitor power quality compliance, supply agreements, and regulatory requirements, and mean that the metered data can be fully integrated with Transpower’s data systems”. He comments that this is achieved via ION Enterprise software and existing SCADA systems, through multiple communication channels and protocols.

Transpower Communications Manager Rebecca Wilson says that as the original meters needed to be replaced, it was an opportunity to take advantage of the advanced features available with current metering technologies offered in the Schneider Electric PowerLogic ION8800 devices supplied by Quasar.

Andre Lategan, Revenue Metering Project Manager (left) and Ron Smith, Contracts Manager (right) of Transpower at the Waipara substation