Product News: Opto 22's groov RIO EMU energy-monitoring unit

The groov RIO EMU distributed-energy-monitoring unit

Opto 22 has expanded its groov RIO edge I/O series with a new energy monitoring unit (EMU) designed to help plant managers, machine operators, and financial analysts understand electrical costs and track changes in load that might give early warning of equipment faults. Using 0.333 V, 1 V, or 5 A current transformers (CTs), groov RIO EMU measures live AC power and energy consumption from any three-, twin-, or single-phase load up to 600 V and provides 64 simultaneous field measurements and calculated values directly to analytics software, databases, and other connected systems.

For many industrial rate-payers, a lack of visibility into energy consumption means that operational costs may be higher than necessary. Relatively simple changes and operational improvements can often reduce peak power usage, resulting in significant savings. But without strategic data collection, these improvements can be difficult to identify. Additionally, measuring power draw at the machine level is an effective way to assess machine health, detect impending problems, and make timely adjustments to equipment such as motors, bearings, filter pressures, and lubrication, without instrumenting each component.

The groov RIO EMU module measures AC RMS voltage and current for up to three phases (Wye or Delta) and is rated to UL 61010-3 measurement category III. From the measured field inputs, additional values are calculated for each phase including true, reactive, and apparent power; power factor; frequency; and net energy; as well as combined totals for all phases. The small form factor allows for installation at the point of use, permitting granular measurement of electrical loads: pumps, heating/cooling systems, solar power generation, and many others.

groov RIO EMU is built on Opto 22’s proven edge I/O platform. It includes Power over Ethernet (PoE) and a wide operating temperature range for easy installation. Module operation and data distribution are protected with cybersecurity features including mandatory user authentication, a configurable firewall, and SSL/TLS encryption. Both OT and IT communication options are supported, including a full REST API, VPN client, and MQTT/Sparkplug client. groov RIO EMU is compatible with traditional control programming and SCADA systems. Data can also be accessed through the embedded Node-RED IoT programming environment and IT programming languages like C++, Python, and Java.

groov RIO EMU modules (GRV-R7-I1VAPM-3, $895 USD) are available through Opto 22’s global network of distributors and system integrators and directly here.