Good Information Allows for Good Decisions

Power Submetering

Cyber Switching’s Submetering Solutions

Submetering systems are designed to monitor and measure electrical power by various systems within a facility. Submeters can be easily installed to monitor HVAC, indoor and outdoor lighting, computer facilities, refrigeration, general receptacles, and electric vehicle charging stations. With advanced submeters in place, each system’s use of electrical power can be identified and outlying heavy users can be targeted for energy efficiency programs.

Submeters are also designed to be installed to meter the electrical power use by subtenants in a commercial building, giving a facility manager the ability to track and bill-back for tenant power use. This allows for the recapturing of energy costs and creates a cost-saving mindset in tenants as well.

Armed with real-time information, a facility manager can take steps towards troubleshooting unexplained power use or implementing more effective energy cost saving initiatives. The key in all of this is that good information allows for good decisions and with power use that can mean an increase in a company’s bottom line as power “hogs” are identified and cost saving initiatives for power consumption are effectively implemented.

Why Should You Submeter?

Submetering provides facility managers real-time and historic data on power use and power quality on multiple subsystems in a building’s infrastructure, including interior lighting circuits, exterior lighting circuits, HVAC systems, and any number of other isolated circuits. This can lead to a litany of benefits, including:

  •  Reduced Energy Costs
  •  Energy Use Planning for Time of Use Billing
  •  Tenant Energy Use Billing
  •  Cost Recovery/Allocation
  •  Multi-Site Rate Negotiation with Your Utility
  •  Performance Monitoring
  •  Government Regulation Compliance
  •  Power Integration with Building Management Systems

Introducing the Submetering System from Cyber Switching Solutions

A Title 24 compliant smart submeter solution, the CS-400 provides all the benefits of submetering and offers ease of installation and cost-effective performance for commercial building power metering and monitoring, in both new and retrofit applications. Our meters are one of the few meters UL Listed® for field installation into existing electrical subpanels.

Designed for performance at an unprecedented price point, the CS-400 solution provides capabilities and performance which, until now, have only been available in significantly more costly meters. The system is comprised of modular components to efficiently meet requirements in all applications.

The System Components

CS-400-MM Submeter Module

Our submeters are highly accurate meter-grade devices capable of measuring real-time loads in kilowatts, kWh demand captured in 15-minute segments, total kWh demand, kW peak demand with the date and time of the peak, historic kWh peak demand, and other key variables.

The MM-030 is a state-of-the-art three-phase submeter module designed to meet virtually every three-phase configuration up to 480V. The MM-060 is a multipoint submeter with six current input channels and three voltage channels providing a full range of measurement capability. With the integral 14-gauge sensing wires, the submeter can be mounted directly in a panel and connected to a circuit breaker and CT-Coils to capture amperage and voltage data.

Both submeters are UL Listed® for field install ability.

The Submeter Hub

The Submeter Hub provides a management interface for the CS-400 Submeter Modules. Connected using standard Ethernet connections and TCP/IP, the hub connects to 8 meters. In turn, the hub can connect to a networked server running our Energy Management and Control software (EMC), or to any standard SNMP-capable Building Management System for remote management and monitoring.

Once connected, the Hub provides comprehensive energy metering, monitoring, and data analysis. The Hub features a touchscreen LCD display for onsite access as well resulting in easy setup and real-time readouts.

CS-400-CT Coils

Our innovative design of its CT coils allows for extremely quick and easy installations. With 4 configurations available, our coils are capable of metering power usage for 50, 100, 300, and 600 amp circuits. Like the Submeters above, our coils are also UL Listed® for field install ability and designed for easy retrofit projects.

Building the System

The CS-400 system is based on a modular design. As noted previously, there are two primary components: the Submeter and the Hub. The Submeters are UL Listed® so that they may be field installed into a new or existing electrical panel. The Submeters include 14-gauge sensing wires and can be connected to circuit breakers and CT-Coils in the panel. With the voltage sync capability, a minimum amount of wiring connections is needed. This reduces installation cost and complexity and increases system safety.

The Hubs are designed to be mounted outside the panels, with a connection to the Submeter module done with low voltage Cat5 or Cat6 cabling. This adds to the ease and safety of the installation.

Optionally, our EMC software can be installed on an enterprise-level server for managing larger installations.

Scaling the System

The modular design of the CS-400 series makes scaling the system simple and cost effective. Each Submetering Hub supports up to eight Submeters, whether the meters are in a single large panel or in separate panels.

To put this in perspective, to be Title 24 compliant a 50,000 square building could use as few as 3 meters to isolate and meter lighting, receptacles, and HVAC systems. Of course, a facility manager could elect to put in more meters to gather power usage of more systems, or to gather information by floor or department. The key here is both scalability and flexibility. Our Submetering system fully supports both needs.

Voltage-Sync – A Unique Cost-Saver:  One of our unique features is the use of voltage-syncing the submeters. This approach reduces the cost and complexity of installing submeters by as much as 87%. Only a single submeter needs to be connected to a metered panel to gather the panel’s voltage data. That base data is communicated through the Submeter Hub to the other meters in the system, reducing the material and labor that otherwise would be required to connect all of the meters to that panel. A true cost savings!

  • Key Features

    • Energy Management:
      • Proactive Capabilities
      • Minimize Utility Demand Charges
      • Identify Energy “Hogs”
    • Modular Design and Scalability:
      • Field Installable Meters
      • Hubs Aggregate Meter Reading
      • EMC Aggregate Hubs and Provide Management Console
    • Simplified Installations:
      • UL Listed® for Panel Installation
      • Low Voltage Wiring Outside the Panel Reduces Installation Challenges
    • Future Upgradability:
      • The Cyber Switching Technology Platform Allows Facility Managers to Easily Upgrade.

  • Specifications

    Feature Technical Specification
    CS-400-MM-030 and -060 Submeter Modules
    Rated Voltage 120-480Vac; Three Phase or Single Phase 50/60 Hz
    Certifications FRTZ E4070543; UL 916, Energy Management Equipment
    CAN/CSA C22.2 No. 61010-1-12
    Accuracy Calibrated to better than +/- 0.2% from 1% to 100% of rated load
    CS-400–SH-3P and -SH-MP Submeter Hubs
    Unit Input Voltage 120-240 VAC, 1.5A
    Certifications NEWGQ E206903-A29; UL 60950-1 2ND Ed
    CAN/CSA C22.2 No. 60950-1-07, 2ND Ed, 2014-10
    Ethernet 10/100 Mbps; DHCP or Static IP
    Communication SNMP V2, SNMP V3, TCP/IP
    CS-400-MM-030 and -060 Submeter Modules
    Unit Input Voltage 120-240 VAC, 1.5A
    Certification UL 60950 Listed
    Embedded Processor Intel ATOM 64-Bit Dual Core N2600 1.6 GHz
    Memory 2GB RAM
    Encryption SNMP V3, SSL
    Hard Drive 500 GB
    Ethernet Router 8-Port Integral; WAN; DHCP/Static IP; Firewall/NAT; Port Forwarding; DMZ; UPnP