ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING – Vol.

II - Power and Energy Measurements - Arnaldo Brandolini and Alessandro Gandelli

POWER AND ENERGY MEASUREMENTS

Arnaldo Brandolini and Alessandro Gandelli
Politecnico di Milano, Italy

Keywords: electric-power measurements, electric-energy measurements, wattmeter,

energy meter, active power, reactive power, apparent power, instantaneous power

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Electric Power Measurements
2.1. DC Electric Circuits
2.2. Single-Phase AC Electric Circuits
2.3. Power Measurement in Three-Phase Systems

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2.3.1. Triple Single-Phase Circuits and Three-Phase Circuits

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2.3.2. The General Three-Phase System
2.3.3. Phase Voltage and Power and Total Power of a Three-Phase System
2.3.4. Aron Theorem
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2.4. Three-Wire Three-Phase Systems: Dependence and Independence of Measurements
2.4.1. General Theorems on the Power Measurements in Three-Phase Systems
2.4.2. Consequences of the Power Theorems
3. Power and Energy-Measuring Instruments
3.1. General Remarks
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3.2. Induction Wattmeters

3.2.1. Principles of the Induction System
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3.2.2. Single-Phase Wattmeter Indicators

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3.2.3. Induction Instruments: Integrating Wattmeters

3.2.4. Mechanical Counter for Energy Meter
3.3. Electrodynamical Wattmeters
3.4. Static Wattmeters and Energy Meters
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Glossary
Bibliography
Biographical Sketches
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Summary

This work presents the theoretical and more practical aspects related to electric power
and energy measurements, by introducing the methodology to perform such
measurements, then the instruments to implement it. Section 2 deals mainly with the
theorem necessary to understand power and energy relationships in the time and phasor
domain.

The most important results for analyzing any single-phase or three-phase electrical
systems are shown. Section 3 describes the basic structure of wattmeters and energy
meters, and presents practical considerations.

1. Introduction

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ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING – Vol. II - Power and Energy Measurements - Arnaldo Brandolini and Alessandro Gandelli

Energy is a word that comes from the ancient Greek ενεργεια (enérgeia), which means
both action and energy. These two meanings exemplify the dynamic character of energy.
For example, the derivative of energy, E, versus any spatial variable, x, distance or
dE
angle: , represents a mechanical action, such as strength or torque; while the
dx
dE
derivative of energy versus the time, t: , defines the important physical concept of
dt
power.

In this article power and energy measurement is explained in both its theoretical and
practical implementations. Section 2 is allocated to the theorems necessary to
understand power and energy relationships. Section 3 provides an overview of
wattmeters and energy meters, and their practical implementations.

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2. Electric Power Measurements

2.1. DC Electric Circuits

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In order to identify an electrical system in DC, a measurement of the electrical current, I,
flowing through the bipoles and their electric voltage, V, across the terminals has to be
performed (see Figure 1.). These measurements can be arranged by means of a DC
ammeter and voltmeter. The electric power, P, related to such a bipole, can be defined
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as the product of the voltage and current applied to: P = V × I . The power generated by
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an active bipole can be defined in the same way

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Figure 1. Volt-ampermetric measurement of power, P, adsorbed by resistor Rc

2.2. Single-Phase AC Electric Circuits

The electric power in a single-phase AC circuit can be defined as:

p (t ) = v(t )i (t ) (1)

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ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING – Vol. II - Power and Energy Measurements - Arnaldo Brandolini and Alessandro Gandelli

where p, v, i are instantaneous power, voltage, and current, respectively.

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Figure 2a. Measurement of active power, P, by means of the wattmeter, and apparent

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power, by means of the voltmeter and ammeter, to identify the power exchange related

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to the impedance, Zc
Voltage and current are considered to be sinusoidal, and these electric quantities can be
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represented by means of phasors and vector operators. It is possible to define the mean
power, P, active power, as the scalar product of the voltage and current phasors.
By defining the voltage and current in the following way:

v(t ) = 2V sin(ωt ) and i (t ) = 2 Isin (ωt + ϕ )

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(2)
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the mean power in the period, T, is equal to:

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1 T
T ∫0
P= v(t )i (t )dt = VI cos ϕ (3)
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or, by using the phasor notation:

P = V • I = VIcosϕ (4)
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where ϕ is the phase between the current and voltage signal—or between V and I.

It is important to note that by means of the phasor notation, and remembering the
impedance definition for a generic bipole, it is possible to conclude that the mean
adsorbed power is:

P = V • I = ( ZI ) • I = Zcosϕ I 2 = R I 2 (5)

When dealing with the sinusoidal regime it is possible to define the apparent power, A,
as a direct product of the voltage and current rms values:

A=VI (6)

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ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING – Vol. II - Power and Energy Measurements - Arnaldo Brandolini and Alessandro Gandelli

The apparent power, A , is dimensionally equal to electric power, without representing

the effective power responsible for the energy transfer in a section connecting two
networks. This type of functionality is demanded by the mean value of the instantaneous
power—defined for such reason as active power.

There is a third type of power in AC system: reactive power, Q, defined as:

Q= ± (A 2
− P2 ) (7)

Reactive power can also be defined using the notation of inner product module by
multiplying the voltage and current phasors:

Q = ± V × I = V sin ϕ (8)

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In the same way as arranged in Eq. (5), reactive power can be defined as:

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Q = XI2 (9)
where X is the reactance of the equivalent bipole in a series arrangement.
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In a single-phase AC system the measurement of active and reactive power can be
performed by means of measurement instruments called wattmeters and varmeters,
respectively. The measurement of active power requires just one wattmeter—single
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phase. This instrument is characterized by two pairs of terminals, one for the current
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circuit, one for the voltage (see Figure 2.a). The first pair of connections have to be
inserted to the current circuit; the second to the proper section of the single-phase circuit
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to which the power flow is related.

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The measurement of the complete power flow in single-phase systems—and also

polyphase—can be performed by means of computer-based processing systems (see
Figure 2b). These devices are able to compute power from voltage and current signals
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sampled from the network.

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Figure 2b. Block structure of a computer-based processing system able to measure the
complete power flow—under the Von Neumann scheme

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ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING – Vol. II - Power and Energy Measurements - Arnaldo Brandolini and Alessandro Gandelli

2.3. Power Measurement in Three-Phase Systems

2.3.1. Triple Single-Phase Circuits and Three-Phase Circuits

Three-phase circuits—as with single-phase—represent a particular case of polyphase

circuits. From the theoretical point of view three-phase circuits can be defined by means
of three separate single-phase circuits. For this reason they can allow a power flow three
time greater then the corresponding single-phase circuit.

A triple single-phase circuit can be represented in two ways (see Figures 3 and 4).

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Figure 3. Triple single-phase system built using three separate single-phase systems—
six conductors
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Figure 4. Triple single-phase system having three separate single-phase systems, but
with one common return-path—four conductors
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Bibliography

Drisdale C.V. and Jolley A.C. (1952). Electrical Measuring Instruments. New York: John Wiley. [A
classic book on electrical measurements.]
Finkelstein L. and Grattan K.T.V. (1994). Concise Encyclopedia of Measurement and Instrumentation.
New York: Pergamon Press. [Gives definitions and basics of electrical measurements.]
Harris F.K. (1962). Electrical Measurements. New York: John Wiley. [Concentrates on voltage and
current measurements.]
Montano J.C., Lopez A., Castilla M., and Gutierrez J. (1993). DSP-based algorithm for electric power
measurement. IEE Proc. A. Sci. Meas. Tech.. 140: 485–490.
Schnell L. (1993). Technology of Electrical Measurements. New York: John Wiley. [An up-to-date and
comprehensive book.]

Biographical Sketches

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Arnaldo Brandolini was born in 1930 in Calolziocorte, Italy. He received his Master’s degree in

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Electrical Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano, Italy, in 1955. In 1958 he joined the same university

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as Assistant Professor of Electrical Measurements. He became Associate Professor in 1968. Since 1980
he has been a Full Professor and holds the Chair of Electrical Measurements. In 1996 he was appointed
Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano. His research activities and
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scientific interests deal with the following: electrical and electronic measurement topics; the design and
development of digital computer-based measuring systems; power network digital-protections; new A/D
testing methodologies; advanced sensors and sensing systems for robotics; and remote sensing in
geophysics. He has published about 100 papers on these subjects and five textbooks in the field of
electrical and electronic measurements.
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Alessandro Gandelli was born in 1960 in Milan, Italy. He received his Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Ph.D.
degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Politecnico di Milano, Italy. In 1990 he joined the faculty of
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Engineering at the same university, where he is now teaching electrical engineering and applied
electronics. Since 1998 he has been a member of the Academic Senate. His research activities and
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scientific interests deal with: the basic theory of electrical circuit and systems; microelectronics and
packaging; power electronics and switching networks; advanced sensors and transducers; and electronic
instrumentation. He has published about 85 papers on these subjects and three textbooks in the field of
electrical and electronics engineering.
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