A Proposal on Remote Generator

Monitoring

For Total PLC

2010
 Table of Contents
• 1.Introduction
• 2.Objective
• 3. Technology
• 4. Main features
• 5. Operations
• 6. Visual Images
• 7. Costs
• 8. 9. Deployment
• 10. Miscellaneous
• 11. Conclusions
• 12.References
 Introduction
• The many benefits of a Generator Monitoring System 
• Many industries, sectors and services depend on a reliable
power service for their operation. Banks, data centers, grocery
stores, hospitals and commercial buildings being some of
them.

• When utility power fails, commercial standby power

generators generate backup power to many kinds of essential
enterprises. There are many benefits of a generator monitor.
Regardless of the circumstances, you can keep your place of
work functioning with the power needed.
 Technology/Features

• A majority of generator installations make use of a remote

Annunciator panel. The panel displays the status of the
generator and generator switch. In a few public facilities
like hospitals, the NFPA (
National Fire Protection Association www.nfpa.org ) and
fire code mandate the usage of a generator annunciator
panel visible to a staffed location inside the building for
their remote generator monitor.
• Since power is critical for several operations, generator
maintenance and continuous real-time status and alarm
information from the generator is a must. Facilities
managers benefit a great deal from generator monitoring
systems.
Generator monitoring systems ensure improved reliability and
bring down generator maintenance costs. Moreover, there are
fewer issues with backup power. Commercial standby generators
vary in size.

Usually, large enterprise backup power generators range from

100 kW to 2MW, with 200 kW to 500 kW being the most
common. Generator paralleling is used to meet larger backup
power requirements. Using a paralleled power generation
system, multiple generators are synchronized at the generator
control. Centralized monitoring of service intervals with
automatic reminders, based on both run time and calendar date,
are key components of a good generator monitoring system.
• A generator monitoring system is highly advantageous. A
standby generator monitor adds more life to power
generation equipment and reduces maintenance costs. A
complete standby generator installation is a complicated
system, both in terms of electrical and mechanical
components.

• Common preventable, or easily corrected, problems

include dead or weak batteries, low fuel level, block
heater failure, leaving the generator in manual start or
"not in auto" mode. All of these conditions can be
effectively monitored using a wireless generator
monitoring kit.
 
• With so many preventable and easily resolved
issues that affect standby generator reliability,
it would be a sensible decision for genset
owners to use a quality generator monitoring
system.

• Generator monitoring solutions ensure

continuous real time monitoring and instant
notifications at the first hint of a problem with
your genset.
 Operative Features

• Generators are a critical part of any robust telecom

• network design. They are typically third
• rung in the power ladder. Commercial power is the
• primary source for normal operation, followed by
• your battery plant for short to medium term protection.
• and generators for longer term operation

• without the primary commercial power.

• Generators come in all sizes, shapes, power outputs,
• but they also vary widely with respect to the
• technology they use to report alarms.

• Older generation
• equipment as well as basic models use
• relays to generate contact closures to report
• alarms. These types of generators require an
• RTU (such as the DPS NetGuardian 832A see attached .) to
• collect these contact closure, to report them back
• to an SNMP alarm master or make them viewable
• from a web browser. Newer equipment use
• higher level protocols, typically SNMP to provide
• more detailed status and alarm information.

SNMP Simple Network Monitoring Protocol

• These alarms could report to your existing SNMP
• alarm master or a DPS T/Mon NOC. Newer generators
• may also come with their own administra-
• tion / management tool. If it does, from a best
• practices point of view, you should consider this
• as an element manager layer. As such you
• should still have alarms forwarded to your NOC
• or MOM so you have generator visibility as part
• of your overall network view.

• Message-oriented middleware (MOM)

• NOC Network Operating Center
• There are three critical generator events that
• should be present on any generator:

• 1. Generator Running
• Will report whenever the generator is running.
• Why is this alarm important? If the generator is
• running, chances are very good you have a commercial
• power failure. Most companies and NOC
• managers have experienced a network outage
• because nobody knew the generator was running,
• until it ran out of fuel, causing power failure.
• The end result, was the site still went down, the
• only difference is that it went down later and consumed
• lots of fuel. Under normal circumstances,
• this alarm would be used to make sure your self
• tests (manual / automatic) are working correctly
• It can also be used as a rough indicator of how
• long the generator had been running so you can
• estimate fuel levels and better plan fuel runs.
• Lastly, whenever an unplanned generator running
• alarms occurs, it gives you plenty of time to initiate
• the corrective action notifications to the commercial
• power company.
• 2. Low Fuel
• Most modern generators give you the ability to
• observe fuel tank levels. However the Low Fuel
• alarm is the lowest common denominator with
• respect to fuel levels. When the generator senses
• that it has low fuel, it will report this alarm.
• Generally when you see these alarms, you want
• to act real fast. Depending on you windshield
• time to your site, and your low threshold warning
• level, it might already be too late to avoid down
• time. In cases where you have seasonal site
• access or have to fly in fuel you have to have a
• very high level of fuel level awareness.
• 3. Oil Pressure
• Alarms when the oil pressure is low.
• Machine 101 - Oil protects moving parts.
• No oil - you will
• have a generator that will have some very expensive
• repairs, or generator that is shut off that
• takes down your site.
• Collectively using these alarm elements
• allows you to:
• • Avoid / reduce the effect of site power
• failures.
• • Intelligently let you plan Truck rolls for
• service & fuel.
• • Manage your sites more efficiently and
• effectively during natural disasters where
• you have lots of outages and not enough
• manpower.
• • Save money on fuel, by avoiding waste.
• • Insure your generators are running properly,
• so they are there for you when you need
• them. (Confirm the self tests are running)
• An RTU like the NetGuardian 832A G4 would be able to
collect contact
• closures or recieve SNMP traps from your generator, giving
you full visibility
• of its operational status.
• SNMP alarms can be reported to an exisiting SNMP Manager
or the
• T/Mon NOC Alarm Monitoring System.
• Older generators as well as basic models use relays to generate
contact
• closures to report alarms. More contemporary generators use a
higher
• level protocol such as SNMP.Simple Network Monitoring
Protocol 
Images: SNMP alarms can be reported to an exisiting SNMP
Manager or the
T/Mon NOC Alarm Monitoring System.
An RTU like the NetGuardian 832A G4 would be able
to collect contact
closures or receive SNMP traps from your generator,
giving you full visibility
of its operational status. NETGUARDIAN
GENSET: Older generators as well as basic models use relays to
generate contact
closures to report alarms. More contemporary generators use a
higher
level protocol such as SNMP.
• Costs
Discuss
 Deployment/Customisation/ Maintenance

You’re making a big investment, and that should never involve settling for
what you can find off-the-shelf. You don’t have to deal with a inflexible monitoring system that wasn’t
designed
with you in mind. Here are the 3 key advantages of a custom solution for your OEM project:

3 Key Advantages of a Custom OEM Solution

1. Customization offers the exact functionality you need...
As an OEM, there are many things for you to consider when beginning a new project. Evolving technology
demands for new equipment functions, new standards put in place, and more. Adapting to the ever-changing
market is much easier with a custom solution. A custom design offers the exact functionality you’re looking for,
even if it can’t be found in an existing product. Sometimes this is as simple as changing the color or
privatelabeling
the product.
2. Don’t pay for unwanted product features...
You’ve got a fixed budget for this new project, and there’s no room to pay for unnecessary features. And if no
existing products fit all your specs, you could end up buying several pieces of equipment to make up for it. Not
only does this drive up cost, but is makes integration a headache.
3. Discover new product benefits you never dreamed of...
When you decide to take the custom design route, you probably expect the engineers to “take your order” and
deliver the product features you’ve asked for. What you don’t expect is for the engineers assigned to your
project
to uncover even more benefits from your design that you hadn’t thought of. The engineers working on your
project should help you squeeze every ounce of muscle from your design to maximize your investment.
With a mass-produced product, you pay for unneeded features or more products than you have space and
budget for. With a customized product, you get exactly what you need.
Turn-up and installation assistance is absolutely the quickest and
easiest way to get your network monitoring system up and running.
Our on-site turn-up assistance team will help install and configure
your system and train your staff how to use it effectively.
Bring the Instructor to You
Our training staff will come to your facility with a
complete set of training materials. Your staff can train directly on
the equipment they’ll use. The course curriculum can be tailored to
your company’s individual needs, and your instructor will assist you
on-site with your implementation.
Get Your Network Running Today
There’s no reason to waste months trying to learn alarm management all by yourself.
You’ll know how to
use your equipment easier, faster, and better than ever. The time you save during
installation and turnup,
combined with increased network reliability will bring immediate payback in your
uptime and increased
revenue.
With on-site turn-up assistance, you’ll get:
• Personal, custom instruction from a knowledgeable
instructor
• Custom training material, like workbooks and user manuals
for your staff
• Hands-on training and troubleshooting with your own
equipment and your own system
• No fuss installation – Get your system up and running now
• Q & A time with your instructor – Get your most important
questions answered
• Live classroom demonstrations to reinforce learning
Deployments often take longer than planned, especially if
you’re working with new equipment. Don’t delay yours any
longer! Tell us what
Miscellaneous

FAQs
 With Back Up Generators

A backup generator is a great help in the event of a

power outage. It makes life easier. These generators
provide power at office buildings, drainage pumps,
data centers and for public safety. Most standby
generators have a block heater, powered from utility
line power. The block heater blocks the entire engine,
including oil and coolant, at an elevated
temperature. This is done so that the engine can be
used at full rated load within seconds after starting. A
generator monitoring system instantly notifies
generator operators about potential overcrank or
"fail to start" conditions.
 Glossary/References
• An annunciator panel is a group of lights used
as a central indicator of status of equipment
or systems in an aircraft, industrial process,
building or other installation. Usually the
annunciator panel includes a main warning
lamp or audible signal to draw the attention of
operating personnel to the annunciator panel
for abnormal events or conditions.
• NFPA (National Fire Protection Association
www.nfpa.org )
• An RTU, or Remote Terminal Unit is a 
microprocessor controlled electronic device which
interfaces objects in the physical world to adistributed
control system or SCADA(supervisory control and
data acquisition system) by transmitting telemetry
 data to the system and/or altering the state of
connected objects based on control messages received
from the system.
• Message-oriented middleware (MOM) is infrastructure focused on sending
and receiving messages that allows application modules to be distributed over
heterogeneous platforms. It reduces the complexity of developing applications
that span multiple operating systems and network protocols by insulating the
application developer from the details of the various operating system and
network interfaces. API's that extend across diverse platforms and networks are
typically provided by MOM.
• MOM is software that resides in both portions of client/server architecture and
typically supports asynchronous calls between the client and server
applications. Message queues provide temporary storage when the destination
program is busy or not connected. MOM reduces the involvement of
application developers with the complexity of the master-slave nature of the
client/server mechanism.
• MOM comprises a category of inter-application communication software that
generally relies on asynchronous message-passing, as opposed to a 
request-response metaphor.
• Most message-oriented middleware depend on a message queue system, but
there are some implementations that rely on broadcast ormulticast messaging
systems.
• Windshield time is one of the hidden
expenses of operating remote sites, and it will
nibble away at your company's profitability.
"Windshield time" is all the unproductive time
that your technicians spend in the car
traveling to and from remote sites. If your
company operates in a rural large service area,
or a busy urban center is with heavy traffic,
your windshield time can add