Datasheet: Power Quality Monitoring Watching the Peaks and Valleys

Systems for Monitoring Power Quality for Homes and Industry

- By Curtis Franklin, Editor-In-Chief

Embedded system stability begins with electricity as a known quantity. But most engineers know that commercial mains power is known only in the broadest sense. A deeper understanding of mains power—from voltage stability to waveform consistency to how much is being consumed—can increase application availability, system longevity, business efficiency, and economic profitability.

How much electrical power is your application using? And just how close does that electrical power hew to the ideal electricity promised by the utility? These seem like simple questions but, in fact, they can be complicated to answer. Devices to monitor power can provide the answer and do so in a variety of different ways.