Challenge

Traditional data acquisition methods for electric systems analyse levels of voltage and current. Although fairly accurate, inherent safety and technical issues are associated with their use. They are connected to the larger grid and thus susceptible to electrical anomalies that may arise. Sometimes, these sensors fail and fail violently, causing collateral damage such as neighbouring equipment failure and even wildfires.

The tools’ limitations are governed by their design and the laws of physics. For example, a current transformer, used to measure the amperage or load, has a saturation point beyond which it will no longer measure with any degree of accuracy.

Our client designed a line of optical, field-effect sensors to measure the needed variables of the electric power grid. It was a complete theoretical shift from the traditional measurement methods. Their design requires advanced analytics to compensate for the environment in which it is deployed. The challenge that they faced was the impact of temperature on the DC measurement, which caused inaccurate AC RMS values. Temperature sensitivity is not unique to optical sensing, but solving this in optics, proved to be a highly specific challenge that Altruistic’s community of data scientists worked to address.

Background

A dramatic technological shift is underway in the energy sector. Faced with unprecedented energy demand, utility companies need to solve grid visibility issues. With advanced sensors, these companies can track data around the overall health of their systems. Getting the data is only the start. These companies need to find efficient and safe methods to gather the data.