Non-contact voltage sensing system

Abstract

An energy metering system includes a plurality of current sensors suitable to sense current levels in a respective power conductor and each of said plurality of current sensors providing a respective first signal indicating respective the current levels. The energy metering system includes a plurality of non-contact voltage sensors suitable to sense voltage levels in a respective power conductor and each of the plurality of non-contact voltage sensors providing a respective second signal indicating respective the voltage levels. The energy metering system includes a monitoring device that receives each of the respective first signals and receives each of the respective second signals, and the monitoring device provides an indication of whether a circuit breaker has tripped based upon a respective first signal corresponding with one of the power conductors and whether the second signal indicates an insubstantial voltage level for the corresponding one of the power conductors.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 008,326, filed Apr. 10, 2020.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to a non-contact voltage sensing system.[0003]The total power consumption of a building or other facility is monitored by the electric utility with a power meter located between the utility's distribution transformer and the facility's power distribution panel. However, in many instances it is desirable to sub-meter or attribute the facility's power usage and cost to different occupancies, buildings, departments, or cost centers within the facility or to monitor the power consumption of individual loads or groups of loads, such as motors, lighting, heating units, cooling units, machinery, etc. These single phase or multi-phase electrical loads are typically connected to one or more of the branch circuits that extend from the facility's power distribution panel. While ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

Enables accurate detection of voltage presence or absence, helping to determine if a circuit breaker has tripped or if power is not being provided to a load, improving the assessment of load states and reducing installation complexities and safety concerns.

Problems solved by technology

While such power metering devices tend to measure energy properties it is problematic to determine the nature of whether a load is “turned off” in some manner or otherwise the circuit breaker has tripped.

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