NI Tools for Power Quality Monitoring

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Whether you are working on a prototype remote terminal unit (RTU) for  a smart grid node or testing appliances for energy efficiency, NI LabVIEW software and virtual  instrumentation products are an effective combination for power  measurements. The core measurements for power analysis and monitoring  are voltage and current. National Instruments recommends the NI 9225 C Series analog input module for up to 300 V_rms and the NI 9227 C Series current input module for up to 5 A_rms measurements.  These modules feature 24-bit ADCs that can simultaneously sample at up  to 50 kS/s per channel for precise waveform measurement and higher-order  harmonic analysis. Because they are part of the NI C Series hardware  family, you can deploy both of these modules in either an NI CompactDAQ chassis for a  USB-based benchtop test system or an NI CompactRIO system for  stand-alone operation with onboard storage, control, and field-programmable gate array  (FPGA) technology for high-speed processing.

Build a custom user interface to  display power quality information with LabVIEW.

LabVIEW has several built-in waveform analysis algorithms to make  creating power test systems easier; for power-specific functions, there  is an Electrical Power Measurements (EPM) palette available for free  download on ni.com. The EPM palette contains common functions for power  analysis to help you calculate power (watts), RMS voltage, RMS current,  power factor, and apparent power.