Automated analysis performed against a checklist developed by a power quality expert
Power Quality Analysis
Raw meter recordings or meter software PDF reports checked against IEEE 519 (1992 and 2014), IEEE 1159, IEEE 1453 and ANSI C84.1, with the key graphs, an interpretation and plain findings.
- How does your recording compare with IEEE 519?
- Not sure whether a problem is on your side of the meter?
- Need the PQ graphs and a write-up from a raw meter file or a PDF report?
- Need to analyze a power quality measurement or diagnose a power quality problem?
- $349
- Flat price, up to 5 files
- 138
- Checklist points
- Typically within 1 hour
- Typical turnaround
What it is for
Upload a meter recording or PDF report. We interpret it: preliminary conclusions on compliance with the IEEE 519, IEEE 1453 and ANSI C84.1 limits, and remediation options where a limit is exceeded.
Reads raw recordings fromFluke 435-IIFluke 437-IIFluke 438-IIFluke 1773Fluke 1775Fluke 1777Fluke 1730Fluke 1738Fluke 1748PMI Revolution and other ProVision meterspower quality meters and loggers, and the PDF reports from any meter software, at the same price.
Who it is for
Built for people with a meter recording and a question
The facility engineer with equipment tripping
Find out whether the disturbances start on your side of the meter.
The consultant or testing firm with a recording to report
Turn a raw meter file or PDF report into a standards-based report, typically within an hour.
The utility engineer answering a customer complaint
Show the customer where the limits are met and where they are not.
What it does not do
Clear limits, stated up front
- Dranetz and other raw formats (planned; their PDF reports are accepted)
- Individual harmonic orders and event waveforms in Fluke .fpqo files (planned)
- High-speed transient and waveform analysis (planned)
- Harmonic studies, filter design or system modeling
- Stray voltage testing
- A sealed or stamped engineering determination
A clean week of data does not prove a site is free of power quality problems.
Turnaround
What to expect
Automated
Typically delivered within 1 hour. May take longer when demand is high.
You upload
- Raw meter files or meter software PDF reportsrequired
- Single-line diagram marked with the meter location (PDF)optional
- Public utility commission rules, if they differ from the industry standards (PDF)optional
What is checked
138 checks across 7 areas
- Setup and location
- Voltage
- Harmonics
- Flicker
- Events
- Source of the problem
- Power
Sample finding
Current THD 22 % but TDD 8 %: harmonic current within the IEEE 519 limit
Current THD reached 22 % at light load, but harmonic current measured against the 400 A maximum demand current (TDD) had a weekly 95th percentile of 8.0 %. At a short-circuit ratio of 150 the IEEE 519-2014 limit is 15 %, so the measured value is within the limit at the meter. The result would change if IL were below 213 A, so confirm IL from 12 months of billing demand.
Short-circuit ratio unknown: within IEEE 519 at a ratio of 50 or more
The utility fault current was not provided. TDD had a 95th percentile of 9.0 %, which is within the IEEE 519-2014 tests for every short-circuit ratio of 50 or more, meaning an available fault current of at least 20,000 A at this demand. Ask the utility for the fault current at the service and read the matching row.
Voltage dips follow a load that starts on a regular cycle
Phase current stepped up by more than 80 A about every 10 to 12 minutes, and the small voltage dips lined up with those steps. When voltage falls as current at the meter rises, the change most likely started on the facility side. Compare the times with the run log of cycling equipment.
Illustrative and redacted. See full sample reports →
The cost of the first pass
Your engineers should be engineering, not proofreading.
The first pass through a document is the slowest, least interesting part of review. We do that pass and hand back a list with every item tied to a page. Your engineer still makes every call.
Defaults to $300/hr. Change it to your reviewing engineer's rate.
We don't measure this. The default is 240 minutes a page for 1 pages. Set it to what it actually takes.
- Your first pass: 4 hours at $300/hr
- $1,200
- Power Quality Analysis — 1 file
- $349
- Difference, per document
- $851
Turnaround: Typically delivered within 1 hour. May take longer when demand is high.
A preliminary screening, not a substitute for your review. The Engineer of Record verifies every finding, and absence of a finding is never evidence of compliance.
Why it is consistent
Every item, every time
The full checklist runs on every document, even on a deadline.
The same standard every time
Depth does not depend on who was free that afternoon.
An audit trail by default
Every finding carries its page and the checklist item behind it.
It does not get bored
Matching ninety label values to ninety study rows is where people slip.
If this goes wrong
First order, any product: tell us why it missed and we refund it.
Email support within 7 days of release with your order ID and a short note on what it missed. First paid order only, one per customer, refunded in full.
Always refundable, first order or not
- Wrong document type. If what you uploaded is not a document this product reviews, re-upload the right file or take a full refund.
- Non-delivery. If we fail to deliver a report, you get a full refund.
- Before you upload. Paid but not uploaded yet? Email support for a full refund.
- Malware-rejected with no clean resubmission. If your file fails the malware scan and you cannot send a clean copy, take a refund.
Anything else? Email support with your order ID. A person reads every request. support@pefgconsulting.com. Full terms: refund policy.
Need more than a screening? PEFG offers a stamped engineering review by a licensed P.E.(opens in a new tab, external site) as a separate engagement.
FAQ
Common questions
Which meters and files does it read?
Fluke 435-II, 437-II and 438-II: PowerLog 430-II session (.fpqo). Fluke 1773, 1775 and 1777: Energy Analyze Plus session (.fca2). Fluke 1730, 1738 and 1748: Energy Analyze session (.fca). PMI Revolution and other ProVision meters: ProVision recording (.xsb). If you only have the PDF report the meter software produced (any make, including Dranetz), upload that instead, at the same price.
What if I do not know the short-circuit current?
Leave it blank. IEEE 519 current limits depend on the ratio of short-circuit current to demand current, so the report tests every row of the table and tells you the smallest ratio that passes. Once the utility gives you the fault current, you read your row.
Which edition of IEEE 519 does it use?
Both. The 2014 edition with its weekly and daily percentile tests, and the 1992 edition, which some utility service rules still cite. At low voltage the voltage THD limit is 8 % under 2014 and 5 % under 1992.
Why is my current THD high when the report says I am within the limit?
THD is a percentage of the current flowing at that moment, so it reads high at light load. IEEE 519 limits TDD, which divides the same harmonic current by the maximum demand current. The report shows both and compares TDD with the limit.
Does my file need voltage, harmonics, flicker and events all together?
No. Each file is analyzed for the quantities it contains. Anything it does not contain, such as flicker from an energy logger, is listed as not provided and its check reads not assessable, rather than failing.
Can it tell whether harmonics come from the utility?
If the facility load was switched off for part of the recording while the supply stayed on, the report judges the voltage distortion in that window against IEEE 519, which is the utility background. If the load was never off, it says so and explains how to record it.
Can I upload the PDF report instead of the raw file?
Yes, at the same price per file. A PDF report carries summary statistics, not the recording, so some checks cannot be decided from it. A maximum below a limit shows the measured values are within it; a maximum above a limit does not show the percentile the standard tests is above it, so that check reads not assessable. The raw file gives the full analysis.
My state utility commission has its own power quality rules. Can you check against those?
Yes. Upload the commission rule or the utility tariff with your meter files. The report lists each power quality requirement it sets (service voltage limits by class of service, harmonic or flicker limits, and any edition of IEEE 519 or ANSI C84.1 it names) and checks the measurements against them alongside the industry standards. Which class of service applies to your site is for you and the utility to confirm.
Is AI used?
In three places. It transcribes a PDF report or a utility commission rule when you upload one, and it writes the Interpretation section from the computed results. Every limit check is computed in code, and every number in the interpretation is checked against the computed results before the report is released.
Is an engineer involved?
No. The analysis is automated and released without engineering review. Findings about which side of the meter a problem came from are stated as likely, with the evidence and the measurement that would confirm it.