GridBit EIM adds sensors, analysers and a gateway to a secondary substation and shows the state of the transformer and the low-voltage board in real time. It is a retrofit: the primary equipment stays as it is.
Why now
Demand for electricity grows by about 4.1 % a year. Heat pumps and charging points overload lines and transformers that were sized for another time.
Rooftop plants feed in when the sun shines, not when the load needs it. The intermittent flow unbalances the network.
Old equipment fails more often under a load that changes through the day.
The problem
Generation and transmission were digitised decades ago, and SCADA shows high and medium voltage in real time. Below the secondary substation the operator works blind and often learns about a fault from the customers.
65 %
of all grid assets are in the low-voltage network
Without data from the low-voltage side a distributor risks:
How it works
EIM gives the substation digital senses. Compact modules and sensors go in without long outages, and everything talks Modbus to one gateway.
01Transformer
An infrared camera and optical sensors watch the hot spots without touching them. RFID and contact sensors sit where a cable cannot go. The integrated safety detector reports pressure, temperature, oil level and gas.
02Switchboard
The network analyser measures current, voltage, power and power quality per phase. The voltage detector watches the outgoing feeders, fuses and protections. The relay unit switches lines on a schedule or on command.
03Environment
Optional third-party sensors on the same Modbus line: humidity and temperature, smoke, water and moisture, intrusion, and any sensor with a 0 to 10 V output.
04Gateway
GridBit GWU collects data from the modules and the sensors over Modbus and sends it over the mobile network or Wi-Fi. The link is MQTTS: encrypted and two-way, so commands reach the substation too.
05Platform
The platform runs in the cloud on Microsoft Azure. It opens in a browser on any device, with nothing to install, and the data is encrypted.
The platform
Load and imbalance as gauges, current per phase and in the neutral against its limits, the phase angles as a vector diagram and a table of current, voltage and angle per phase.
The chart marks the hours near the limit and the hours above it. A second tab shows the K-factor, the extra heating that harmonics cause.
Current and voltage per phase with the minimum, average and maximum for the period, then the same for each outgoing circuit.
Voltage deviation, rapid voltage changes, asymmetry and harmonics from the 3rd to the 13th with the total distortion, per phase.
The state turns critical, the bell counts the active alarms and the values outside their range turn red, here an imbalance of 36 % and an overloaded hour.
Identification, technical parameters of the transformer and the generation connected behind it: type, power, connection point and whether it came with a notification or a permit.
Screens from the interface design, with sample data.
The platform
Load and imbalance as gauges, current per phase and in the neutral against its limits, the phase angles as a vector diagram and a table of current, voltage and angle per phase.
The chart marks the hours near the limit and the hours above it. A second tab shows the K-factor, the extra heating that harmonics cause.
Current and voltage per phase with the minimum, average and maximum for the period, then the same for each outgoing circuit.
Voltage deviation, rapid voltage changes, asymmetry and harmonics from the 3rd to the 13th with the total distortion, per phase.
The state turns critical, the bell counts the active alarms and the values outside their range turn red, here an imbalance of 36 % and an overloaded hour.
Identification, technical parameters of the transformer and the generation connected behind it: type, power, connection point and whether it came with a notification or a permit.
Screens from the interface design, with sample data.
Planning
A transformer rarely fails without warning. The load creeps up over months as new consumers and plants connect. With the load of every hour against the limit, you know which transformer to resize first and which one still has room.
Illustration, not measured data.
Functions
Problems are found and handled before they grow.
In the platform, by e-mail, by SMS and other channels.
The whole infrastructure on a map, one click to a substation.
Large volumes of data turned into a basis for planning.
Processes, tasks, analyses and reports set to the needs of the client.
With systems of other vendors through standard protocols.
Devices, users and thresholds managed from the interface.
No servers to buy or maintain.
Benefits
Faults and disruptions are detected at once, response is quick and downtime is short.
Failures are predicted before they happen, which extends the life of the substation components.
Preventing a major failure saves the repair or the replacement. Fewer site visits lower the cost of maintenance.
Hazards are identified early, so crews act in time and the risk of accidents drops.
Network status in real time
For system planning and investment decisions.
Regulatory compliance
Continuous monitoring helps meet the requirements and avoid penalties.
Customer satisfaction
Reliable supply and faster grid expansion.
Experience gap
Digital data helps when experienced field staff retire.
Clients
The most useful and important function for our work is the monitoring of the electrical infrastructure. It gives information about the state of the equipment and the infrastructure and helps us optimise our maintenance costs and our response time.
GatewayGWU-54G LTE gateway for Modbus devices, with Ethernet and MQTT4G LTE Cat 1Mobile network, 2G fallbackRS485 + EthernetModbus RTU and Modbus TCP
GatewayGWU-42G/4G gateway for Modbus RTU devices, two digital inputs4G LTE Cat 1Mobile network, 2G fallbackRS485Modbus RTU
MeterMCU-4Three-phase network analyser with Modbus RTU3P+N / 1P+NPole configurationU, I, P, cos φ, EMeasured parameters
InputsSMU-3Eight-channel AC voltage detector with Modbus RTU8Voltage detection inputs280 VACMaximum input voltage
TS2Contact temperature sensor
TIROptical, contactless temperature sensor
TCAMInfrared camera
RLURelay unitGridBit EIM is a monitoring system for the electrical infrastructure at low voltage. It adds sensors, analysers and a gateway to a secondary substation, and the platform shows the state of the transformer and the low-voltage board in real time, with alarms and reports.
No. EIM is a retrofit and the primary equipment stays as it is. The compact modules and sensors go in without long outages.
Three groups of values. At the transformer: the temperature of the hot spots, and pressure, temperature, oil level and gas from the integrated safety detector. At the low-voltage board: current, voltage, power and power quality per phase, plus the state of the outgoing feeders, fuses and protections. In the room: humidity, temperature, smoke, water and intrusion.
Voltage deviation, rapid voltage changes, asymmetry and harmonics from the 3rd to the 13th with the total distortion, per phase. The load chart marks the hours near and above the limit of the transformer, and a second tab shows the K-factor.
A GridBit GWU gateway collects the data from the modules and the sensors over Modbus and sends it over the mobile network or Wi-Fi. The link is MQTTS, encrypted and two-way, so commands reach the substation too. The platform is software as a service on Microsoft Azure and opens in a browser.
Because 65 % of all grid assets are in the low-voltage network and the operator often learns about a fault there from the customers. Heat pumps, charging points and rooftop plants load lines and transformers that were sized for another time. Hourly load data shows which transformer to resize first.
Yes. The platform integrates with systems of other vendors through standard protocols, and third-party sensors with Modbus or a 0 to 10 V output connect to the same line as the GridBit modules.
Tell us how many substations you have and what you want to see in them. We answer with a configuration and a quote.
