The challenge: critical healthcare equipment experiencing power quality issues
A major medical facility in a central Texas city experienced recurring power quality disturbances that affected essential equipment throughout the facility. Systems impacted included MRI machines, CT scanners, HVAC systems, and elevators, raising concerns about operational reliability and potential impacts on patient care.
Because the disturbances appeared to be electrical in nature, facility personnel initially suspected utility-side power quality problems. The utility needed a reliable way to determine whether the issue originated on the grid or within the facility's own electrical infrastructure.
Without detailed monitoring data, diagnosing these events could have required extensive investigation, multiple site visits, and potentially costly mitigation efforts that may not have addressed the actual problem.
The solution: data-driven power quality diagnostics
To investigate the issue, the city's electric utility department deployed an UbiGrid™ DTM+ on the facility's transformer. The solution provided real-time power quality monitoring and detailed tracking of voltage disturbances affecting the site.
The high-resolution monitoring data allowed engineers to analyze power quality events with greater precision and determine the actual source of the disturbances. Rather than relying on assumptions or indirect indicators, the utility was able to use objective operational data to guide its investigation.
This approach enabled both the utility and the medical facility to focus on resolving the underlying issue based on facts rather than speculation.
