Emerson debuts simplified power switching and control interface

by Brianna Crandall — February 29, 2016—Emerson Network Power, a business of Emerson and a global provider of critical infrastructure for information and communications technology (ICT) systems, recently debuted the ASCO 5370 Touch Display Interface, which the company says represents a paradigm shift in monitoring and controlling an automatic transfer switch and critical power system simply and reliably.

The ASCO 5370 Touch Display Interface (TDI) is engineered to facilitate management of an automatic transfer switch and critical power system, and to help increase power reliability, code compliance and operational efficiency.

ASCO 5370 Touch Display Interface

The ASCO 5370 TDI is a premium user interface for the transfer switch, providing information as it is needed in intuitive layouts.

These benefits are the end result of simplifying and summarizing volumes of raw data with unified controls and dynamically visualizing them as easily understood graphics on a single touch screen, says Emerson. For example, a single audible and visual alarm indicator, a dynamic one line of a bypass-isolation transfer switch, power metering graphic and a countdown timer clearly indicate which control action will occur and when.

“This represents a fundamental change in data presentation and control that can speed and improve decision-making and taking action during both routine and emergency power system operation,” said Mario Ibrahim, director of ASCO product development and innovation for Emerson Network Power.

The ASCO 5370 control interface also averts potentially catastrophic human error due to haste, says the company.

Eight display pages provide a wealth of finger-on-the-pulse, actionable information: Overview, Energy, Power Quality, Metering, Charts, Event Log, Notes and Setpoints.

In Overview, managers see at a glance current transfer switch system status parameters, such as which switch in a bypass-isolation enclosure is “hot,” and whether the generator is running properly. They also know what is about to happen, such as when a gen-set cool-down period ends, or how long a test procedure has yet to run.

Energy, Power Quality, Metering and Charts pages track, record and validate a facility’s energy consumption for demand response programs, whether it is produced by normal source power or on-site gen-sets. Additionally, the ability to meter and trend power quality and capacity as well as peak power demand enables managers to make timely decisions about system inspection and servicing, adding generating capacity and avoiding higher utility demand charges.

Event Logging time-stamps and stores up to 1000 events and 128-bit AES encryption secures data. The diary-like Notes page enables field sales and service technicians to record their transfer switch-related activities, communicate with each other, and provide a complete service history. Two USB ports accept flash drives for downloading a range of information, including reports, logs, notes and settings. The ASCO Touch Display Interface automatically asks which files should be copied to the drives. Downloadable events allow for sequence-of-events analysis and NFPA 110 transfer testing compliance.

Header and footer task bars include global status and alerts, settings, admin and other functions. The ASCO control interface can be integrated into an ASCO 7000 Series automatic transfer switch or bypass transfer switch and remotely in a convenient location, and can communicate with ASCO Critical Power Management and any building management system.

For more information on the ASCO 5370 Touch Display Interface (TDI), including a detailed video, visit the product page on the Emerson Network Power site.