Industrial tech parks rely on a mix of IT servers, workstations, laboratories, HVAC systems and critical infrastructure protected by commercial UPS systems. These environments are energy‑intensive by design, and while overall energy usage may appear reasonable, hidden power quality issues can quietly increase utility costs, strain equipment and disrupt daily operations.
Our Senior Engineer at AMETEK Power Instruments dove deeper into this phenomenon and discovered that combining revenue‑grade energy metering with advanced power quality monitoring reveals issues that traditional meters simply cannot see.
Our expert installed JEMStar II revenue meters at key incoming feeds at a multi‑tenant industrial tech park and found that continuous monitoring revealed common but often overlooked challenges, including poor power factor, excess reactive power, high harmonic distortion and difficult-to-detect voltage events. Without visibility into these parameters, facilities risk inefficiencies, penalties from utilities and long‑term equipment stress.
Insight #1: UPS Systems Can Degrade Power Factor at Low Load
During normal business hours, UPS systems supplying office equipment operated efficiently, with power factor close to unity. However, detailed power quality data captured by the , revealed that during off‑peak hours, reactive power increased significantly even as real power demand dropped. This is the opposite of what we would expect to happen. Standard kWh meters are not designed for continuous data logging, which is essential to understanding the true performance of the UPS systems.
Why this matters:
- Poor power factor increases apparent energy consumption
- Utilities may impose penalties or higher charges
- Power budgets based only on peak hours can be misleading
Insight #2: Harmonics Are a Constant in IT‑Heavy Loads
Another UPS system supplying server‑grade equipment appeared healthy when viewed through conventional energy data. However, JEMStar II’s harmonic analysis revealed persistently high current THD throughout the day.
Using built‑in harmonic monitoring compliant with international power quality standards, the meter identified distortion caused by:
- Server power supply unit (PSU) design
- Light‑load operating conditions
- Non‑linear electronic loads
These harmonic levels would have remained invisible using basic kWh‑only meters.
Why harmonics matter:
- Increased heating in transformers and cables
- Reduced energy efficiency
- Higher cooling demand
- Potential interference with upstream infrastructure
Insight #3: Short Power Events Can Still Disrupt Operations
Facility staff reported occasional lighting flicker and equipment resets, but the root cause was unclear until the JEMStar II’s event and waveform recording captured the disturbance.
The meter recorded a voltage dip lasting only a few cycles, yet severe enough to:
- Reduce voltage by ~60%
- Trigger a sharp increase in current
- Cause connected equipment to reset
Thanks to high‑speed RMS and waveform capture, the event could be precisely analyzed, which is something traditional meters often miss. The JEMStar II enables root-cause analysis of unpredictable, short-duration events that can impact sensitive loads.
The key takeaway from our research is that energy data alone doesn’t tell the full story. Industrial tech parks are dynamic environments where loads change by hour, tenant and application. Assumptions based on limited data often lead to missed inefficiencies and unnecessary risk. By utilizing the AMETEK Power Instruments JEMStar II High Accuracy Revenue Meter, you are gaining insight into how you can optimize performance, control costs and protect critical systems.
Read the full case study here or contact us today for more information!