An Electrical Power Monitoring System (EPMS) provides users with fine-grained, near real-time and historic visibility to their electrical system and critical infrastructure such as generators, cooling towers and uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs). It also provides tools to easily analyze, display and report on the collected data. An EPMS is often the best solution for addressing the infrastructure monitoring requirements of Master Specification 26-09-13.

In addition to monitoring the electrical system at a single location, Eaton’s EPMS for enterprise and colocation data centers can aggregate multiple facility sub-systems, including water, air, gas, steam, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), across multiple sites. This provides clarity and insight into where and when water, air, gas, electricity and steam (WAGES) are flowing through a facility, so you have the insights needed to change consumption patterns to reduce or eliminate penalty charges from utilities, and/or reduce overall demand and ultimately costs.

Specification 26-09-13 refers to a section of a design guide used by engineers in the United States for construction projects. This specific section defines the critical elements of a monitoring system focused on a facility’s electrical system. EPMS software is most commonly used to meet the minimum requirements defined by this specification. 

An EPMS is the go-to solution for a macro, facility-level view of a facility. While many monitoring systems will provide you with a granular view of all connected equipment, you’ll want to ensure your EPMS offers robust facility management features like dynamic electrical one-lines, power quality analysis tools, flexible reporting and data export capabilities, native sequence of event recorder (SER) support, and high-speed data ingestion. Recognizing most facilities are a collection of equipment and devices from numerous vendors of various vintages, you will also want to ensure your EPMS can support your needs with an extensive library of validated device drivers. 

Integrating an EPMS with a BMS provides a complete picture of a facility’s ecosystem. When used together, facility managers can accurately manage, analyze and trend building environmental systems in conjunction with all of the utilities flowing through their facility.

Eaton EPMS software provides a complete, easy-to-interpret picture of a building by monitoring the WAGES systems throughout it. Proactive alarms spot problems before they result in costly downtime while also identifying areas to improve efficiency.

Integrating an EPMS and BMS can also provide accurate consumption measurements for calculating data center power usage effectiveness (PUE), applying for utility rebates and simplifying ASHRAE and LEED compliance reporting.

But most importantly, the power monitoring and management capabilities delivered through an EPMS provide additional confidence—confidence that power systems are doing what they should, that personnel will be immediately notified of alert conditions in time to resolve them, not just react, and that problems will be diagnosed and prevented before they occur.

For today’s complex facilities, these capabilities are no longer luxuries, but necessary tools to keep your operations running effectively and efficiently.

Our standard EPMS software was designed to seamlessly integrate with our Data Center Performance Management and Distributed IT Performance Management software in a single, native application. Learn more about our standard EPMS solution. 

Our Foreseer EPMS software provides a customizable user interface and supports user-defined formulas for the most demanding data center operations. Learn more about Foreseer EPMS.

Our standard EPMS software is built on the same platform that underpins our DCPM and DITPM software. This common platform maximizes flexibility for our customers, because they can tailor the application to meet their current business needs while retaining the flexibility to easily upgrade their software in the future.

The common platform allows our customers to simply turn-on additional functionality without the hassle, complexity and cost of installing separate applications or having to setup integration points. A single platform also reduces maintenance costs and complexity, strengthens cybersecurity and ensure all systems are working from a common data source. 

Yes. Our EPMS, which is part of our Brightlayer software suite, natively integrates with our Data Center Performance Management and Distributed IT Performane Management software, enabling seamless functionality in a single, common platform. It can also be integrated with third-party software applications like battery managmenet systems (BMSs).  

Native cloud integration can provide access to expanded analytic, machine-learning and mobile device capabilities.

While both EPMS and DCIM software monitor many of the same types of equipment, the features and functionality of each offering are specialized at serving the needs of their respective target applications. EPMS software focuses on the operational technology (OT) infrastructure that support an overall building and data center – such as switchgear, generators and utilities (WAGES). DCIM focuses on the power, space, cooling and operational aspects of running a data center – specifically rack-mounted IT equipment such as servers, storage and compute.

EPMS and DCIM software both monitor generators, providing visibility and alerts to their operational status. However, EPMS software includes tools that help simplify required environmental permitting, while DCIM software correlates remaining generator runtime with associated IT application availability. Further, DCIM will monitor cooling towers as part of controlling the environmental envelop within the data center, while EPMS will monitor the cooling tower power and water consumption to validate utility costs and impact on corporate sustainability metrics.

When used together, data center and facility managers have a uniquely complete view of their entire data center operation. 

Eaton’s EPMS software for enterprise and colocation data centers is offered in 2 tiers: Essential and Advanced. Essential provides the core capabilities needed to monitor your OT; advanced adds 26-09-13 spec compliance and additional toolsets for those needing a comprehensive, full-featured EPMS solution. Additionally, add-ons are available for security cameras, custom reports and APIs to address specific needs – allowing customers to pay for additional functionality as needed.

Our software is purchased the same way our hardware is purchased – through an Eaton reseller. If you don't already have a reseller partner, you can find one in  your area by using our channel partner locator tool. 

Software entitlement pricing is based on the level (Essential or Advanced) and optional extensions purchased, and the overall size of the system. An annual maintenance contract is also required to ensure the software remains current and users are trained on the latest feature additions.

Yes, Eaton offers a complete suite of professional services for the entire lifecycle of our EPMS software for enterprise and colocation data centers. In the United States and Canada, Eaton can directly deliver a complete, turnkey installation by Eaton associates, support customers who want to execute their own deployment, or support a partner. 

Eaton’s product maintenance and support services include technical support via our online support portal, where customers can view product documentation and videos, search our knowledgebase, download software updates, and open, view and manage cases. Phone support is available from our Eaton Care team at 877-386-2273, option 2, option 9. 

All Brightlayer digital offerings are developed according to the Eaton Secure Development Lifecycle process (Certified under IEC 62443-4-1) and have been assessed in Eaton’s UL certified laboratory per UL 2900 cybersecurity standard. Through this process, our EPMS software was assessed to secure access controls and communication, and authenticity – in accordance with industry standard and best practices.

Eaton actively monitors for, addresses and communicates any vulnerabilities throughout the software’s lifecycle – from inception through deployment and maintenance. Accordingly, we strongly encourage all users to keep their software version up-to-date to ensure they have the newest EPMS features and modern cybersecurity protections.

Eaton’s EPMS is able to be deployed in environments requiring compliance to the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, NIST SP800-53, NIST SP800-82, IEC 62443, and other cybersecurity standards. All customers should register their products and sign up to receive notices on vulnerabilities from our cybersecurity team.

Eaton’s EPMS software is primarily installed on a dedicated server or virtual machine on our customer’s network. The software is connected to a database and communicates directly with equipment or devices, or via remotely located servers and/or gateways. Remote servers provide performance benefits in distributed and large installations. Gateways are often used when a devices do not natively support TCP communications. Users are able to interact with the software on their computer, tablet or mobile device via an HTML5 web browser.  

Eaton’s model library includes more than 20,000 models containing nearly 2,000 validated operational technology (OT) specific devices, ensuring our software can communicate with equipment from a wide variety of vendors and various vintages using industry-standard and proprietary communication protocols.

Typical equipment includes, but is not limited to, power quality meters, protective relays, UPSs, PDUs, switchgear, automatic transfer switches (ATSs), static switches, generators, air conditions and chillers.

Supported protocols include, but not limited to, ModbusTCP or RTU, BACnet IP, OPC, LON, SNMP, MQTT and a variety of third-party proprietary protocols.