Low-Cost Orion WEBserver SCADA for Smaller Utilities
PUBLISHED ON Apr 06, 2011
After installing Inkscape and updating NCD, users can draw screens from scratch or adapt existing templates. These screens are then associated with outputs and inputs from an XML Slave file configured in Orion, then uploaded to Orion for viewing. No PC-based HMI software or licensing fees are required.
An Orion WEBserver SCADA system can be set up two ways: 1) Configure each Orion RTU in the substation to serve out pages to browsing PCs, or 2) Set up one Orion at the enterprise to serve out pages with data consolidated from multiple Orion RTUs. The approach used depends upon the number of substations, preferences for how data is viewed, and the types of communication to the substation.
The Orion WEBserver SCADA system typically includes the following screens: One-line diagram, breaker zoom and control, animated IED faceplates, communications diagnostics, Alarm Annunciator, Sequence of Events and Trending. The OrionLX expanded memory (1GB or 4GB) provides archival of points in a SQL database. Transfer of archived data to the enterprise is simplified through the use of standard calls and protocols.
In each of the Orion WEBserver SCADA projects to date, the NovaTech Automation Systems and Services group teamed up with a local engineering firm to get the project implemented quickly. For project details and references, please contact your NovaTech Automation representative.
The elimination of PC-based SCADA software and SCADA licensing fees, along with simpler engineering and commissioning, are enabling a growing number of smaller utilities to economically justify SCADA for the first time. This lower-cost approach to SCADA uses Scalable Vector Graphic (SVG) webpages – designed with open-source graphics package Inkscape – which are served from the OrionLX and viewed by authorized utility personnel using a standard browser.
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Example SVG screens drawn in Inkscape and integrated with XML outputs from Orion allow a wide range of SCADA HMI functions
