Energy management reporting in SCADA systems - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Energy Management Reporting

📖 Scenario: You work in a factory that uses a SCADA system to monitor energy consumption of different machines. You want to create a simple report that shows the energy usage of each machine and highlights those that consume more than a certain threshold.

🎯 Goal: Build a small program that stores energy consumption data for machines, sets a threshold for high usage, filters machines exceeding that threshold, and prints a report listing those machines.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a dictionary with machine names and their energy consumption values

Add a threshold variable to define high energy usage

Use a loop or comprehension to find machines exceeding the threshold

Print a clear report listing high energy usage machines

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Factories and plants use SCADA systems to monitor energy consumption of machines to save costs and improve efficiency.

💼 Career

DevOps and operations engineers often write scripts to analyze and report system metrics like energy usage for better resource management.

1

Create energy consumption data

Create a dictionary called energy_usage with these exact entries: 'Pump1': 120, 'Conveyor2': 85, 'Furnace3': 200, 'Compressor4': 95, 'Mixer5': 130

SCADA systems

# Create the energy_usage dictionary with the given machine names and values
# Your code here

Hint

Use curly braces to create a dictionary with the exact machine names as keys and their energy values as integers.

2

Set high usage threshold

Create a variable called high_usage_threshold and set it to 100 to define the energy consumption limit for high usage.

SCADA systems

energy_usage = {'Pump1': 120, 'Conveyor2': 85, 'Furnace3': 200, 'Compressor4': 95, 'Mixer5': 130}
# Set the high_usage_threshold variable to 100
# Your code here

Hint

Just assign the number 100 to the variable named high_usage_threshold.

3

Find machines exceeding threshold

Create a dictionary called high_usage_machines using a dictionary comprehension that includes only machines from energy_usage with values greater than high_usage_threshold.

SCADA systems

energy_usage = {'Pump1': 120, 'Conveyor2': 85, 'Furnace3': 200, 'Compressor4': 95, 'Mixer5': 130}
high_usage_threshold = 100
# Create high_usage_machines dictionary with machines having usage > high_usage_threshold
# Your code here

Hint

Use a dictionary comprehension with for machine, usage in energy_usage.items() and filter with if usage > high_usage_threshold.

4

Print high usage report

Write a print statement that outputs the string "High energy usage machines:" and then a for loop that prints each machine and its usage from high_usage_machines in the format "Machine: usage kWh".

SCADA systems

energy_usage = {'Pump1': 120, 'Conveyor2': 85, 'Furnace3': 200, 'Compressor4': 95, 'Mixer5': 130}
high_usage_threshold = 100
high_usage_machines = {machine: usage for machine, usage in energy_usage.items() if usage > high_usage_threshold}
# Print the report header and each machine with its usage
# Your code here

Hint

Print the header first, then loop over high_usage_machines.items() and print each machine and usage using an f-string.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of energy management reporting in SCADA systems?

easy

A. To track and display energy usage clearly

B. To control machine speed directly

C. To backup system configurations

D. To monitor network traffic

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand energy management reporting

   Energy management reporting focuses on tracking and showing energy use clearly to help users understand consumption.

2. Step 2: Compare options to purpose

   Options A, B, and D relate to backup, control, and network, which are not the main goals of energy reporting.

3. Final Answer:

   To track and display energy usage clearly -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Energy reporting = clear energy tracking [OK]

Hint: Energy reports show usage clearly, not control or backup [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing reporting with control functions
• Thinking reports manage network or backups
• Ignoring the focus on energy data

2. Which of the following is the correct way to specify a time range for an energy report in a SCADA system configuration?

easy

A. "time-range": 24

B. "timerange": "24hours"

C. "time_range": "last_24_hours"

D. "time range" = "day"

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify correct JSON key and value format

   The correct key uses underscore and quotes: "time_range" and the value is a string like "last_24_hours".

2. Step 2: Check syntax correctness

   Options B, C, and D have syntax errors or wrong key formats (missing quotes, wrong separators).

3. Final Answer:

   "time_range": "last_24_hours" -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Correct JSON key and string value = "time_range": "last_24_hours" [OK]

Hint: Use quotes and underscores for JSON keys and string values [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Missing quotes around keys or values
• Using spaces or dashes in keys incorrectly
• Using numbers without quotes for time ranges

3. Given this SCADA report configuration snippet:

{
  "data_source": "main_meter",
  "metrics": ["voltage", "current"],
  "time_range": "last_1_hour"
}

What data will the report show?

medium

A. Voltage and current data from the main meter for the last 24 hours

B. Voltage and current data from all meters for the last day

C. Only current data from the main meter for the last hour

D. Voltage and current data from the main meter for the last hour

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze data_source and metrics

   The data_source is "main_meter" and metrics are ["voltage", "current"], so both voltage and current from main_meter are included.

2. Step 2: Check time_range value

   The time_range is "last_1_hour", so data is from the last one hour only.

3. Final Answer:

   Voltage and current data from the main meter for the last hour -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Metrics + source + time range match Voltage and current data from the main meter for the last hour [OK]

Hint: Match metrics, source, and time range exactly [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing time ranges (1 hour vs 24 hours)
• Ignoring the specified data source
• Selecting only one metric instead of both

4. You wrote this report schedule configuration:

{
  "schedule": "daily",
  "time": 25:00
}

What is the problem with this configuration?

medium

A. The time value 25:00 is invalid; hours must be 0-23

B. The schedule key should be "frequency" instead of "schedule"

C. The time value should be a number, not a string

D. The daily schedule is not supported in SCADA systems

Solution

1. Step 1: Check time format validity

   Time values must be in 24-hour format with hours from 0 to 23. 25:00 is invalid.

2. Step 2: Verify other keys and values

   The "schedule" key is valid, and daily schedules are supported. Time should be a string with quotes.

3. Final Answer:

   The time value 25:00 is invalid; hours must be 0-23 -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Invalid hour in time = The time value 25:00 is invalid; hours must be 0-23 [OK]

Hint: Use 24-hour time with hours 0-23 only [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using hours above 23 in time
• Omitting quotes around time string
• Confusing schedule key names

5. You want to create a weekly energy report that shows total energy consumption and average power for multiple meters, but only for weekdays. Which configuration snippet correctly sets this up?

hard

A. {
"data_source": "meter1,meter2",
"metrics": "total_energy,average_power",
"time_range": "weekdays",
"schedule": "weekly"
}

B. {
"data_source": ["meter1", "meter2"],
"metrics": ["total_energy", "average_power"],
"time_range": "last_7_days",
"filter": "weekdays"
}

C. {
"data_source": ["meter1", "meter2"],
"metrics": ["total_energy", "average_power"],
"time_range": "last_7_days",
"schedule": "weekdays"
}

D. {
"data_source": ["meter1", "meter2"],
"metrics": ["total_energy", "average_power"],
"time_range": "weekdays",
"filter": "last_7_days"
}

Solution

1. Step 1: Check data_source and metrics format

   { "data_source": ["meter1", "meter2"], "metrics": ["total_energy", "average_power"], "time_range": "last_7_days", "filter": "weekdays" } correctly uses a list for multiple meters and metrics, which is the proper format.

2. Step 2: Verify time_range and filter usage

   { "data_source": ["meter1", "meter2"], "metrics": ["total_energy", "average_power"], "time_range": "last_7_days", "filter": "weekdays" } uses "last_7_days" for time_range and "filter": "weekdays" to limit data to weekdays, which matches the requirement.

3. Step 3: Confirm schedule presence

   Schedule is not mandatory here; filtering weekdays within last 7 days is sufficient.

4. Final Answer:

   { "data_source": ["meter1", "meter2"], "metrics": ["total_energy", "average_power"], "time_range": "last_7_days", "filter": "weekdays" } -> Option B

5. Quick Check:

   Lists + last_7_days + weekdays filter = { "data_source": ["meter1", "meter2"], "metrics": ["total_energy", "average_power"], "time_range": "last_7_days", "filter": "weekdays" } [OK]

Hint: Use lists for multiple meters and filter weekdays explicitly [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using comma-separated strings instead of lists
• Mixing time_range and filter values incorrectly
• Confusing schedule with filter for weekdays