AEMC PEL 113 vs. HIOKI PQ3198: Which Power Monitoring Solution Is Right for Your Application?
When engineers need to investigate electrical systems, the first question is often not simply “Which instrument is better?” but rather “What problem are we trying to solve?”
The AEMC PEL 113 Power & Energy Logger and the HIOKI PQ3198 Power Quality Analyzer are both designed for three-phase electrical measurement, but they serve very different purposes.
The PEL 113 is primarily focused on long-term power and energy logging, while the PQ3198 is designed for advanced power quality investigation and troubleshooting.
AEMC PEL 113 vs. HIOKI PQ3198 at a Glance
| Feature / Application |
AEMC PEL 113 |
HIOKI PQ3198 |
| Product Type |
Power & Energy Logger |
Power Quality Analyzer |
| Primary Purpose |
Energy logging and load studies |
Advanced power quality analysis |
| Long-Term Recording |
Excellent |
Excellent |
| Energy Consumption |
Yes |
Yes |
| Load Study |
Excellent |
Yes |
| Demand Monitoring |
Excellent |
Yes |
| Power Factor |
Yes |
Yes |
| Harmonic Analysis |
Up to 50th order |
Advanced harmonic analysis |
| Voltage Sag / Dip |
Not its primary function |
Yes |
| Voltage Swell |
Not its primary function |
Yes |
| Interruption Analysis |
Not its primary function |
Yes |
| Transient Analysis |
No dedicated advanced transient analysis |
Yes |
| Flicker Analysis |
No |
Yes |
| IEEE 519 Analysis |
Not its primary application |
Supported |
| IEC 61000-4-30 Class A |
No |
Yes |
| Supraharmonic Analysis |
No |
Up to 80 kHz |
| Best Application |
Energy audit and load monitoring |
Power quality troubleshooting |
The PEL 113 helps you understand how electrical power is being used. The PQ3198 helps you understand why the electrical system may be experiencing problems.
AEMC PEL 113: Designed for Long-Term Power and Energy Logging
The AEMC PEL 113 is a compact three-phase power and energy logger designed for applications where engineers need to understand electrical consumption over an extended period.
Typical applications include:
- Energy audits
- Load studies
- Demand monitoring
- Electrical service upgrade studies
- Power consumption analysis
- Equipment energy profiling
- Power factor monitoring
- Facility energy management
The PEL 113 provides three voltage inputs and three current inputs, making it well suited for standard three-phase electrical systems.
It can record parameters including voltage, current, active power, apparent power, reactive power, energy, power factor, Cos φ, Tan φ, THD, and harmonics up to the 50th order.
Where the PEL 113 Makes Sense
Consider a manufacturing facility planning to install a new piece of production equipment. Before upgrading the transformer or electrical service, the facility needs to know its existing peak demand, actual loading, operating profile, and available electrical capacity.
This is a classic load study application.
Install → Record → Analyze → Report
Instead of relying on a short spot measurement, engineers can evaluate the actual load profile over days, weeks, or longer periods.
HIOKI PQ3198: Designed for Advanced Power Quality Investigation
The HIOKI PQ3198 is a professional power quality analyzer designed to capture, record, and analyze electrical disturbances that may affect equipment operation.
Typical applications include:
- Power quality surveys
- Voltage sag investigation
- Voltage swell investigation
- Power interruption analysis
- Transient investigation
- Harmonic studies
- Flicker analysis
- Frequency monitoring
- Equipment troubleshooting
- Utility power quality investigations
- VFD and inverter system analysis
The PQ3198 is particularly valuable when customers report random PLC resets, unexplained VFD trips, intermittent production stoppages, or electrical issues that cannot be captured with a basic multimeter.
Power Quality Events: A Major Difference
The HIOKI PQ3198 is designed to identify and analyze events such as:
- Voltage dips
- Voltage swells
- Interruptions
- Transients
- Harmonic disturbances
- Flicker
- Frequency variations
- Inrush current
These events can cause sensitive equipment to malfunction even when average RMS voltage appears normal.
Transient Measurement: When the PQ3198 Becomes Essential
The PQ3198 can detect transient voltages up to approximately 6000 V peak, with transient measurement capability extending to approximately 700 kHz.
This makes it suitable for investigating capacitor bank switching, utility switching, motor switching, transformer energization, lightning-related disturbances, inverters, VFD systems, UPS systems, and other power electronic equipment.
Harmonic Analysis: Both Can Measure Harmonics, but Not at the Same Level
AEMC PEL 113
The PEL 113 can measure voltage and current harmonics up to the 50th order, which is useful for basic harmonic surveys, current distortion monitoring, voltage distortion monitoring, THD trending, and comparing harmonic behavior over time.
HIOKI PQ3198
The PQ3198 goes further. In addition to conventional harmonic analysis, it can evaluate high-frequency components up to 80 kHz, which is increasingly relevant in systems using VFDs, EV chargers, solar inverters, battery energy storage systems, UPS systems, and switching power supplies.
IEC 61000-4-30 Class A Measurement
Another major advantage of the HIOKI PQ3198 is its support for IEC 61000-4-30 Edition 3 Class A power quality measurement.
Class A measurement is important when results need to be repeatable, comparable, suitable for formal power quality investigations, or used in utility/customer discussions.
Long-Term Monitoring: Both Instruments Are Strong
Both instruments are suitable for long-term recording, but they collect data for different reasons.
PEL 113
- Energy consumption
- Load behavior
- Demand
- Power factor
- Equipment operating cycles
- Electrical capacity
PQ3198
- When power quality events occur
- What type of disturbance occurred
- Whether multiple electrical parameters changed simultaneously
- Whether an event corresponds with equipment failure
- How power quality changes over time
Software: DataView vs. PQ ONE
AEMC DataView®
The PEL 113 works with AEMC DataView®, allowing users to review recorded trends, energy consumption, load profiles, minimum and maximum values, power measurements, and historical data.
HIOKI PQ ONE
The PQ3198 works with HIOKI PQ ONE software, which is designed around power quality investigation and helps engineers analyze events, trend data, harmonics, electrical disturbances, recorded waveforms, and reports.
Which Instrument Should You Choose?
Choose the AEMC PEL 113 When You Need:
- Energy audits
- Load studies
- Demand monitoring
- Long-term kWh monitoring
- Electrical service upgrade studies
- Facility energy analysis
- Equipment consumption studies
- Power factor monitoring
- Basic harmonic trending
Choose the HIOKI PQ3198 When You Need:
- Power quality surveys
- Voltage sag analysis
- Voltage swell analysis
- Interruption analysis
- Transient investigation
- Flicker analysis
- Advanced harmonic studies
- IEEE 519-related harmonic analysis
- Supraharmonic investigation
- Equipment trip troubleshooting
- PLC or CNC reset investigation
- VFD or inverter troubleshooting
- Utility-level power quality investigation
Application Selection Guide
| Application |
Recommended Instrument |
| Energy Audit |
AEMC PEL 113 |
| Load Study |
AEMC PEL 113 |
| Peak Demand Monitoring |
AEMC PEL 113 |
| Long-Term Energy Monitoring |
AEMC PEL 113 |
| Electrical Service Upgrade Study |
AEMC PEL 113 |
| Equipment Energy Consumption |
AEMC PEL 113 |
| Basic THD Trending |
AEMC PEL 113 |
| Power Quality Survey |
HIOKI PQ3198 |
| Voltage Sag Investigation |
HIOKI PQ3198 |
| Voltage Swell Investigation |
HIOKI PQ3198 |
| Transient Investigation |
HIOKI PQ3198 |
| Flicker Analysis |
HIOKI PQ3198 |
| IEEE 519 Harmonic Study |
HIOKI PQ3198 |
| Supraharmonic Investigation |
HIOKI PQ3198 |
| Random PLC Reset |
HIOKI PQ3198 |
| VFD / Inverter Troubleshooting |
HIOKI PQ3198 |
| Utility Power Quality Investigation |
HIOKI PQ3198 |
Energy Monitoring or Power Quality Troubleshooting?
Do you want to know how much power is being used? Choose the AEMC PEL 113.
Do you want to know why the electrical system is experiencing a problem? Choose the HIOKI PQ3198.
Using Both Instruments as Part of a Complete Electrical Investigation
In some applications, the PEL 113 and PQ3198 can complement each other.
Stage 1 – Energy and Load Monitoring: Use the PEL 113 to identify when unusual electrical behavior occurs.
Stage 2 – Power Quality Investigation: Use the PQ3198 to determine what electrical event is occurring and investigate the root cause.
Conclusion
The AEMC PEL 113 and HIOKI PQ3198 are both powerful electrical measurement instruments, but they are designed to answer different questions.
The PEL 113 is an excellent choice for Energy Auditing + Load Studies + Demand Monitoring + Long-Term Energy Recording.
The PQ3198 is better suited for Power Quality Monitoring + Event Capture + Troubleshooting + Root Cause Analysis.
For facility managers and electrical contractors who primarily need to understand electrical consumption and loading, the PEL 113 provides a focused and practical solution. For engineers troubleshooting unexplained equipment trips, voltage disturbances, transients, harmonics, or other complex power quality issues, the PQ3198 provides the advanced diagnostic capabilities needed to investigate the problem.
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