Description
Overview of Substation Common Measurement and Control Panel
- The common measurement and control panel, also defined as the professional IEC 61850 Substation Automation Panel and core sas control panel in power systems, is the core equipment of the Substation Automation System (SAS).
- To answer what is sas panel in simple terms, the sas panel in substation / panel sas is the centralized monitoring and control cabinet specially applied to data collection, logical management and control, and status monitoring of all public equipment and busbar systems in the substation, excluding the independent protection and measurement & control units for intervals such as main transformers and power lines.
- As a key part of SAS, all operational logic and data interaction of the sas panel comply with unified substation automation technical specifications.
- Line bay controllers manage individual lines, while ANT400 general control panel centrally oversees busbars, station transformers and DC systems, uploading data to SCADA. Unlike single-bay control panels, it focuses on unified management of substation public auxiliary systems.
- With four remote functions, this SAS panel gathers field data, converts and uploads to monitoring platform, and executes remote commands. As core secondary equipment, it ensures stable and efficient substation operation.

Cabinet Composition
- The common measurement and control panel, namely the standard IEC 61850 Substation Automation Panel, is an integrated complete-set secondary cabinet composed of various special power equipment. Taking a conventional 110kV substation as an example, this core sas control panel features a clear hierarchical structure and well-defined division of responsibilities, which is the typical structural feature of mainstream panel sas products.
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Hierarchical Structure
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Core Equipment
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Main Functions
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Core Control Layer
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Common measurement and control device, communication management unit
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Data collection and calculation, communication protocol conversion, data interaction, core logic processing of sas panel
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Signal Input and Output Layer
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Transmitters, photoelectric isolation modules, control relays
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Isolation and conversion of strong and weak electrical signals, execution of switching (closing/tripping) control, signal transmission support for panel sas
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Human-Machine Interaction Layer
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Industrial touch screen, indicator lights, operation buttons
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On-site local data viewing, parameter setting and equipment commissioning, on-site man-machine interaction of sas control panel
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Power Auxiliary Layer
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Air circuit breakers, terminal blocks, lightning arresters, transfer switches
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Circuit power distribution, line connection, lightning protection and electrical safety protection, stable operation guarantee for sas panel in substation
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Core Master Control Equipment
- The common measurement and control device is the core of the entire SAS control panel
- It adopts high-performance 32-bit DSP and ARM processors with strong analog and digital signal processing capacity, laying solid hardware support for all SAS functions.
- The matched communication management unit enables unified protocol conversion and multi-brand device compatibility.
- It supports mainstream power protocols including IEC 61850 and Modbus TCP/IP, fully conforming to smart grid communication specifications.
External Signals and Auxiliary Accessories
- Analog Quantity Collection: Voltage and current transmitters convert secondary-side power signals from PTs and CTs into standard analog signals applicable to control equipment, ensuring accurate data acquisition for the sas panel in substation.
- Digital Quantity Interface: The digital input adopts a high-voltage photoelectric isolation design to resist strong on-site electromagnetic interference. High-power intermediate relays are configured for signal output to stably drive the operation of circuit breakers and disconnectors, ensuring the reliable control output of the panel sas.
Core Functions: Data Acquisition, Monitoring and Intelligent Remote Management
- Designed to meet the operational and maintenance needs of power facilities, the utility monitoring and control panel integrates end-to-end O&M management functions, covering all scenarios related to monitoring, control, and alarms.
Multi-dimensional Data Collection and Processing
- Electrical Remote Measurement Data: It collects power parameters including busbar voltage, system frequency, station service transformer current, active power and reactive power with a measurement accuracy up to Class 0.2.
- Equipment Remote Signaling Status: It monitors the real-time status of circuit breaker switching positions, disconnector states, equipment energy storage signals and device fault alarms.
- Non-electrical Environmental Data: It accesses auxiliary monitoring data such as main transformer oil temperature, SF6 gas pressure of GIS equipment, and ambient temperature and humidity in the substation, realizing full-scenario monitoring expansion for the sas panel in substation.
Intelligent Automatic Logical Control
- Remote Equipment Control: The background monitoring system issues commands to remotely complete the closing and tripping of circuit breakers and disconnectors. The built-in electrical anti-misoperation interlock logic eliminates the risk of operational errors, which is the core safety control function of the IEC 61850 Substation Automation Panel.
Fault Alarm and Event Recording
- The built-in SOE (Sequence of Events) recording function accurately records the time sequence of equipment actions and faults at the millisecond level, providing reliable data support for grid fault investigation and accident traceability, and improving the fault analysis capability of the entire sas panel in substation system.
On-site Installation, Wiring and Standardized Commissioning
- The construction quality of sas panel installation directly determines the long-term operation stability of the entire SAS automation system, and all operations must comply with standardized construction procedures for panel sas equipment.
- The public monitoring and control panel was installed and secured to the base channel steel according to the design drawings. The cabinet was reliably grounded, the busbars were tin-plated for connections, and power and signal circuits were kept separate.
- Secondary cables were connected to the terminal blocks one by one with clear wire labeling. After wiring was completed, each connection was checked and insulation tested. Once everything was confirmed to be in order, power was applied for commissioning.

Equipment Selection Key Points and Core Technical Parameters
- For new project construction and old equipment renovation, the selection of panel sas equipment shall follow the principle of practicality and adaptability, and the configuration standard ofsas control panel shall be determined according to the scale of the substation.
Selection Reference for Core Technical Parameters
- Master Control Processor: High-main-frequency ARM architecture processors are preferred for large-scale smart substations to meet the requirements of GOOSE fast tripping and multi-protocol parallel communication of the sas panel.
- Measurement Accuracy: Class 0.2 high-precision acquisition modules are prioritized for power metering and precise power flow monitoring scenarios, ensuring the measurement performance of professional IEC 61850 Substation Automation Panel.
- Communication Protocols: All newly-built smart substations shall be fully compatible with the universal IEC 61850 smart grid protocol, which is the mandatory standard for modern panel sas configuration.
- Interface Quantity: Reserve 20%–30% spare points for digital and analog interfaces to support subsequent equipment expansion and renovation of the sas control panel and matching Bay Control Unit Panel equipment.
- Event Recording: Adopt SOE recording devices with a resolution of 1ms or less to meet the requirements of grid fault analysis for sas panel in substation.
- Cabinet Protection Grade: IP54 high-protection-grade complete cabinets are selected for outdoor cabin-type, humid and dusty substations to improve the environmental adaptability of panel sas.
Environmental Adaptability and Anti-interference Requirements
- For substations in alpine, high-temperature and remote areas, wide-temperature measurement and control devices with fanless heat dissipation structures are preferred for panel sas to reduce daily on-site maintenance workload and ensure long-term stable operation of SAS system core equipment.
Product Selection Suggestions
- Select manufacturers with complete qualifications and rich industry experience. It is recommended to adopt the overall turnkey solution of relay protection systems from a single manufacturer for substations, which facilitates subsequent commissioning and ensures full data compatibility between sas control panel and Bay Control Unit Panel equipment.
- For industrial plants and small and medium-sized self-owned power stations, cost-effective qualified domestic second-tier brands can be selected, with priority given to verifying the IEC 61850 protocol conformance test report of the sas panel in substation.
Views on Common Measurement and Control Panels
- The configuration of general measurement and control panels varies by project. Some only consist of a general measurement and control unit, while others are additionally equipped with communication managers, switches and other components.
- Therefore, general measurement and control panels are not standard regular products, nor are power protection cabinets standardized products. Their internal components and functions are determined by actual project technical requirements.






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