Ungrounded control of low energy analog (LEA) voltage measurements

A method for measuring low energy voltage in a high energy transmission line electrode sensor network, the method comprising:

• positioning a floating reference voltage screen between a high energy transmission line electrode and a ground plate at a distance from the high energy transmission line electrode that is shorter than a distance between the ground plate and the floating reference voltage screen;
• electrically coupling a first conductive lead to the high energy transmission line electrode and to a first input of a voltmeter connected to a controller;
• electrically coupling a second conductive lead to the floating reference voltage screen and to a second input of the voltmeter connected to the controller;
• and
• measuring a voltage drop across the high energy transmission line electrode and the floating reference voltage screen by electronics of the voltmeter connected to the controller;
• wherein the controller and the voltmeter are both disconnected from the ground plate.

A system for determining high energy transmission line electrode voltages based on a floating reference in a low energy voltage sensor network, the system comprising:

• a controller comprising a memory and an electronic processor;
• a voltmeter electrically coupled to the controller and electrically coupled to leads of a high energy transmission line electrode and a floating reference voltage screen, wherein the floating reference voltage screen is positioned closer to the high energy transmission line electrode than to a ground plate, wherein the voltmeter and the controller are disconnected from the ground plate;
• and
• an analog to digital converter for converting low energy voltage measurements of a voltage drop between the high energy transmission line electrode and the floating reference voltage screen for use by the electronic processor;
• the memory storing:
• capacitance level parameters for a capacitor formed by the high energy transmission line electrode and the floating reference voltage screen and intervening dielectric material,
• capacitance level parameters for a capacitor formed by the floating reference voltage screen and the ground plate and intervening dielectric material,
• system capacitance and resistance values for components connected in parallel with the capacitor formed by the high energy transmission line electrode and the floating reference voltage screen, and
• instructions stored in the memory that when executed by the electronic processor cause the electronic processor to:
• read a voltage level output from the analog to digital converter of the voltage drop between the high energy transmission line electrode and the floating reference voltage screen, and
• determine a voltage level for a voltage drop between the high energy transmission line electrode and the ground plate based on:
• the capacitance level parameters for the capacitor formed by the high energy transmission line electrode and the floating reference voltage screen stored in the memory,
• the capacitance level parameters for the capacitor formed by the floating reference voltage screen and the ground plate stored in the memory, and
• the system capacitance and resistance values for the components connected in parallel with the capacitor formed by the high energy transmission line electrode and the floating reference voltage screen.