Ground fault detection in ungrounded power systems

A ground fault detection device comprising:

• an electric field sensor;
• a power source;
• and
• a control system coupled to the electric field sensor and the power source, the control system comprising one or more processors and a data store coupled to the one or more processors having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
• obtaining output signals from the electric field sensor at measurement intervals, the output signals indicating respective values of a net electric field resulting from a combination of respective electric fields from two or more electrical power transmission lines that are proximate to the electric field sensor;
• detecting, based on a change in at least one of the output signals, an electrical fault in at least one of the two or more electrical power transmission lines, wherein detecting the electrical fault comprises determining that a magnitude of the at least one of the output signals is greater than a magnitude of a previous output signal;
• and
• sending, at intervals to a server system, fault characteristic data indicating one or more times at which measurements are taken that indicate the electrical fault is detected and one or more times at which measurements are taken that indicate the electrical fault has cleared.

A computer-implemented electrical fault detection method comprising:

• obtaining output signals from an electric field sensor at measurement intervals, the output signals indicating respective values of a net electric field resulting from a combination of respective electric fields from two or more electrical power transmission lines that are proximate to the electric field sensor;
• detecting, based on a change in at least one of the output signals, an electrical fault in at least one of the two or more electrical power transmission lines, wherein detecting the electrical fault comprises determining that a magnitude of the at least one of the output signals is greater than a magnitude of a previous output signal;
• and
• sending, at intervals to a server system, fault characteristic data indicating one or more times at which measurements are taken that indicate the electrical fault is detected and one or more times at which measurements are taken that indicate the electrical fault has cleared.

A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:

• obtaining output signals from an electric field sensor at measurement intervals, the output signals indicating respective values of a net electric field resulting from a combination of respective electric fields from two or more electrical power transmission lines that are proximate to the electric field sensor;
• detecting, based on a change in at least one of the output signals, an electrical fault in at least one of the two or more electrical power transmission lines, wherein detecting the electrical fault comprises determining that a magnitude of the at least one of the output signals is greater than a magnitude of a previous output signal;
• and
• sending, at intervals to a server system, fault characteristic data indicating one or more times at which measurements are taken that indicate the electrical fault is detected and one or more times at which measurements are taken that indicate the electrical fault has cleared.