Why PAN-42?
PAN-42 is Panoramic Power's 3-phase power meter - designed for circuits where current-only sensors don't give you enough detail to act on.
Written by Shir Goldstein
Updated at June 2nd, 2026
Table of Contents
What Is PAN-42?
PAN-42 is a 3-phase power meter from Panoramic Power. Where standard Panoramic Power sensors (PAN-10, PAN-12, PAN-14) measure current at the conductor, PAN-42 is a full meter - it measures voltage, current, active power, reactive power, power factor, and energy directly per phase, and reports its own internal energy counter.
In a PowerRadar deployment, you can mix PAN-42 meters and standard sensors on the same site. PAN-42 meters appear in the device tree with a PAN 42 tag, and they unlock dedicated measurement types in TimeView that are not available on standard sensors.
What PAN-42 Measures
For each phase (R, S, T - or L1, L2, L3 depending on your site configuration), PAN-42 measures and reports:
- Voltage - true-RMS voltage per phase, in volts.
- Current - true-RMS current per phase, in amperes.
- Active power - the real power doing useful work, in watts.
- Reactive power - the power exchanged with reactive components (motors, capacitors, transformers), in VAR.
- Apparent power - the total power drawn, in VA.
- Power factor - the ratio of active to apparent power, between 0 and 1. The meter also tracks whether the load is inductive or capacitive.
- Cumulative active energy - the meter's internal energy counter, in watt-hours. This is the most precise meter-grade reading available and the value displayed in TimeView.
- Total harmonic distortion (THD) for voltage and current.
- Sag and swell event flags per phase.
For the device as a whole, PAN-42 also reports line frequency, in hertz.
PAN-42 vs Standard Panoramic Power Sensors
Standard Panoramic Power sensors are CT (current transformer) clips that measure current only. Voltage and power factor on those sensors come from how the panel was configured when the sensor was installed - they aren't measured at the conductor. Energy on a standard sensor is then calculated on the bridge as current × configured voltage × configured power factor × time.
PAN-42 measures everything directly at the meter and reports it per phase.
| Measurement | Standard Sensors (PAN-10/12/14) | PAN-42 |
|---|---|---|
| Current | Measured | Measured |
| Voltage | From panel configuration | Measured |
| Power factor | From panel configuration | Measured |
| Active power | Calculated | Measured |
| Active energy | Calculated from configured V and PF | Measured (internal counter) |
| Reactive power | Not available | Measured |
| Apparent power | Not available | Measured |
| Frequency | Not available | Measured |
| Consumed active energy counter | Not available | Measured |
| THD, sag/swell events | Not available | Measured |
The precision difference, in plain terms: a standard sensor is accurate as long as the panel's actual voltage and the load's actual power factor stay close to what was configured at install time. PAN-42 keeps measuring those values continuously - so the readings track what the load and the panel are actually doing, not what they were assumed to do at setup.
When to Choose PAN-42
PAN-42 is the right choice when:
- Billing or sub-metering depends on meter-grade accuracy.
- Power-quality analysis is part of the use case — power factor monitoring, reactive power tracking, voltage stability, frequency stability.
- Energy attribution across tenants, departments, or processes calls for the most precise reading available.
- Voltage data is part of the analysis (sags, swells, drift).
Standard PAN-10/12/14 sensors remain the right choice when:
- Current and approximate active power are enough for the use case.
- Cost or installation footprint favor a smaller current-only sensor.
- The circuit being monitored doesn't need power-quality analysis.
You can mix PAN-42 meters and standard sensors at the same site - PowerRadar adapts the available measurement types per device.
PAN-42 in PowerRadar
PAN-42-specific measurement types show up in three places:
TimeView Pro charting. The measurement-type dropdown always shows Voltage and Frequency - but selecting either of those on a non-PAN-42 device returns no data. PAN-42 is the only sensor type that populates them.
When you select a PAN-42 device, the dropdown also adds a Power add-ons sub-group under Power - exclusive to PAN-42 and not shown for other sensor types:
- Apparent power (kVA) - computed from active and reactive power.
- Power factor (PF)
- Reactive power (kVAr)
For Energy, PAN-42 devices chart the meter's own cumulative active energy counter (Consumed Active Energy) rather than a calculated estimate.
Select a measurement type from the dropdown and use the date range picker to set your window - the chart updates automatically.
Auto-Export. The Pan-42 Measurements export type pulls PAN-42 readings on a schedule and delivers them as CSV or JSON to a destination you control. The export includes voltage, current, active power, power factor, reactive power, energy, and the cumulative active energy counter per phase. See Export Jobs: Pan-42 Measurements Interface for the full configuration walkthrough.
Device tree. PAN-42 devices are tagged PAN 42 in the sidebar tree. The tag is visible when sensor info is enabled for your account. If you don't see the tag, the rest of the PAN-42 behavior still applies - only the visual cue is hidden.
What's Next for PAN-42
PAN-42 firmware reports more than what PowerRadar currently displays. Additional power quality fields are planned for both TimeView and Auto-Export in future releases - so the data you see in the product and the data you pull through the export will stay in sync.