ETAP Reviews

EMS by etap, leader in electrical protection coordination

Comments: Short terns optimisation to improve Specific Fuel Consumption (SFC).

Pros:

It has automatic steady state generation control of voltage and frequency, load forecasting and scheduling and helps save the energy and thus the money. It is from one of the best developers of electrical software- ETAP and hence very reliable.

Cons:

Its configuration requires detailed system knowledge. Inaccurate data or metering instruments such as CT, PT, etc. may lead to errors but that is true for other such software also.

Best electrical design software

Comments: With ETAP I have designed many projects in the field of electricity

Pros:

ETAP is a very easy to use application for electrical design, the features are very understandable and the rendering is professional

Cons:

Personally I did not see any disadvantage at my level

Etap user

Pros:

Etap Arc flash capability is great! Very good

Cons:

Not very user friendly. Not very easy to use

ETAP reviews

Comments: Etap may be very beneficial for an electrical engineer, and is remarkable to new version electric systems. It lets you to finish many extraordinary varieties of studies, from load waft to arc flash, grounding, and plenty of more. Certain modules are bought separately, along with the harmonic and motor beginning modules. It can however get high-priced in case you want all of them, however simplest sporadicly. Customer assist has been quite good, they'll help you if you have technical questions about a way to version sure things, or if the library does now no longer have a particular version of breaker, for example

Pros:

Comfortable while using the software program and smooth interpretation and attractiveness of results." "It could be very beneficial & beneficial device for each electric engineer. High degree Calculations may be accomplished very precisely & with excessive degree of accuracy." "I constantly loved operating with etap due to the high-satisfactory of the software program and correct results. Plus the truth that the reviews do not appear to be from a kind creator the manner SKM looks." "Etap could be very beneficial for an electrical engineer, and is first-rate to version electric systems."

Cons:

"Various variations have mistakes that provoke new releases." " Some Problems with distinct faucet changer for parralel application. Its Hard to personalize a TCC curve." "Problems with the installation, the extrade from check model to complete model creates many problems." "It Lacks a few common products (e.g. cable library)."

12 Years of Experience with ETAP Software

Comments: Overall, I'm a happy customer with ETAP software. Good work team ETAP! :)

Pros:

There are a few things in ETAP that are actually very attractive. 1. The very attractive thing about ETAP is its user-friendly graphical interface which is very attractive with state of the art graphical symbols having both IEC and ANSI options selectable on simple clicks along with color coding according to voltage levels. This helps visually a lot in classifying one's systems based on voltage levels. 2. Help Desk support is an excellent feature with FTP support area for large file handling. 3. One click report generation with study/scenario wizards saves a lot of time for complex projects.

Cons:

There are a few things in ETAP that are actually annoying sometimes. 1. First is the dumpster. Once you delete an element, you can't simply undo to restore it from dumpster. You need to be super smart to get it back. The undo / redo should be smartly management as in many other software. It will save a lot of hassle and time. 2. Backward compatibility is also a major concern. Projects created in newer versions can't be opened in older versions at all which is required sometimes to review the work of contractors. It should have some backward compatibility, say, to 4 previous releases. 3. Static studies such as load flow, short circuit etc do not consider turbine rating to generate alerts as the same is needed in some plants where turbines are under-rated than associated generators. No documentation is also available in this regard. 4. Library updates are also not available until next version is released. Limited models are available for ASD/VFD drives for harmonic studies even for very common drives. One has to create every common model manually which takes a lot of time.

Comments for ETAP

Comments: Good but something should be improved otherwise customer would seek for other brand.

Pros:

User friendly and thus easy to use than any other power system analysis softwares.

Cons:

Grounding system study is inferior than other competitor such as XGSLab, CDEGS. Main Ground Grid analysis of ETAP is suitable only for a simple soil condition. I experienced very difficult soil condition with resistivity in the range of 800-1500 Ohm-m which ETAP cannot help and Electricity Authority disapproved analysis using ETAP. Thus we have to seek for other software to solve the problem by modeling a customized grid conductor such as using clay covering bare copper conductor and analyze touch and step voltage. Cables sizing calculation still has no capability to calculate according to IEC60287 standard which calculate from heat transfer theory. I have to purchase other software, CYMCAP, to calculate correctly. So ETAP is used for power system analysis only except cables sizing calculation and grounding system study. Another cons is ETAP support. I experienced that sometime I found problem using ETAP in analyzing GCB, I asked ETAP for technical help but unfortunately EATP ignored my request and after several follow up I got a very simple words which is not any useful. I felt very bad with ETAP support team. I hope that ETAP support would be improved.

An User Pleasant Electrical Design Key

Comments: 1) Electrical Design Validation (Switchgear/Transformer/Cable etc. Rating)
2) Protection Coordination
3) Personnel & Plant Safety thru Arc Flash

Pros:

1) Load Flow 2) Short Circuit 3) Motor Starting 4) Relay Coordination: Sequence Operation

Cons:

1) Harmonic Analysis - Result Difficult to Compare IEEE 519 2) Relay Coordination - Taking More Time to Prepare TCC 3) Not Having Feature to Change the TAG Nos. At A Time All Together (Like in Word Find/Replace) 4) Not Having Feature to Prepare Any Component Library User Friendly. 5) Not Having Feature to Change Model Component Symbols from IEC to ANSI or reverse all together at a time.

Fabulous

Comments: I have not seen or been exposed to any power systems software that can even come close to comparing to ETAP and the Enterprise Family of Solutions oriented Software.
I use Arc Flash, Transient Stability, Ground Grid, LDFL, Short Circ, STAR religiously

Pros:

I have been using this software for 30 years. I have been a ETAP Agent for 20 years. I have not seen or been exposed to any power systems software that can even come close to comparing to ETAP and the Enterprise Family of Solutions oriented Software.

Cons:

That is has taken so long to get key modules developed such as Panel and the Distance Relay. It has cost me many oppertunities in sales.

Incredibly powerful with many improvements needed.

Comments: We are solving the requirements set up by NFPA 70E and IEEE requirements to keep workers same.

Pros:

TCC, Arc Flash and short circuit studies help keep facility personnel safe and help identify where changes are needed.

Cons:

Running large study wizards needs to be able to produce the reports at the end. It is extramely troublesome to have to generate EACH report from a 200+ node compressor station where you have 20+ configurations for studies that are scheduled to run. Also printing TCC with the elements shown in the curves needs to be easier.

Powerful Software

Comments: Overall it has been positive. It would be nice to have more higher level courses in my area. It is powerful software and takes some getting use to.

Pros:

Very powerful software. I like the reports that can be generated. The star graphs are really nice and look good in reports. I like being able to set up macros, it makes running multiple test cases a lot easier.

Cons:

I do not like that I have to buy a ton of modules just to get one feature. The experience thus far has been that we buy some modules and start performing a study. The results are not what we expect just to find out we are missing one feature that is in another module that we didnt buy. There seems to be little features that are important to other studies that are hidden within other, more expensive, modules and generally we do not need the entire other module, but have to buy it because we need the one feature to complete the study. There are also some minor bugs such as not being able to have an NGR monitoring relay on a zig zag transformer. We also ran into an issue modelling a Y-Y transformer. The ETAP software does not allow for the consideration of the tank effect. These issues have work arounds but its hard to explain to a client that ETAP doesn't have this built in so we have to use a work around. I also do not like that there is no save as ability. The save a copy of the file is weird.

Very good for heavy industrial power

Comments: How power large motors on weaker power systems. Simulation of motor starting on large mobile machines. Determination of power quality impacts in the proposal stage. Performed alternate studies to verify alternate power system designs.

Pros:

The ability to dynamically model wound rotor motor starting with a time variable liquid rheostat. A good library of multifunction electronic relays. A good library of electronic motor protection relays.

Cons:

The library of basic TOC relays is not as complete as other packages. A lot of additional modules to buy and pay maintenance on. The wound rotor induction motor rheostat starting requires a chunk of calculations to get it in the form needed for ETAP. A lot of the ETAP trainers did not understand about wound rotor motor modeling and it took a while to get to the courses needed.

ETAP Software Review

Comments: While initially I started using it almost exclusively to conduct studies (such as Arc Flash, Dynamic motor start transient, harmonics etc.) I now routinely find it easier to generate a power model as part of my "design" efforts for a new project and take advantage of it to validate cable sizing, voltage drops, selecting/procuring properly coordinated protective devices and determining required AIC ratings before specifying new electrical gear.

Pros:

It is probably the most widely used power modeling software so it is easy to share with other users. All of its functions and device editors are "extremely" thorough offering an almost overwhelming number of study customization options. Overall, its use if fairly intuitive (but there is no substitute for attending a good old fashion class if you are a first time user). The online tutorials are excellent and tech support is great too.

Cons:

Like most software, ETAP does have some quirks that a user needs to learn either by peer coaching or through painful firsthand trial & error.

Good tool

Comments: Good

Pros:

Friendly environment and the help is also good

Cons:

Better and more accurate grounding calculation

Alternatives Considered: The Power Tools

Reasons for Switching to ETAP: Better price

Solid software and support

Comments: We have used ETAP successfully for Arc Flash studies, cable thermal analysis, and grounding studies. The software overall performs well in all our scenarios.

Pros:

The variability of the modules and options for running simulations are pretty extensive.

Cons:

Some of the initial modules are expensive, and in general the functionality and setup are not as intuitive as I would like.

ETAP Review

Comments: ETAP has made power system simulations faster and accurate.

Pros:

- Ease of Use - Customer Support - Regular Updates

Cons:

ETAP Real-Time Module is quite expensive.

Etap software as the key of the success in power smarting

Comments: I use it and I contribute to sell and marketing it as Etap representative in my region area in Europe

Pros:

The accuracy and the performance of the software

Cons:

The simplest form for the complex power system calculations

Necessary for success

Pros:

ETAP is a necessary tool for daily oil and gas engineering needs.

Cons:

We have no issues with this application.

ETAP Review

Comments: ETAP allows me to create and analyze conceptual system layouts easily. It has been an indispensable tool for me and my team.

Pros:

The study wizards and the ability to export results is extremely useful in analyzing and presenting results of various analyses. The program is user friendly.

Cons:

I have had issues printing one lines in later version directly from ETAP. Although our network configuration may well contribute to the problem, we have not been able to solve the issue.

Gavin Olivier's Review of ETAP

Comments: Positive

Pros:

The product is easy to use. Projects are quick to set up. Results are easy to interpret. Default values are helpful when equipment specific values are not available.

Cons:

The help function does not explain engineering concepts only how the value is required for ETAP. it would be helpful if engineering principles and concepts were explained

Progress to be done on parallel application and TCC curve

Comments: Very good sofware. Excellent support.

Pros:

Arc flash, starting and load flow studies are easy to modelized and start to get a fast result.

Cons:

1- Problem with different tap changer for parralel application 2- Hard to customize a TCC curve

ETAP for Power System Study

Comments: The software is of high impact for students' learning and project experience.

Pros:

Incorporating industry standards. This software suite is widely used in PC companies.

Cons:

It will be very helpful to have examples of "small" systems for beginners to learn the software.

GREAT TOOL FOR DOING POWER STUDIES

Comments: CLIENT'S POWER STUDIES REQUIREMENTS, ARC FLASH ANALYSES, ARC FLASH LABEL PRODUCTIONS, TIME CURRENT COORDINATION, ETC.

Pros:

FEATURES SUCH AS FAULT ANY BUS, CONTOURS FOR ARC FLASH ENERGIES, ETAP MOBILE APPLICATION, EASE OF USE.

Cons:

SOFTWARE UPDATE PROCESS THAT INVOLVES AUTHENTICATION EVERYTIME FOR EACH USER, NO ONLINE AUTOMATIC UPDATE, LIBRARY COMPONENTS LACK FEATURES SUCH AS ZONE SELECTIVE INTERLOCKING, NOT EXTENSIVE LIST OF COMPONENTS AVAILABLE WITHIN ETAP LIBRARY SUCH AS GE/ABB - AKR EGTU CONVERSION KIT, ETC.

ETAP

Pros:

The annual maintenance contract for this software is expensive.

Cons:

Each version has errors that initiate new releases.

Highly recommend for this software

Pros:

Cover all related topics for electrical issues

Cons:

No technical support in Egypt or periodic live Seminars

ETAP a well rounded software

Pros:

ETAP has numerous configurations and different ways to accomplish the same task to accommodate different user operating preferences. A establish software that meets most needs and appropriate learning curve.

Cons:

ETAP has several promising add-on modules that need to be purchased for good reason. However, an all inclusive package at least with initial testing features would be beneficial to get familiar with such features.