Energy Management Cuts Factory Costs

Siemens has released enhanced power management software that enables factory operators to determine the energy consumption for individual production batches and individual cost centers. The more accurately the consumption of an individual machine or process can be determined, the more efficiently is an intelligent energy management system able to function. Siemens has also developed a series of digital measuring devices for this purpose. The overall concept can lead to savings of up to 20 percent in energy and operating costs.

But it isn't only power consumption that generates costs for a company; how that electricity is distributed also is crucial. Should peak demand exceed the power limit that has been agreed on with the power utility, severe penalties must be paid. The power management software add-ons Simatic WinCC/PCS 7 powerrate not only continuously monitor electricity consumption and the power limit during production; they also generate projections and use suitable load management to avoid periods of peak demand. Continuous monitoring also means the system can identify previously unknown load peaks and provide advance warning, enabling the production control center to take preventive action.

The complete power management solution from Siemens comprises digital multifunction measuring instruments from the Sentron PAC series, further communications-capable devices, including circuit breakers and motor management systems to record electrical values, and the power management software Simatic WinCC/PCS 7 powerrate for the WinCC process visualization system and the Simatic PCS 7 process control system.

The Siemens solution can be used to combine production-related data with power-consumption data. This in turn reveals the power consumption for individual production batches, for example, which can vary depending on the material used. In this way companies can determine power consumption for individual products. In combination with the relevant meters, the power management solution can also generate a transparent picture of the consumption of other substances or sources of energy, such as natural gas, water, compressed air, and heat.