IIoT Solutions For Energy Efficiency & Sustainability
One of the most vigorously debated topics in the industry is how to combat climate change. While some believe it is all a fad, others have given evidence of the same and rallied everyone around them to become a Pro-Climate Change participant.
Alongside the debate, there are measures put in place to identify the impact humans and their actions have on the environment. Among all the things implemented to combat the effects of climate change, technology has an important role to play.
With technology, we have delivered motion-sensitive bulbs, smart grids, solar energy, and so on. Through the course of the implementation of these technologies, do we have enough to create a sustainable environment and live in an energy-efficient system? Let’s find out how the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) can contribute to building energy efficiency and achieving sustainability.
The World in the Pre-IoT Era
The Internet of Things represents a system of interconnected devices. These devices either work together or work separately to achieve a goal, but they are connected via one or the other factor. Today we have smartphones, laptops, smart devices, sensors, and whatnot.
These devices are somehow reading something about us or our surroundings, feeding it to a central server, which provides us with recommendations or suggestions on how to move forward. We have help today that is provided by technology.
But what about the systems before all the connected devices took hold? What about the pre-IoT era? How were things done at that time? And were they efficient enough?
In the pre-IoT era, energy management systems worked differently. The engineers were only able to collect and record data at an interval. It was enough to get a reading of the energy consumption. But when the task was to identify the energy surges, and spikes, and curate the usage patterns, they came short.
Also, the samples collected with several tests, including the likes of motor load tests, took hours to generate. Even after that, this data was not available in real-time.
This was a time when analog systems were used, the energy meters had revolving numbers instead of a digital system, and a lot of other things were “traditional.” We were using numerical calculation devices; the telephones were stationary and could not be used to view or record data.
The advent of modern technology was done to improve how we function. For instance, the birth of IoT is credited to the time when students of Carnegie Mellon University wanted to save the to and fro trips to the soda machine just to check how many are sodas left. They created a system using the internet, micro switches, and indicator lights to get this information without making trips. From then till now, we have come a long way, and IoT has become a way of life.
How can IIoT Help with Energy Efficiency?
Energy efficiency essentially means using less energy to complete the same task. In simple terms, it means to save energy. And IIoT is our best bet today to save energy.
While we have smart tools and equipment today that consume less energy, to begin with. But with IIoT in the picture, it’s a mechanism set on another level. Because with IIoT systems implemented in a factory, commercial building, etc., we can tap into the direct energy savings reservoir.
IIoT provides us with real-time monitoring and reporting, which gives way to take quick and effective decisions followed by credible actions.
Besides monitoring and reporting, IIoT can also help with exactly identifying the amount of energy consumed. With the help of sensors and actuators, we can find the exact source which is consuming more energy than usual and not only this, we can then find the cause of the additional energy usage.
Here are three types of systems that can help with energy efficiency:
Smart Grids:
Smart Grids help conserve energy by implementing techniques to improve the amount of intermittent renewable energy generation. It further helps with increasing the capacity of grid-connected clean energy generation, and saving energy in the power system.
Ultimately, we are looking at a system that can help improve the utilization of the power system. It can help the consumers use energy in the off-peak periods. Moreover, in commercial settings, smart grids can help implement a system whereby some equipment can automatically switch off during the peak periods to ensure that other critical equipment are always powered.
All these systems are quite intricate and how they function depends on the requirements.
Smart Metering:
Energy management systems can further benefit via smart metering as they help track the energy consumption of each device. This will reveal the device usage trends and peak times, along with forecasting the demand for electricity. The energy suppliers can also have access to this data and adjust the supply accordingly to suit the customer’s needs and ensure that they are always using optimal energy. Ultimately this will lead to efficient energy consumption, distribution and pricing.
Smart HVAC Systems:
All the heating, ventilation, and cooling systems in a residential and commercial space consume a lot of energy. Saving the energy here can bring about a sea change, and IIoT is the way to go here. With IoT-enabled systems, it becomes easier to regulate and monitor energy consumption, that too, in real-time.
A smart system provides first-hand information on keeping an eye on the temperature, humidity, and lighting to adjust the supply accordingly. Furthermore, with IIoT systems, you can also track issues and find their root cause to save on energy consumption.
How can IIoT Improve Sustainability?
Sustainability and energy efficiency are two overlapping areas. Both of them have similar goals and aim to help companies establish an optimized energy consumption plan. With IIoT supporting sustainability efforts, companies can build a system that sends real-time data on energy consumption to a data center.
With effective analysis, companies can monitor individual devices for their energy consumption. With the help of artificial intelligence systems, this data can be turned into actionable insights and recommendations.
On the basis of data obtained via this exercise, companies can build smart strategies. They can use the given data to plan maintenance activities and avoid going into a shutdown because of sudden energy surges impacting the machine’s performance.
IIoT supports sustainability efforts by giving complete and real-time data plus information to the data centers. This data is pivotal for facility managers, and they can use the same to identify the target areas, equipment, and machines to retrofit them and help improve energy usage.
Cost Cutting:
IIoT-enabled energy management systems time consumption by the machines and inefficient usage can be checked. As a result, companies can avoid the common bottlenecks that can unnecessarily increase costs and delay the production process.
Extending Machine’s Lifetime Value:
The machinery and equipment factories employ does not come cheap. Hence, it is essential to implement a system that helps in extending the machine’s lifetime value and reduces downtime.
IIoT-enabled systems can help detect flaws in the machine and help avoid sudden failures. As you will always be aware of the machine’s health and workings, you can set up pre-mediated health checkups and forecast when maintenance is needed.
But How Does This Help with Creating a Better Environment?
In the sections above, we have talked about implementing smart grids, smart metering, smart HVACs, predictive maintenance, etc. But the critical point is to identify how with all these systems, we can build a sustainable environment.
One of the sustainability goals set by UNESCO is to create avenues for Affordable and Clean Energy. It also roots for building Sustainable Cities and Communities followed by Responsible Consumption and Production.
We can take one step closer to achieving all these goals by implementing IIoT-enabled systems, sensors, and peripherals in the commercial space. Using smart technologies, we can easily measure energy consumption and take measures to control its usage until we have achieved optimal usage.
When all the companies are using smart systems to monitor and consume energy, it can collectively impact overall energy consumption and production. This can ultimately benefit the environment and create a sustainable future.
Conclusion
Getting real-time energy consumption information and implementing smart practices to integrate IIoT peripherals in the factory is essential today. As we advance toward a future of heightened energy usage, it is pivotal to set up systems that help optimize energy usage. To run a factory in Industry 4.0, implementing IIoT solutions is crucial from an energy and cost-saving perspective.
