SIEMENS has released an enhanced power management software which it claims allows factory operators to determine the energy consumption for individual parts of the facility.
According to Siemens, the software provides an accurate assessment of the energy consumption of individual machine and processes. This can help increase the efficiency of intelligent energy management systems.
Siemens says in addition to its software, it has also developed a series of digital measuring devices. An implementation of the technology, it claims, can lead to savings of up to 20% in energy and operating costs.
Siemens says in improving efficiency at a plant, operators need to take into account not only power consumption, but also how the electricity is distributed. Factories can incur significant penalties if peak demand exceeds the power limit that has been agreed on with the power utility.
Simatic WinCC/PCS 7 powerrate has power management software add-ons which continuously monitor electricity consumption and the power limit during production, as well as generating projections and use suitable load management to avoid periods of peak demand.
Siemens says continuous monitoring also means the system can identify previously unknown load peaks and provide advance warning, enabling the production control centre to take preventive action.
The complete power management solution from Siemens comprises digital multifunction measuring instruments from the Sentron PAC series, communications-capable devices like circuit breakers and motor management systems to record electrical values, and the power management software Simatic WinCC/PCS 7 powerrate.