HARTING smart Power Networks turns power distribution into the intelligent energy network of the future – the smart grid for industry. For operators, this transition spells benefits in terms of planning, start-up and system availability.
Industry facility management is working on comprehensive concepts for buildings and facilities so as to cut operating and administration costs in the long term and secure technical availability. In addition to “green production”, the aim is to increase productivity and therefore enhance company profitability by reducing the cost of energy supply and distribution efficiency. Peak load optimization and IT-supported optimization of energy consumption are supported as part of a company-wide energy management system based on DIN EN 16001. This results in new demands in terms of the administration of industrial energy distribution.
HARTING has developed intelligent energy distributors which automatically detect the structure of the distribution network, for example, as well as measuring and recording consumption levels, thereby enabling condition monitoring of the network segment – without the need for any additional installation or programming. An industrial computer is used for visualization and collection of measurement data as well as acting as a communication interface to the Ethernet. The structure of a network in a system is detected and displayed by means of intelligent distributors. The development of consumption levels is analyzed and stored for economy measures and progression analysis.
Selective activation points can be placed at the energy distributors to avoid peaks or to save energy during production breaks or at weekends, for example. This allows saving potential detected at command level to be implemented at field level. And this is the key to increasing energy efficiency.
