First, answer the test question: «Which of the following options best describes the frequency with which you use your energy monitoring system?»
A. Almost every day. I find this system to be a useful tool that helps me get my work done efficiently.
B. At least once a week or once a month for regular reporting and troubleshooting of energy systems.
C. Only when problems arise that require detailed investigation of their causes.
D. Almost never. I don't even know if this system can be useful to me.
If you chose answer D, you are not alone. It is quite common for industrial and commercial customers to pay for energy monitoring systems, but then fail to take advantage of their potential. Common reasons for this include:
— staff reduction resulted in too few workers to worry about the quality of energy supply and control of its consumption;
— the person who knew how to use the system left the company;
— the staff was not trained well enough to use the system and use it for economic effect.
Regardless of your organization's actual situation, there are several steps you can take to revitalize your existing energy management system. Any of these steps can have a positive, but short-term, impact on energy system efficiency and associated costs. For maximum long-term results, these steps should be part of an ongoing energy management program (see EPA Energy Management Guidelines).
Many advances in energy monitoring technologies make these systems easier to maintain, cheaper to upgrade, easier to use, and more likely to provide ready-made answers rather than raw, unprocessed data. This positive factor reduces the level of experience required of operators of these systems.
You can take advantage of these advances by upgrading your systems cheaply (or for free), which will help you preserve your investment. Here are some examples.
Using network software
Are you still using an outdated client/server architecture? Then you need to move to network-based energy monitoring! Network-based systems provide secure access to the information received by these systems from any personal computer connected to the network using a standard browser program. This means that those who need this information can easily access it. For example, the accounting department can view monthly energy consumption reports without having to train employees to use special software. In addition, there is no need to purchase, install and maintain software for remote clients.
Improved Communications Infrastructure
Ethernet networks are becoming the de facto standard for industrial communications systems. ARC Advisory Group predicts that the global industrial Ethernet market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 51.4% over the next five years. Existing daisy chain systems of energy monitoring devices can be connected to Ethernet networks via industrial Ethernet gateways. Simply connect the gateway to your existing local Ethernet network, power it (some gateway models can be powered directly over the Ethernet network), and connect the daisy chain system to the serial port of the gateway. Some Ethernet gateways can also act as web servers, allowing you to view historical and new data (including trend graphs and interval values) from the daisy chain systems in real time. Other features of these systems include the ability to collect and transmit information via email and/or ftp protocols, as well as the ability to send warning messages to specified email addresses.
Updating the firmware of measuring devices
If the measuring devices you use are not too old, they may have the ability to update their firmware by downloading new versions from the Internet. To use the latest capabilities of your measuring devices, you need to download and install the latest firmware version on them. Below are examples of some of the latest technologies in the field of digital energy consumption monitoring. Contact the manufacturers of your measuring devices to find out the latest capabilities of your measuring device models (see also the section «Updating the firmware of your devices»).
Automatic notification of emergency situations
No one to monitor the warnings displayed on your computer screen? But these notifications can be sent to a pager, mobile phone, PDA or to your e-mail address. In most cases, such messages can be generated and transmitted by software for personal computers. In some cases, this can be done by network gateways or the control devices themselves, connected to Ethernet networks.
Functions for automatic report generation
With the latest energy monitoring software, reporting on energy usage, network load, power quality, etc., there is no longer a lot of work involved. You can set up and customize the report generation form and schedule the reports, and the software will automatically generate these reports and save them on the central computer for later viewing. A browser program is all that is needed to view and print these reports on network systems. Updated versions of energy monitoring software allow you to automatically send these reports to pre-defined email lists in various formats, including PDF. Examples of such use of tracking software can be shift energy consumption reports generated every night and sent to the email address of the head of the department responsible for energy management, or monthly energy cost reports sent to the email address of the accounting department.
General analysis of the received data
To supplement the tools for creating reports and analyzing the information received, it is worth considering the possibility of using additional specialized software for general analysis of the received data. Such software provides many opportunities to supplement the functions of the existing software in creating standards and determining zero levels used in managing the operation of utilities throughout a building or complex of buildings. It can also be used to analyze the parameters of the operation of utilities and perform other functions related to the creation and implementation of an integrated program for managing energy consumption.
Investments in staff training
The primary goal of formal training is to develop the skills needed to use the system and the information it provides. This is what is needed to manage the energy supply, its quality, and therefore the costs of energy consumption. Some of these skills are acquired through self-study or on-the-job training. But experience shows that managers who invest in training through dedicated workshops are better prepared to use the system and use it on a regular basis rather than occasionally.
The training program must include practical training courses in well-equipped training rooms. Training should be provided only by experienced instructors who can answer any questions. The training course should include a general but comprehensive introduction to the system, as well as specialized courses on, for example, system installation, troubleshooting, software, power quality control, energy management, and professional reporting.
Outsourcing
In cases where staff reductions and expanded responsibilities do not allow sufficient time to devote to power quality and energy monitoring, contact your system manufacturer to find out if they offer additional services. If so, the system can automatically send data over the Internet to a remote host computer, which stores the received information on secure servers. The stored data includes power quality information, energy management reports, graphs, and warning messages. Users are given passwords to log in to the system and instantly access this data via a browser.
In addition, managers receive daily e-mail reports on the system's operating status, allowing problems to be identified early without having to log into the central server.
Once the system is created, additional components can be easily connected to it, including tools for specialized cost allocation and energy billing, and for energy quality analysis by specialist engineers.
Updating the firmware of devices.To take advantage of the latest energy management features, you can download the latest firmware for your measuring equipment online. Below are examples of some of the latest technologies in digital energy monitoring.
Positioning a problem area. This feature allows you to determine with a high degree of certainty which side of the circuit the problem area is on relative to the measuring device.
Issuance of a warning message, including sending it by e-mail. This function allows you to immediately notify the operator about the occurrence of problems for their prompt resolution. It is also possible to create a task for targeted distribution of messages, thereby ensuring timely notification of the necessary employees.
Measuring voltage fluctuations. Using this function, you can measure voltage fluctuations in accordance with IEEE and IEC standards.
General report on the quality of power supply.This function allows you to combine data from various parameters into a single general index, the value of which will become a standard for the general level of energy supply quality at the point where measurements are taken.
General report. Using this function, you can create a general report on energy consumption, which will reflect trends and graphs of changes in the values of various parameters.
Measuring VVGEP consumption. Input/output points are used to collect, analyze and summarize data from other sensors and measuring devices (water, air, gas, electricity, steam consumption). The data obtained is used for analysis and general reporting, as well as for optimization of the overall energy consumption.
Jim Giordano
Marketing Specialist, Schneider Electric Power Monitoring and Control Group (USA)
Based on materials from Consulting-Specifying Engineer (Reed Business Information) |
