While there are some sort of innovative developments happening every day, only a handful of them manages to shake our lives directly. One such invention that tops this list is the trailblazing technology of Internet of Things. It has ingrained deep footprints in both the consumer as well as the industrial market.
One application of IoT that has stirred industries for good is energy monitoring. While it is not an easy feat to conserve energy especially in a large industrial setup; by regularly monitoring energy consumption by machines, floor activity managers can rework their activities and operations to reduce their electricity bills and other operational expenses.
The inter-connection in devices enables managers and operators to collect data and convert it into useful information. This processed data when studied and analyzed vigilantly can help managers to make intelligent decisions to lower energy consumption and fulfill their energy needs from a more effective source. Hence, the implementation of IoT gradually adds up to efficient usage of energy and decreased utility bills.
Definitely a better alternative then carelessly wasting electricity, isn’t it?
However, there is much more of an IoT powered energy monitoring solution that along with saving electricity also helps in improving operations in a facility. Let us explore these benefits one by one in detail.
1) Daily Energy Management:
There is no denying the fact that machines consume a lot of energy and resources. In 2020, the industrial sector is projected to consume roughly 36% of the energy produced all over the world as per a report by EIA.
Evidently, a lot of this energy is wasted mainly due to machines left unattended while they are on. These habits of employees leaving machines on when not in use can translate negatively in dollar figures. These oversights and superintendence inefficiencies can come with heavy costs that can affect the revenue opportunities for your company. By using smart and connected technology of IoT, you can save a lot of electricity through an interlinked machine to machine interface and automation.
IoT systems can react to the unattended machine and detect when the machine was unnecessarily on. The daily consumption data can help you and your management to identify the electricity your factory really requires on a daily basis. Subsequently, alarms can be received whenever a machine is left on standby mode for long durations. Hence, you can control your utilities effectively and take decisions to manage your electricity needs regularly.
2) Predictive Maintenance:
It is important to put machines in standby mode for proper inspection and maintenance. While this is a generic action taken in almost every industrial setup, putting machines on standby condition does affect the productivity of the company.
Instead of scheduling maintenance of machines in advance, companies require a predictive and preventive method to repair their machines, which can not only keep machines available for more durations but also avert unwanted breakdowns and machine failures. IoT based energy monitoring gives the exact same opportunity to your company. Since more energy consumption often points towards off the line operations, more energy consumption by a machine can act as an indicator of some issues in it.
Sensors embedded on your machines and assets monitor and detect potential issues based on energy consumption before they become big problems. This will help you to protect your machines from immediate malfunctions and mitigate the time-consuming practice of scheduled maintenance. This will also boost your efforts towards just-in-time maintenance and empower you to keep your machines running.
3) Intelligent Planning and Analysis:
Now we’ll talk about the third and definitely the most beneficial application of IoT technology – the capability of data processing and analytics. The data gathered through IoT sensors contains a lot of important information and insights that a company can use to plan its future operations and processes to achieve operational excellence.
Data pertaining to energy consumption by machines when analyzed through different analytical engines and processing algorithms can be used to identify faults that affect the overall efficiency of your company. Moreover, through predictive analytics, you can also analyze your electricity consumption at a granular level and forecast your energy needs for the future based on current energy utilization patterns. Subsequently, you can use this forecast to plan your future procurement process to achieve optimum results and consume as less energy as possible.
CONCLUSION:
The technology of IoT is going to stay and by garnering its benefits, companies that are either new or are already established can optimize their energy utilization. This technology is creating smart connections within industrial setups, that allow companies to manage their energy consumption and help them to take smart actions to improve their plant efficiency.
