So what comes next after the quick wins of electrical energy saving such as lighting, heating and installing variable speed inverter drives?  The answer may be using an Industrial Ethernet energy protocol.

The importance of energy management has increased steadily, firstly as a result of fuel  costs, then a growing awareness of global warming and Government carbon targets, and most recently the subject of winter blackouts is back on the UK power agenda.  Not only is a reduction in energy consumption is good for the environment, it affects productivity and the bottom line.

There is a growing need to monitor power consumption: if you do not know where you are using it, it makes it hard to manage it.  Fine for a new green-field site, but not so easy to integrate retrofitting energy monitoring into existing plant and systems.  Depending on the control network(s) there may be issues with compatibility and interoperability.

That has changed over the last few years with the development of real-time open Industrial Ethernet technologies such as CC-Link IE from the CC-Link Partner Associations (CLPA) and its network of European suppliers.  CC-Link IE is the only open 1Gbps technology that enables real time control of the multiple field devices connected into an industrial system.  Being open, users are not tied to using equipment from a single source, but can choose best-in-class equipment, or redeploy equipment from other systems. The CLPA includes leading automation equipment suppliers such as Mitsubishi Electric, Schneider Electric, ABB and many others

CC-Link IE includes a new energy protocol extension called CC-Link IE Energy. This allows managers to easily monitor energy consumption of individual machines or processes over the same networks they are already using for general control purposes.

Manufacturing plants include many energy consuming devices. These can be controlled with a network that incorporates the new CC-Link IE Energy protocol, which would then provide the ability to monitor all of the devices individually and in real time. This would allow optimization of each device to be achieved.

CC-Link IE Energy makes maintaining the optimum performance of a system straightforward. This is done through constant communication between all necessary controllers, devices and supervisory systems. This then makes it easy to adjust settings to adapt quickly to changes in demand, whether they are environmental factors, production issues or feedstock changes.

The CLPA automation equipment suppliers in the UK include many leading companies such as Mitsubishi Electric, Schneider Electric, ABB, Omron and many more.  Companies will be able to ensure that their use of energy is as efficient as their use of other raw materials, and that all cost and regulatory requirements can be met.

Go here for more on CC-Link Energy

Go to CC-Link Partner Association Europe