Using PLC functionality to save energy

THERE ARE plenty of ways to save energy, but with some assets there’s a limit to how much efficiency can be squeezed out of them before you have to start compromising on uptime, productivity or profitability. Optimising devices individually can get you so far, but this can be time consuming, and relies on proprietary tools for certain assets.

At the same time, advances in sensor and monitoring technologies have provided a cost-effective way to see what is really going on in your plant, without having to manually inspect each individual device. Consequently, the modern plant is now full of data, which is extracted and transmitted at all times from across a facility, or even multiple facilities. As more devices become connected to the Internet of Things, making sense of all this data, and knowing where to look for optimisation opportunities, can be a challenge.

Bridging the gap

New developments in control technology can now help to bridge the gap between operational data and enterprise planning, bringing in all data from every asset in real-time via a PLC. Once the data is aggregated, it is then turned it into valuable information that can inform decision-making.

ABB’s zenon software is a SCADA platform that sits above the rest of the automation architecture. It takes data from all the various drives, motors, PLCs and every other data-generating device across the plant. What is innovative about this is the way it can bring everything together in one place, enabling better supervision, storage, control, data acquisition, scheduling and performance reporting. It helps to close the loop between automation and electrification by consolidating all data in one place.

With more than 300 communication protocols and drivers it is compatible with almost every type of electrical device, allowing measurement not just of critical processes, but can also combine with data on water flow, electricity usage, heating and more. It can also connect greenfield and brownfield technology, regardless of vendor, and turn it into actionable insight across machines, infrastructure and production assets, in real-time.

Holistic view

This helps to provide a more holistic view of plant operations, providing greater context for decision-making, and allowing energy saving opportunities to be identified in areas that previously would require discrete tools or device-specific software. Crucially, it requires no re-engineering of existing devices or processes, as it feeds off any data that can be transmitted from devices and combines it with additional data stored in the cloud.

ABB Ability zenon is an example of a trend of increased openness and compatibility in PLC and automation systems. Essentially it can connect all of your technology, regardless of vendor, and turn it into actionable insight across machines, infrastructure and production assets, in real-time.

Advances in sensor and monitoring technology have allowed unprecedented insight into the condition of machines and processes either on an individual level, or for fleets of similar devices. However, stitching the vast amounts of data generated into a seamless and cohesive whole has typically been a challenge, due in part to compatibility issues, and the diversity of devices and processes. The PLC continues to evolve to meet these challenges, helping to join the dots between discrete systems to not only identify new energy saving opportunities across the plant, but to put them in context.

For more information about ABB Zenon, visit: https://bit.ly/3X5AYRb

Carl Eely is product manager industrial automation at ABB

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