Listen to this articleEnergy conservation is the need of every industry. Worldwide energy consumption may grow by 40% in the next 25 years. There is a need for smart solutions that can lead to efficient energy management. Thankfully, the emergence of IoT is making it possible. Considering its applications in the facility systems, it is present everywhere! With the intensifying demand for process automation and operational efficiency in energy management, many businesses are exploring IoT.
A lot of effort goes into energy savings. Applying the Internet of Things makes work a lot easier. It saves energy consumption in the facilities up to a considerable extent.
Rising Energy Consumption Worldwide
Buildings utilize a significant portion of energy globally. According to Research and Markets, only residential buildings capture a 40% share of energy consumption. On the other hand, commercial buildings, including retail stores, shopping malls, hotels, and hospitals further take a 30% share.
The demand for data collection, processing, and communication, the energy consumption in data centers doubles every four years or the same period. If this kind of technological development continues at such a fast pace, computers will consume additional electrical energy by the year 2037 than produced worldwide as of now. The Internet of Things (IoT) offers commercial building owners the opportunity to significantly lower energy consumption and transit to a sustainable way of doing business. It paves way for potential energy savings.
A general case study
The HVAC systems and electric motors are one of the sources where the electricity usage is maximum. In most cases, operating motors are either overloaded (creating overheating) or underloaded (working at a maximum of 40% capacity). This issue creates spikes in energy consumption and costs hugely when it comes to repair and maintenance. The same applies to other electrical devices.
How can connected devices help?
There are massive opportunities for the energy management system as more and more devices will automatically influence each other. It will also lead to improved quality of the data analysis as the building will be equipped with smoke alarms, thermostats, security cameras, motion detectors, etc. It will collect information to eliminate problems they are encountering. The market for such technology will further grow to $9.3 billion by the year 2023.
The application of IoT is much-needed to ensure energy savings!
The traditional systems for energy management can collect a sample of energy consumption only at intervals. It can provide sufficient data but can’t help you with alerts if there are energy spikes, curating usage patterns, determining the seasonal demand, or suggesting appropriate configuration in energy analytics. The team has to spend innumerable time and effort with the equipment to obtain the information. The disappointing part is the collected information is not even real-time.
The application of IoT at the right time brings real-time alerts and gives facility managers the ability to predict energy demand, usage patterns, and ways to optimize energy consumption. It can address several energy sources and resources. It includes air compressors, boilers, backup generators, fuel like diesel, coal, wood, solar, and batteries.
It brings all the information available for each machine and allows the staff to act on it. The list of utilities does not just end here. Be ready to Get in-depth data. The heart of IoT lies in the data. The collection of detailed and specific data to conduct energy analytics becomes easy. By installing the IoT sensors in the building, the staff can gather the data for different variables like temperature, wind speed, humidity, etc. All this leads to energy savings as it enables the facility managers or other staff to make better decisions. It will lower the operating costs by a considerable amount.
Enable energy savings with IoT
IoT solutions have managed to make their space in almost every process. When it is about the concern of managing energy consumption, its application is a must. The IoT-enabled energy monitoring system can solve the present issues. The actual implementation of Industry 4.0 starts with it. Want to know how it solves the purpose of energy management? Let’s understand in a more detailed way:
- Better energy efficiency
With improved control over energy consumption, the facilities can significantly reduce energy waste and increase energy savings. Not only this, reducing CO2 emissions will positively impact the environment.
- Better control of cost savings
It’s true that over-exhaustion of energy in the facilities will impact the cost. If not managed on time, the consequence can turn worse. IoT solutions help in cutting the maintenance and operating expenses by technologically modernizing the systems. As a result, the manual work automatically reduces.
- Ensure better reliability of power supply
India is one of the countries that face power outages quite often. Spot power rates have increased with coal used for producing around 70% of electricity. The fuel supply is taken away from customers, including aluminum smelters and steel mills. Almost 65% of the energy gets wasted in rural states like Nagaland. A proposed solution such as IoT energy systems can smartly address these issues and allow facilities to work on their energy savings goals. They provide a more stable and reliable source of power in the facilities.
- New data sources
IoT energy devices and sensors provide real-time insights regarding how the system is performing. By collecting and processing tons of data, it becomes easy to get valuable insights and ensure energy savings. The staff can implement predictive maintenance of the equipment that is consuming high energy and not delivering the desired output.
Reduce energy consumption during the peak hours
Energy has always been an imperative resource. The price of electricity varies depending on the geographic location, time, and season of the year. Take a case. Electricity is the most expensive during the peak hours of the hot summer season as the demand for electricity on the grid is the highest. IoT comes to use in such a scenario. IoT devices reduce the building’s usage and cost of energy during peak hours. How? Let’s understand:
With the help of IoT devices like smart thermostats and lighting systems that monitor the real-time energy consumption of a building, facility managers can change the schedule of energy consumption by some of the electronics in a building to reduce demand during peak hours. That’s how cheaper, off-peak electricity prices can be used to run the extensive large devices leading to potential energy savings.
Facilities can also use IoT to participate in demand response programs. Utilities can rely on demand response programs to expand their capacity and provide financial incentives to companies wanting to limit their energy consumption during peak times.
The process becomes much more effective with the installation of smart meters that collect power-usage data for machinery and HVAC equipment. Based on the collected information, facility managers can make incremental, strategic changes in building operations, and alter energy consumption patterns appropriately during conservation times for better energy savings.
Welcome the scalable IoT energy solutions
IoT can influence choices by increasing the energy efficiency in existing buildings. Whether it’s about running multiple energy plants across the country or automating the operations to reduce unnecessary energy consumption, IoT solutions in energy management can very well fit the need.
It doesn’t matter which industry you are currently dealing in and what operations you are handling, investing in optimal energy initiates is always a great idea. In India, there is a need for more sustainable and waste-free sustainable solutions. Many facilities have already started investing in IoT solutions to ensure energy savings. Don’t step back or wait for the perfect time. Implement it now and get ready to see the change in your operations with better management of energy. Connect with Zenatix and allow us to implement energy savings as per your operational demands!