Feature
As part of these efficiency and electrification trends, we are seeing massive growth in electrification across industry, data centres and mobility. What does this mean for the power grids and electrical infrastructure of today and tomorrow?
Electrification across all sectors is already creating major pressure on energy infrastructure. This will have a significant impact on power quality across electrical grids. I still remember when industrial companies began automating their production processes as part of Industry 4.0 initiatives. As manufacturing lines became increasingly automated, more sensitive electronics were introduced into production environments, which led to increasing problems with production downtime and system failures.
What kind of solutions was Janitza offering at that time to address these challenges?
With the UMG 510, for example, we introduced one of our first dedicated power quality measurement devices. Our analyses showed that phenomena such as harmonics and voltage dips were responsible for many of these failures. Using this data, we worked closely with customers and partners to develop practical solutions, and this is still very much part of our approach today.
Do you expect the importance of power quality to continue increasing in the years ahead?
Absolutely. Today, we can measure electrical phenomena in far greater detail and identify disturbances much more precisely than in the past. Certain network events can now be captured by Janitza measurement devices with time resolutions in the microsecond range. This level of precision is increasingly important in environments such as AI-driven data centres, where systems are highly sensitive to power quality disturbances. Operators are already using live energy data to actively manage these facilities.
Does this mean that energy management and power quality are increasingly becoming about managing high-resolution data?
Absolutely. Today, very different types of energy sources and loads must interact within the same electrical infrastructure, from photovoltaic systems, wind power and backup generators to EV charging infrastructure, data centres and heat pumps. In addition, we are seeing large-scale battery storage systems being integrated into the grid. All these energy flows must be managed intelligently, both from a load management perspective and in terms of maintaining power quality. Measurement data is now being used directly to dynamically control energy systems, with energy management increasingly becoming a data business.
As energy management becomes increasingly data-driven, what role do you expect artificial intelligence to play in the coming years?
AI will continue to improve and will play a central role in managing increasingly complex energy systems. We also see strong potential for AI within our own grid visualisation software, GridVis®
. I believe AI will
significantly change the way load management works in the future. At the same time, precise measurement technology will remain essential, because AI can only work effectively when it has access to reliable data.
Recent years have shown how sensitive energy markets
and energy infrastructure are to
geopolitical developments. Against this backdrop, how important is energy efficiency today?
Efficient use of energy is absolutely critical in this context. One issue in particular stands out for me: improving energy efficiency reduces dependence on energy imports. Every kilowatt-hour saved matters. The more self-sufficient we become through renewable energy and the less dependent we are on oil and gas imports, the more resilient our economies and infrastructures will become. Ultimately, this benefits everyone.
Continued on Page 28... fmuk 27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
