FEATURE Smart factories and AI
Feature sponsored by
Energy strategies for smart factories
Stuart Little, Business Development Manager at Powerstar, offers insight into the technologies helping businesses drive a smart agenda and meeting today’s and future’s energy needs
P
ower resilience is business- critical and standalone solution – Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) has traditionally been
suffi cient to protect vital equipment in the case of disruption to grid supply. But, as businesses balance competing priorities of security of supply with energy aff ordability and the requirement to be more sustainable, the benefi ts of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and the case for modern, fl exible energy management assets are clear. A traditional UPS loses around 10-15% capacity, with the associated emissions and energy costs, while a modern BESS can protect an entire site with signifi cantly reduced losses – some 1%. Where renewable assets form part of a site’s energy infrastructure, a BESS has a vital role, facilitating the optimum mix of grid power alongside clean energy generated on-site and stored for use when needed – ideally when grid supply is at peak price to reduce overall energy costs. Voltage optimisation (VO) is also
relevant for many sites looking to reduce their energy spend and protect vital, high-value equipment. The National Grid is legally bound to supply mains voltage at 230V +10%/-6%, or between 216V and 253V, although it is typically higher than 230V – yet most UK electrical equipment is rated at 220V. Overvoltage makes for unnecessary energy costs and emissions and, as production lines are increasingly digitised, operating at too high a voltage increases the risk of damage, potentially shortening the lifespan of equipment
30 November 2023 | Automation
and leading to unnecessary maintenance – impacting production schedules and increasing costs. Transforming the entire voltage to a site is one possible remedy, but this involves large losses and unnecessary expense. With a modern VO solution it is possible to transform only the reduced voltage, making for lower energy losses, in turn cutting costs and emissions. Many businesses will benefi t from combining modern BESS with UPS capability alongside a VO solution, and the ROI is clear: resilient power supply, better use of on-site renewables, reduced emissions, potentially extended maintenance cycles, and cost-savings on energy spend. For ever-smarter factories, with investment in complex plant, assets and manufacturing processes, the reliance on real-time data for AI-driven decision- making highlights the need for energy infrastructure that is resilient and smart, a demand that can be met with microgrid technologies. Where energy is managed through a microgrid, the ability to operate independently of the grid can ensure resilience, particularly given that it will often involve multiple energy sources managed through the BESS. This helps maximise energy effi ciency, switching between energy purchased from the grid and clean energy generated on-site and stored in the BESS. Powerstar’s smart energy management software manages multiple power fl ows, and can automatically and intelligently prioritise activities to optimise energy usage through neural-network-based AI.
This can be historical weather data used to forecast for strategic load prediction and planning in real-time. With detailed asset data, potential points of failure can be identifi ed, and improvements found – again, optimising energy effi ciency. Meters, sensors and third-party commands feed data into a programmable logic controller (PLC) and through to a local computer which runs the data through the AI model, then sends commands back via the PLC to the actuators. As smart factories become more sophisticated, a microgrid really comes into its own, since the more technology and assets connected to the control system, the faster it monitors and the more it learns, continually improving asset management and energy effi ciency. Crucially, for businesses which may have already invested in energy management assets such as BESS or VO, smart energy management software controlling a microgrid can be adapted and expanded over time to bring new technologies on-stream, evolving as the energy management infrastructure changes and grows. There are several options when looking at energy infrastructure and asset planning. Ideally, for both short- and longer-term energy management, existing infrastructure should be able to be incorporated into, or evolve as, a smart microgrid. Where companies are looking to future needs, to harness developments in AI and smart factory management, a microgrid may well be a natural and effi cient next step.
automationmagazine.co.uk
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