Consistent digitalization creates new opportunities and potentials for efficiency enhancement. That starts right at the planning, configuration, and calculation stage, and continues seamlessly throughout the engineering process.  

The consistent SIMARIS tool landscape offers electrical design engineers everything they need for their grid calculations, mechanical and electrical dimensioning, and even commercial calculations.

For industrial applications the new Control Panel Design in the TIA Selection Tool supports the digital electrical planning of control cabinets close to machines.

That makes it possible to design the power distribution system faster and with more specific focus than ever before, in addition to ensuring fail-safe design, configuration, and calculation, seamlessly incorporating it in automation and IoT systems, and, of course, documenting it all in accordance with the standards.

Siemens also assists the design process with extensive data packages for electrical engineering systems, for BIM (Building Information Modeling), and a wide range of further documentation. The data adds up to create a digital representation of the entire power distribution system – a digital twin that forms a consistent base for all subsequent stages of the job.

Operators can use to create an individual protection concept for their power distribution system, and the outlay for designers, plant constructors, and installers will be reduced by up to 80 percent. That amounts to a huge time and cost saving, which ultimately benefits the owners and operators.

Alternatively, operators of complex applications can reduce their planning effort still further by taking advantage of the benefits of a complete, integrated, modular solution: The SIVACON S8^plus switchgear is a winner thanks to the smart features that ensure reliable, future-proof, and cost-effective operation.

Further components and solutions for planning and engineering:

A power distribution system that is consistently planned with the digital twin also impresses with the huge gain in efficiency thanks to considerable time savings during parameterization and commissioning.

For larger and more complex projects involving multiple components, user-friendly and freely available apps such as SENTRON powerconfig and BusbarCheck App will deliver results with impressive speed.

During commissioning all devices with a communication interface are parameterized by transferring data that have been preconfigured with the help of the digital twin.

Whereas even a fast setup process used to take several days, it can now be completed within just a few hours. That reduces costs and means buildings and plants can be ready for operation much faster than before.

Further components and solutions for parameterization and commissioning:

A digitally supported power distribution system continuously generates data that’s used to monitor, analyze, and optimize the system. That enables energy savings of up to 30 percent.

The fully pre-programmed plug-and-operate 7KN Powercenter 3000 IoT data platform processes these data and quickly and accurately gives the operator access to all information needed to optimally control and optimize the power distribution system. In connection with cloud platforms such as MindSphere and the MindSphere app SENTRON powermind, professional status monitoring and energy monitoring entirely regardless of time or location becomes possible – at minimum investment and operating cost, which even small and medium-sized businesses will find affordable.

SENTRON powermanager provides operators with an overview of all the potentials for optimization and savings, even including a comparison between multiple locations around the world. Energy guzzlers and system faults be identified quickly and confidently, and all the requirements for a complete corporate energy management system in accordance with ISO 50001 are met. The reporting function even makes it possible to generate standards-compliant energy reports at the push of a button.  

Even maintenance management can be refined to a considerable degree in a digitally supported power distribution system. Communications-capable circuit breakers provide a continuous flow of information about their condition. There’s no need for continuous on-site inspection, the remaining service life can be estimated accurately, and all maintenance tasks can be planned and performed according to the condition of the devices – a further important contribution toward running all facilities and buildings more cost-effectively.

Further low-voltage components and solutions for operation and optimization: