Low-voltage power distribution in the digital age

How connectivity and intelligence change our power supply. Power distribution, IT, and the Internet are more and more converging, and today production facilities are already automated and networked. These trends are influencing the planning and design of electrical power distribution, and also playing a key role in the digital transformation in industry, buildings, and infrastructure. Consistently integrating the underlying systems and components in automation and digitalization environments will bring key competitive advantages for the operators of buildings and industrial plants.
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Gaining competitive advantages

Unlocking the potential of digitalization

The digital transformation in industry and infrastructure is opening up enormous potential for plant and building operators. Thanks to the transparency of system data, companies can significantly boost the productivity and efficiency of their entire industrial and building operation. Within a short period of time, up to ten percent of energy costs can be saved if weaknesses in consumption can be pinpointed and corrected with simple means. Savings of as much as 30 percent can be achieved if additional energy hogs are identified, peak loads avoided, and energy efficiency is optimized in production or building operation. Such measures can also help to avoid malfunctions and downtime and ensure a reliable power supply.

Simplified engineering

A digitalized automation environment based upon a reliable power distribution provides key benefits throughout the entire lifecycle of a plant, from planning and operation to maintenance. Siemens offers intelligent tools for the easy integration of electrical power distribution into digitalization. This paves the way for data transparency with regard do system states and their power supply both in industry as well as in infrastructure.

SIMARIS tools

Integrating electrical power distribution into digitalization starts with the electrotechnical planning, long before the actual construction of switchboards, distribution systems, or an industrial control cabinet. Software-based planning tools and engineering systems, such as the SIMARIS software tools, support efficient planning in industry as well as in infrastructure.

CAx data

Product data for automation technology and low-voltage switching technology such as macros for e-engineering systems, 3D models, and device circuit diagrams enable efficient engineering of industrial control cabinets based on digital twins. For electrical planning engineers, this reduces the costs for planning, configuration, design, documentation, ordering, and commissioning by as much as 80 percent.

TIA Portal

The interaction of electrification and automation components can be simulated and virtually tested in the TIA Portal. Thanks to the integration of all important components of your automation project in a uniform engineering framework, the engineering platform makes it possible to reduce the time to market and increase the productivity of your plant. This benefits system integrators, switchgear manufacturers, and plant operators. 

Building Information Modeling (BIM)

Building Information Modeling (BIM) has established itself as a new planning standard for buildings and in infrastructure. BIM data, for example, offers major advantages in the planning process, making it possible to avoid errors in the real world right from the start. The approach is simple: BIM is used to create a complete digital twin of the building with all the disciplines before the actual construction. Studies show that BIM results in 40 percent fewer change orders as well as significant cost savings in operation.

Devices and diagnostic station

Connection via communication-capable devices and diagnostic station

In smart buildings and Industrie 4.0 environments, communication-capable protection, switching, and measuring devices from the SENTRON portfolio, the SIMOCODE pro motor management system, as well as the SIMARIS control diagnostics station of the SIVACON S8 low-voltage switchboard, enable an optimally designed power distribution. Via standardized interfaces and protocols such as Profinet, Profibus, and Modbus, all the systems and components in the communication network work together intelligently. Electrical power distribution can thus be optimally tailored to automated operating processes, machine processes, and process workflows, ensuring a consistently reliable and flexible power supply.

Important data providers

As an integral component of industrial and building automation, communication-capable circuit breakers, measuring devices, and motor management systems record energy-relevant data such as performance, energy, voltage, and power quality. This makes them some of the most important data providers in the Internet of Things, and they create the transparency necessary for digitalization. Depending on the application, it is worthwhile to integrate the collected data in the low-voltage main distribution board via SIMARIS control or in the industrial automation via SIMATIC S7. For this the engineering is handled in the TIA Portal.

SIMARIS control diagnostics station

As a permanent diagnostics station of the SIVACON S8 low-voltage switchgear, SIMARIS control enables a uniform control of the power distribution in the infrastructure. In addition, the diagnostics station provides a synthetic view of the power supply to higher-level automation and energy management systems as well as cloud-based analysis systems. In this way, you can use energy-relevant data to create a digital image of the power distribution.

Power distribution in the TIA Portal

The integration of communication-capable protection and measuring devices as well as motor management systems into the Totally Integrated Automation (TIA) Portal makes electrification an integral part of industrial automation. All components can be configured, virtually simulated, tested, and commissioned directly in the TIA Portal. 

Connection to MindSphere

Cloud-based analysis systems

The systematic recording and analysis of energy consumption is the most important requirement for greater energy efficiency and reliability. Integrated in open IoT operating systems such as MindSphere, this optimization potential can be increased even further: Huge volumes of data from countless devices can be quickly and efficiently recorded and analyzed in real time.

Fail-safe power supply

Values for electricity, voltage, and energy can be used, for example, for detailed analyses and systematic management of processes in production and building automation. Malfunctions in technical systems are identified at an early stage, failures are avoided in advance, and operation is made more energy efficient as a whole. Companies benefit from increased production, the more efficient use of their facilities, and an overall increase in competitiveness.

Future-oriented integration in cloud-based analysis systems

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Portfolio

Overview of our components and systems

Here you can receive additional information about the components and systems that implement the technical integration of electrical power distribution in smart buildings and Industrie 4.0 environments.

3WL air circuit breakers

Every power supply depends upon a reliable infeed of electricity. The 3WL air circuit breakers reliably protect electrical installations against damage or fire as a result of short circuits, ground faults, or overload faults.

3VA molded case circuit breakers

Well-conceived, modular, and variable – the communications-capable 3VA molded case circuit breakers.

7KM PAC measuring devices

The 7KM PAC measuring devices communicate via standard bus systems and record as many as 200 measured values – from the infeed and outgoing feeders to the individual load with a clear allocation of energy consumption to individual cost centers.

SIMOCODE pro

Manages constant-speed, low-voltage motors and offers comprehensive protection, monitoring, and control functions. Enjoy the benefits of detailed operating, service, and diagnostics data – including for the fail-safe disconnection of motors. With the OPC UA communication from SIMOCODE pro, this data is available in cloud-based solutions such as Siemens MindSphere.

SIMARIS control

The SIMARIS control diagnostic station from the SIVACON S8plus feature package can be used to uniformly configure, operate, and monitor all communication-capable switching devices. The connection to energy management, automation and cloud-based analysis systems such as MindSphere from Siemens plays a role in the reliable, future-oriented operation.

References

Optimal energy management

Rexel Austria GmbH
Weißkirchen
Austria

The only carbon-neutral logistics center in the country

  • Up to 15 percent electricity savings

  • CO2 emissions reduction of up to 60 tons

  • New business model with power monitoring and MindSphere

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Sello
Espoo
Finland

Sustainable shopping center

  • Intelligent energy monitoring of lighting, heating, and ventilation in a shopping center with 170 shops and approximately 24 million visitors each year

  • Savings of 680 MWh in electricity and 800 MWh in district heating thanks to cloud-based energy management from Siemens

  • Savings of €93,000 in energy and heating costs compared to the previous year

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Gestamp Automoción
Madrid
Spain

Saving energy with big data

  • Cloud-based energy efficiency platform for real-time analyses and forecast

  • Automated data evaluation of 40 million data points per hour from 14 sites

  • Result: 15 percent less CO2 emission

Learn more

Information download

Would you like to integrate your components and systems into the Internet of Things and take advantage of these benefits?

Download brochure