Switchgear Manage energy consumption smartly with cloud solution

Related Vendors

FAULHABER Drive Systems

Wuxi InfiMotion Technology Co., Ltd.

Assistec has installed a sample system of the ABB Ability Energy and Asset Manager in the lobby of its Münster location. With this, the switchgear manufacturer shows how higher energy efficiency goes hand in hand with extended life and greatly reduced maintenance costs.

Customers of Assistec can currently experience up close what smart plant and energy management will look like tomorrow: At its location in Münster, the switchgear manufacturer has set up a sample control cabinet that shows the externally visible parts of the complete solution ABB Ability Energy and Asset Manager. With this, Assistec aims to illustrate to its customers the interplay between hardware and the cloud-based Ability platform. With this state-of-the-art cloud solution, ABB enables intelligent energy and plant management – and this is done through consistent networking of all measuring and controlling components.

The solution is intelligent insofar as it consolidates relevant data across the entire supply infrastructure into a compact real-time image of the current consumption situation and visualizes it via a dashboard. In this way, performance-related information can be analyzed across the board, so that the condition of the overall system can be recognized at a glance. Often, a simple comparison between consumption points with similar usage profiles provides direct starting points for optimization measures to increase energy efficiency.

Permanent component monitoring

The plant transparency gained through the ABB Ability Energy and Asset Manager fits perfectly with Assistec's holistic service understanding. Because the permanent component monitoring of, for example, the Tmax XT range of circuit breakers or the intelligent Inline II fuse disconnectors with ITS module paves the way for predictive maintenance concepts, in which individual condition forecasts replace blanket maintenance cycles: For a circuit breaker, for example, an inspection is generally recommended after three years - an average value without regard to the actual load on the respective component.

However, in practice, the specific usage profile and also the location of use are crucial:

• Does the switching element operate in a harsh industrial environment?

• Or is it installed in a protected location with constant temperature and humidity?

• How often were there overvoltage and short circuit trips?

A maintenance appointment at a rigid interval could potentially be too late to prevent a malfunction. On the other hand, a technician may drive many miles to the location at the specified time - only to confirm the impeccable condition of the components installed there.

When planning and implementing electrical systems and automations for factories, commercial buildings, and public facilities, we need to find intelligent and economical solutions.

Nico Torfels, ABB Stotz-Kontakt

Maintenance alarm can trigger automatically.

After its integration into the modular cloud platform ABB Ability Energy and Asset Manager, however, the circuit breaker triggers a maintenance alarm by email or SMS as needed - algorithmically based on plant-specific threshold values. Assistec customers thus save time and costs for unnecessary trips. They prevent potential causes of failure and disruption proactively and at the same time extend the lifetime of their switching components. Moreover, since construction descriptions and maintenance plans can be deposited for each component in the ABB Ability Cloud, personnel can be flexibly deployed for necessary on-site operations.

"In the planning and implementation of electrical systems and automations for factories, commercial buildings, and public facilities, we need to find intelligent and economical solutions. The ABB Ability Energy and Asset Manager combines intelligent energy management and preventive maintenance. It provides companies with the necessary insight to reduce emissions, lower energy costs, and improve safety and performance," summarizes Nico Torfels, Product Marketing Specialist for ABB Ability Solutions at ABB Stotz-Kontakt.

Our energy efficiency concepts are the key to increased competitiveness for our customers and at the same time boost energy independence.

Alexander Marx, Assistec

Make an active contribution to energy efficiency.

"With our integrative solutions, we actively contribute to energy efficiency and thus promote climate protection. Our energy efficiency concepts are the key to increased competitiveness for our customers and at the same time increase energy independence. With ABB, we have an innovative partner at our side that helps us offer our customers economical and energy-efficient solutions," explains Alexander Marx, Managing Partner at Assistec Switchgear GmbH & Co. KG. Embedded in the H. Gautzsch corporate group (mid-size electrical wholesale), the switchgear manufacturer sees itself as a service provider and "extended workbench" for customers from different industries. Since the company stocks almost all switchgear inserts, it can react highly agile to any spontaneous customer need thanks to in-house logistics.

Initiate knowledge transfer.

Through its demo installation in Münster, Assistec aims to initiate a transfer of knowledge and show customers from different industries how they can strengthen their competitiveness on the way to a fossil-free future with the ABB Ability Energy and Asset Manager. The standard with the designation DIN EN ISO 50001 describes a management system for improving specific energy use in companies. The goal is the systematic identification of energy saving potentials and the sustainable reduction of associated costs and CO₂ emissions. The standard defines the requirements for companies that want to introduce and operate a system focused on energy management in order to continuously optimize their energy usage.