One of the objectives of Industry 4.0 is that of greater energy efficiency of production processes and machines
The period of economic crisis that is affecting Western economies is favoring the emergence of a new model of economic development, no longer oriented towards cost efficiency but towards achieving high quality standards. This depends on the evolution of consumer behavior, increasingly oriented to replacing the demand for goods with the demand for meanings. Among these, that of sustainability seems to be particularly important. A recent phenomenon, but already acknowledged by the most attentive companies, which consider respect for the environment no longer a cost to be borne by virtue of regulations and laws, but a real element of competitiveness in which to invest in research and to be presented on the markets through marketing strategies.
If we do not want to compete on the cost front but on that of quality, sustainability must also enter into economic development policies. This is why the European Union is promoting the transition to a circular economy, as already demonstrated some time ago by the “The Missing Link” Communication from the European Commission.
Possible interventions
On the other hand, estimates from the CIA World Factbook state that about 27% of the electricity generated in the world is absorbed by industry. Of this, 15% is wasted due to inefficiencies in production plants. Appropriate interventions to optimize the plants themselves could therefore translate into enormous savings for individual companies and for the global resources of the planet.
Today, energy efficiency has become a strategic factor for companies, which must face increasingly higher costs and compliance with increasingly stringent environmental standards. To this end, automation can help optimize the entire production process by controlling and reducing consumption, with beneficial effects on production costs.
Two ways, in particular, make it possible to improve energy saving: investing in highly efficient systems and equipment and meeting energy needs with their own sources, possibly renewable.
The use of high energy efficiency equipment, such as IE4 electric motors and electronic frequency inverters, allows to solve part of the underlying problem, i.e. reducing the energy requirement. At the same time, the use of energy management software allows optimal management of the energy demand of the production site.
On the other hand, component-level efficiency is only a first step: more energy-efficient components are now a prerequisite, not the solution. On the contrary, the required efficiency levels must involve in an unprecedented way the system dynamics between the different segments, the different platforms and the different suppliers.
Design is the first fundamental step for any action to contain consumption, but it is necessary to intervene in all the various phases of the development of the project – initial conception, choice of components, project implementation, commissioning and operation – having clear the objectives of energy efficiency. And it is essential to choose components that have a reduced consumption.
Integrated systems
In particular, to be able to ensure maximum energy efficiency, it is essential that the control, automation and supervision system be extended to all plants and machines in the factory, to create a highly integrated set such as to allow the exchange of information between various components. Fieldbus and industrial network technologies make it possible to achieve this in every industrial sector, including utilities.
Audit interventions in manufacturing and process companies show that capacity limitations, efficiency losses due to non-integrated design and non-compliance with standards are some of the factors that most hinder energy efficiency plans.
Methods such as ‘Six Sigma’, which collects and makes available production data in real time, can be the first step for an effective analysis of operations and for process improvement.
In general, it is advisable to tackle each project starting first from the elements that may present the greatest demand from an energy point of view, therefore for example the motors and handling devices in an industrial machinery and highly ‘energy-intensive’ processes (such as welding, melting, cooking , etc.). Using tools that can simultaneously carry out measurements and control actions, such as PACs (Programmable Automation Controllers), it is possible to simultaneously obtain both the management of the machinery / plant / process, and the continuous and real-time estimation and evaluation of consumption / savings, an important factor to demonstrate the actual result achieved.
Automation solution providers can generally recommend the necessary actions to make energy savings more effective. They usually also have dedicated software tools which, in addition to highlighting the net improvement in the efficiency of the production site, allow you to choose the most suitable product for each situation and estimate the time required to recover the investment in the product itself.
Green Engineering
Ecodirective 2009/125/EC states: “The ecological design of products is an essential factor in the Community strategy on integrated product policy. As a preventive approach aimed at optimizing the environmental performance of products while preserving their qualities of use, it presents new and effective opportunities for the manufacturer, the consumer and society as a whole “.
‘Green Engineering’ refers precisely to the use of measurement and control techniques aimed at developing products, technologies and processes capable of offering environmental and technological benefits.
Green Engineering applications cover almost all sectors, because any product or production process has an impact on the environment. They therefore range from environmental monitoring, to the retrofit of old generation production plants and machines with more efficient measurement and control systems, etc. While there are many ways to group such a wide range of applications, most of them fall into the following five categories: renewable energy generation, energy quality, environmental monitoring, optimization of existing machines and automation systems, and development and testing. of environmentally friendly products and technologies.
Presenting his solar-powered plane project, Bertrand Piccard said: ‘Madness is not making an airplane capable of flying day and night without consuming a drop of kerosene, but continuing to think that our civilization can survive by consuming a million tons of oil every hour, destroying the planet ‘. This is the starting point of all Green Engineering projects: we can no longer afford to waste resources, both for energy saving, eco-compatibility, and market competitiveness needs. Industrial automation can play a key role in this new scenario, but it must do so in all phases of the process that must be rethought in these new terms: in the design of components, in the commissioning phase and in the production phase of the goods.
Industry 4.0 Green energy Sustainability Energy efficiency