Schneider Electric provides an insight into better energy use

As the UK progresses towards its vision for a brighter, more sustainable future, energy visibility is paramount for optimised efficiency. Despite the Government’s growing green agenda, coupled with soaring fuel costs, the consensus remains that UK businesses are still not fully embracing sustainable strategy.

 

A recent report by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) estimates that 5% of UK business profits per year may be lost through inefficient use of resources. Collectively, UK businesses could save around £23 billion each year by making simple changes to use resources more efficiently and help to protect the environment 1. 

 

Aside from the financial acumen, however, a major consideration is the Government’s green agenda. As the Government works towards its goal of reducing carbon by 50% before 2025 and reducing greenhouse gas emission by 80% before 2050, the energy landscape will change. To help meet the targets, some of the UK's biggest coal-fired plants are to be closed in the next five years and a number of old nuclear power plants are also due to close in the 2020s. The will leave a large energy-supply gap and there will be a risk of demand exceeding available power.

 

Whilst there are plans to build new power stations, it will take a number of years for the benefits to be felt. In addition, the cost behind building these power stations is massive, which will be reflected on energy bills, with growing energy prices and taxation.

 

 

Therefore, more than ever, businesses need to take up the mantle and ensure optimum energy visibility in order to manage and monitor their energy effectively. Traditionally, it has been very difficult for businesses to manage the energy performance of their power distribution system right down to field device level - but not anymore.

 

Alleviating this issue is the new Acti9 Smartlink, which is a pioneering communication system, in complement to the Acti9 final distribution board, specifically designed to help building operators gauge total insight into their energy use. 

 

This system can collect in one simple, smart device, metering, environmental and status data from devices including utility meters, temperature monitors and circuit protection devices throughout the premises. The supervisory system can then generate any reports required and transmit the data to remote locations for analysis. 

 

With real-time data coming from panels and circuits, in terms of individual loads through to large areas, users can fine-tune their electrical loads to reduce consumption, allocate costs and effectively manage their energy. They can also use the data to perform comparative calculations and show trends to identify further savings areas. Working in this way, building operators can expect to reduce their energy use by as much as 30%, whilst maintaining optimum performance.

 

 

Businesses can also benefit from numerous environmental and commercial benefits. The data collection and analysis can not only aid commercial decision making and help to reduce energy cost, but also promote carbon reductions and legislative compliance, reduce tax burden and provide information for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

 

Furthermore, this device ensures continuity of power supply and availability. Should an issue occur, operators are sent an immediate, precise warning so that the error can be rectified straightway before it progress into a substantial problem. This preventative approach assures minimal costly downtime and maintenance costs. 

 

Going beyond traditional communication systems, Smartlink also makes monitoring and control highly flexible and fast to implement. It comprises a one-click pre-fabricated wiring for fast, easy, comprehensive communication between the distribution panel and any facility management system. This means that there is no need for complex communication wiring or in/out terminal blocks crowding the switchboard. Users can be assured of having attractive, error-free panels, benefiting from 40% reduced wiring.

 

 

Safety is also a factor; apart from assuring utmost reliability, Smartlink is manufacturer-guaranteed; it is EMC tested for immunity, radiated and conducted fields, electrostatic discharges and fast transient currents – thus surpassing all safety requirements.

 

As businesses come under new energy-efficiency challenges, they cannot afford to sit back and wait and must invest in new technologies to assure reduced energy cost and heightened business efficiency. In one simple, compact device, Acti 9 Smartlink is enough to connect users to complete control, motoring and metering capacity, effectively offering full energy visibility as we work towards our collective vision.

 

For further information, visit www.schneider-electric.com/uk