Smart Energy Meters are getting smarter.
The smart meters are providing energy data that is being used not only to monitor and analyze energy consumption but also to draw insights about other business areas. For example, an MD of a large manufacturing unit in India is using high-resolution energy data (provided by Zenatix Solutions) to monitor the production schedules at his plant.
Previously, apart from the total daily volume of production, the management had little or no information about the production schedule. The start and end times of each of the shifts, exact duration of lunch/tea/dinner breaks and whether some machines were kept running during the breaks, etc. are some of the key parameters of the production schedule. And non-adherence to best practices can result in big losses – both because of loss of production and wastage of electricity.
Now with high-resolution energy data (recorded every 30 seconds), the management can very easily monitor the power load for each machine and hence exact start and end times for each of the shifts. Also, with the energy data, management can also monitor the exact duration of lunch/tea/dinner breaks. Controlling the break duration has helped them in increased production and hence become more efficient in meeting their customers’ requirements. This not only resulted in more revenues but also better customer satisfaction.
This usage of energy data is just the beginning. The same data can also be used to measure the efficiency of machines and labor across different shifts and also across different manufacturing units.