Latin America. Variable speed drives have gone through an evolution. Thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), they are now devices that communicate to the control system everything that is happening in the engine through information that they transmit in real time. These solutions are an important tool in electric motors normally found in ventilation systems, water pumps and elevators, among others.
One of its great virtues is that, by reducing the speed of the motors, it allows a lower energy consumption, for example, the Altivar Process drives from Schneider Electric have special functions that achieve a measurement of the energy of the motor and, additionally, save those measurements to analyze the energy that is being consumed to apply actions that allow to improve the general operation of the equipment and save energy in favor of sustainability.
In this regard, Víctor Rincón, Product Manager for the Andean Cluster of Schneider Electric, added that "in high-potential applications such as fans or water pumps, we are talking about saving even 70% of the energy consumed by the motor, and in other applications it can be up to 30%. The drives we have developed have a technology that allows us to save energy in high percentages, measure this energy with great accuracy and store this information for a subsequent analysis of energy management".
The expert indicated that among the faculties of the drives is the electrical protection of the equipment, since it protects them from overvoltages or alterations in the current. In addition, it improves the quality of power and its great potential is its evolution to give all the data of the engine through the IoT and the IIoT. The drive takes all measurements and information and provides remote operation of the motors if the right technology is available.
With the data that is collected, companies will be able to make adjustments and preventive maintenance that result in the increase in the useful life of the equipment, which in turn translates into considerable economic savings in the finances of organizations, on the other hand, avoids unscheduled stops in factories.
Land to conquer
Rincón stressed that the sectors where they have been most implemented so far are water pumps and aqueducts and clarified that there is enormous potential in almost all industrial sectors. "Our drives have special specifications not only to save energy, but to make it done in a more efficient way, avoiding problems with the information that is collected and improving processes to extend the life of the equipment," he added.
The Product Manager of Schneider Electric warned that thanks to the good results provided by the drives, in some countries in Europe laws have been established that make their use mandatory in different applications such as ventilation systems or in the pumping of water, taking into account that energy efficiency is an issue of global importance.
Another of the particularities that can be used with the drives, is that there are some that can be powered with solar panels, then the energy that is taken from the sun can feed the equipment and thus avoid connecting them to an electric energy system, saving money, being environmentally sustainable and contributing to the development of clean energies.
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