Latin America. The energy sector is undoubtedly the basis of the world economy. Nowadays, life would not be possible without electric power, let's try for a moment to imagine a couple of hours without electricity, this scenario would represent a serious problem for any company, data center, hospital, or airport that goes through this situation, to mention a few examples.
As expected, the energy sector has evolved along with new technologies, digitalization and above all the new needs that a more connected world has brought. Devices connected to the internet that in turn exchange data with other devices through sensors, software and other technologies, provide us with a series of benefits to know the status of equipment in real time, information, events, remote device control, as well as to make decisions that allow us to be productive, profitable and improve our operability; all of the above without having to be in the same place, that is, they have given us the ability to do it remotely.
Despite advances in technology, there is a reality that remains the same: when there is a failure in the power supply in spaces that depend on it, it is required to extract energy from other sources and that is where the UPS enter the scene, obtaining that missing energy from their battery banks to feed the critical loads until the supply is restored or the backup generators are activated.
As equipment manufacturers specializing in energy management, Eaton has incorporated new technologies so that its users can feel these benefits. It has evolved, adapting to the needs of a connected world, developing the ability to monitor equipment remotely and that can also provide a certain history of events and information that help in decision-making in advance to prevent any damage that causes losses, mainly economic.
The IoT within the energy sector has been very relevant and has represented important benefits, has allowed to prevent equipment failures, avoiding losses of information and sensitive data, and has also allowed companies and industries to optimize resources and have a smarter energy management, which translates in turn into economic savings.
Thanks to remote monitoring, companies or users obtain real-time information on their equipment, from anywhere in the world, they know information on the energy behavior throughout the useful life of their equipment, they will be able to realize if their energy consumption is greater than the really indispensable or if some equipment requires attention or that it is deteriorated and needs replacement. Through monitoring systems we can have a proactive participation in interventions to the equipment, replace parts when necessary, prevent malfunctions and avoid downtime or extreme and urgent expenses.
Smarter energy management
Thanks to the IoT in the energy industry, it is possible to enhance the control of the production, storage and distribution of energy remotely and immediately, favoring automation.
Another of the main IoT applications in the energy industry is predictive monitoring: through the analysis of certain parameters, probabilities of breakdown are inferred and equipment maintenance is scheduled in advance. Predictive monitoring and preventive maintenance allow access to significant economic savings. It is estimated that maintenance costs typically account for between 15% and 40%[1] of total production costs. On the other hand, preventive maintenance allows savings of up to 8% and 12%[2] compared to scheduled maintenance and 40% compared to reactive maintenance. In addition, this increases the useful life of the equipment and avoids unexpected interruptions in production.
With these needs in mind, Eaton has created various solutions, such as Cellwatch, an automated battery monitoring system for large-scale installations where energy and system availability are critical to the success of business operations.
