If you’ve been following technology trends, you may know about the increasing importance of IoT (Internet of Things) in people’s daily lives. From phones and vehicles to even homes, our lives have become more connected.
The reach of IoT is growing further every day, and it is expanding the level of global networking. In this way, this technology enables organizations to undergo a paradigm shift in how they handle their operations.
IoT impacts many industries, and now it has reached the power distribution field. Electrical professionals like contractors, system integrators, designers, specifying engineers, and others need to keep track of this quick-moving trend. IoT power distribution has the capacity to provide your firm with a competitive advantage and make your operations more efficient.
Your customers are also using IoT and therefore demand these features in the systems you’re installing, building, or designing for them. IoT-driven power distribution offers many advantages for industrial plants, hospitals, data centers, hotels, office buildings, and other sectors. Learn more about these benefits below.
Making Power More Reliable And Safer
Smart devices linked over communication options like wireless make it more affordable and simpler to place monitoring and metering in more locations. This has opened the gates to powerful new solutions.
For instance, continual thermal monitoring aids in avoiding fires by detecting loose or faulty connections. This technology is superior to scheduled IR thermography as it functions 24/7 and identifies thermal anomalies on time to prevent damage.
Similarly, operating theaters in hospitals use insulation monitoring to protect patients by enabling staff to detect and rectify any ground faults in equipment instantly.
Connected devices deliver data from whole power distribution networks that operations teams can use to monitor critical infrastructure. Further, automated alarm systems can notify staff before a risky condition causes an outage or equipment damage.
With the increasing complexity of electrical conditions and systems, sophisticated analysis of power events makes it easier and faster to catch root causes. You can quickly categorize alarms, propagation, and direction of disturbances to get visualized on a timeline to help you spot their origins.
The increasing digitization of controls and loads is making them more power sensitive. Tools for power quality assessment can collect and visualize all types of conditions and deliver compliance reports with basic pass/fail markings to make it simpler to monitor and control electrical systems’ health.
Simplifying Management Of Operation And Energy Expenses
Energy management solutions have improved a lot of late. Highly accurate energy meters are available now, featuring cloud-based tools for energy analytics, making it easy to spot utility billing mistakes and allocate or sub-bill costs to departments or tenants.
You can accurately compare the energy performance of various processes or facilities utilizing modeling, normalization, and benchmarking. This helps to find out about equipment or waste issues. Detailed analysis of energy utilization with rich dashboards helps set baselines, find conservation opportunities, and validate savings from post-retrofit tasks.
Smart IoT-powered devices are assisting maintenance teams in adopting a predictive rather than a preventive approach. The condition of batteries, PQ mitigation systems, UPS units, and circuit breakers is constantly tracked by embedded intelligence.
Analytic reporting monitors equipment status, forecasting the remaining lifespan, and other vital indicators. These features allow you to detect risk conditions earlier and perform maintenance only when needed, saving cost and time. Organizations that do not have the required in-house resources or expertise can use cloud-based applications to get remote support from hired expert service providers.
Designing An IoT-Driven System
IoT helps to enhance power distribution in multiple ways, so it isn’t easy to choose the best digital solution. You should match your business requirements to the available systems and understand how to deploy it correctly by considering the many features. Next, you need to select the right platforms that comply with architectural constraints and specifications.
Building blocks at every level link at the facility’s level for ‘edge control’ solutions, analytics, and cloud-based services, so consult with leading providers and find the best solutions. It’s a smart idea to consult a leading vendor or licensed experts to get recommendations on the best electrical systems for your business needs.
