Fieldbus & Industrial Networking


PC-based control links smart metering with big data

April 2015 Fieldbus & Industrial Networking

For efficient energy management in building and plant operation, it is necessary to log the consumption of water, electricity, and heat at the shortest possible intervals. PC-based control from Beckhoff offers the ideal basis for the acquisition and processing of this consumption data, including secure communication with Cloud-connected database systems.

Consumption data concerning the use of electricity, water, heat or gas in networked buildings, properties, towns or plants can be made available via the Cloud. These large quantities of data – often referred to as ‘big data’ – can be used by building occupants, building operators or municipalities in order to optimise energy consumption.

Malfunctions and excessive consumption can be easily identified. This identification of malfunctions, as well as gathering detailed, highly accurate consumption statistics, often remotely, is streamlined through this process.

Beckhoff supplies the ideal platform for smart metering in PC-based control. Consumption data is cost-effectively acquired via modular Beckhoff I/O terminals. These flexible devices are ideal for the most diverse types of signals, either by the direct connection of a sensor, by distributed I/Os on a fieldbus (e.g. EtherCAT, Profinet or BACnet/IP) or via lower-level buses such as M-Bus. Control, regulation, and data pre-processing are performed by an embedded PC, which is easily scalable with different performance classes. The programming of PLC functions, the integration of program codes as required (such as for C++), and the configuration of I/O points, database interfaces and the OPC UA (unified architecture) communication protocol, all take place in the universal TwinCAT engineering environment. A modern, Cloud-connected system interface can be realised via the TwinCAT database server. Optionally, the data can also be buffered and analysed locally in an Embedded PC.

With OPC UA, the embedded PC serves as the client and the higher-level energy management software as the OPC UA server. OPC UA offers the option of secure data communication, standardised according to IEC 62541.

For more information contact Kenneth McPherson, Beckhoff Automation, +27 (0)11 795 2898, [email protected], www.beckhoff.co.za



Credit(s)



Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

EtherCAT interoperability removes industrial networking barriers
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Selecting the right communication technology is one of the most important decisions engineers make, and interoperability helps with that decision. Key development tools and standards ensure interoperability among many EtherCAT devices and manufacturers.

Read more...
Condition monitoring to go
Turck Banner Southern Africa Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Anyone who wants to efficiently monitor the climate in control cabinets will find a comprehensive range of control cabinet monitors for the DIN rail in Turck Banner’s cabinet condition monitoring family.

Read more...
Affordable building management system product range
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Schneider Electric has unveiled its EasyLogic Building Management System range, designed for basic building architectures, to the local marketplace. This is a complete and cost-effective range of field controllers and sensors that are both easy to install and scalable.

Read more...
Flexible EtherCAT communication interface for DALI-2
Beckhoff Automation Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
The EL6821 EtherCAT Terminal from Beckhoff allows up to 64 DALI/DALI-2 slaves and 64 DALI-2 input devices to be connected. The TwinCAT 3 System Manager makes it easy to configure and parameterise DALI devices flexibly.

Read more...
EtherCAT-based control technology for building automation
Beckhoff Automation Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Modern non-residential buildings place many high demands on building automation. This can be optimally implemented with EtherCAT-based control technology from Beckhoff, which provides an efficient central automation architecture thanks to ultra-fast data communication.

Read more...
PC-based control for university studies
Beckhoff Automation Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
The IDEA box developed at Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences is designed to introduce students to the topic of Industry 4.0 in a simple and practical way. At the core of the corresponding demo case is PC-based control from Beckhoff.

Read more...
High-performance motion control for teabag packaging machine
Beckhoff Automation Editor's Choice
Teepak relies on PC-based control and drive technology from Beckhoff to set new benchmarks for speed and precision in its teabag packaging machines.

Read more...
A new standard in high-speed Ethernet communication
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
The TXMC897 module from TEWS Technologies supports a range of Ethernet standards and speeds, making it suitable for diverse applications, including the defence, industrial, and IIoT markets.

Read more...
Complete system for transparent energy monitoring
Beckhoff Automation Editor's Choice Electrical Power & Protection
Transparent energy monitoring reduces both machine downtime and the necessity to oversize the corresponding components. Added to these advantages are simplified preventive maintenance, and increased production efficiency. The wide range of PC-based control technology from Beckhoff offers a solution that can be optimally adapted to individual applications.

Read more...
Data-driven battery production
Turck Banner Southern Africa Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
The availability of high-performance batteries at moderate prices is one of the most important factors for the success of electromobility. As a long-standing automation partner to the automotive industry, Turck Banner supports the major battery manufacturers with its know-how.

Read more...