Gain insight into your electrical installations

Society is electrifying at a rapid pace. In this way, we want to get rid of fossil fuels and meet climate goals. Hooray on all banks, but there is also a flip side to the coin. Because in a world of decentralized energy production, renewable energy sources, batteries, etc., how are you going to guarantee the quality and reliability of power? An issue that not only grid operators but also production managers need to address. By watching over your power and its quality, you ensure the continuity of your production. How do you do that? By measuring and monitoring. A domain in which the products of Janitza, distributed by Fortop, excel.

All of us will put a heavier load on our electrical systems. Both at home and at work. Whether you invest in an electric car or your steam production is from now on done with electric energy: more electric power is needed. Electrical power that, moreover, is increasingly bi-directional and becomes more polluted due to electronics. "Shortages in capacity or problems with the quality of the power can in the worst case lead to complete failure, but will anyway cause unnecessary energy losses and unnecessary maintenance costs," warns Fortop director Harmen Sikkema. "The complexity is increasing. On top of that, there are more and more regulations, we need to save more and more, and there are higher demands on uptime. Expertise is then crucial, but harder to find, with the result that a lot of industrial companies remain 'blind' to what is happening in the electrical installation."

Measure, monitor and improve four aspects of management

Fortop is therefore collaborating with a college in the Netherlands to write a white paper on this issue and help better secure the knowledge. The starting point is the four management aspects of electricity. Sikkema: "By this we mean capacity, quality, energy efficiency and uptime. Depending on that, you can start determining exactly what your installation needs. Measuring is knowing and forms the basis. With power analyzers, all parameters that affect these four aspects can be mapped out. By monitoring, you know what you are measuring. The collected data is then turned into insights through analysis tools, notifications and reports. And that in turn leads to improvements: by adjusting or expanding the installation, but also by applying UPSs, voltage and stabilization systems or active harmonic filter systems."

Nets smarter, your machines too?

An ongoing process, then, that will only grow in importance. "The grids do get smarter, but the industry also needs to know what is happening within its own plant walls. The closer plants are to their maximum load, the more problems there will be. Compare it to a car constantly running at 200 per hour. That takes its toll. You have to really understand your machines, what they consume and where optimizations lie," Sikkema says. It's also a process that requires reliable equipment. For this, Fortop resolutely chooses the quality of German market leader Janitza. "Energy measurement and monitoring is its core business. That sharp focus sets it apart with knowledge and corresponding quality. Janitza has a very broad delivery program, from large to small, from main distribution to final consumers. Moreover, the meters have an integrated web interface where an initial analysis of the data is already done, without the need for additional software. So an excellent starting point to start that circle of measuring, monitoring and improving."