September 2019

37 www.drivesncontrols.com September 2019 ENERGY EFFICIENCY n Splashing out on energy efficiency T he German company Bette manufactures high-quality bathroom components – in particular, baths – from titanium- steel alloys. It uses a “one-of-a-kind” moulding technology that “pulls” the steel smoothly into its final shape with a force of 800 tonnes. This special process allows the company to achieve high precision and a particularly low, uniform steel thickness. Bette’s automated serial production line at its headquarters in Delbrück, Westphalia, can handle more than 600 different colours and numerous additional features. When all possible permutations are taken into account, the company offers around 35 million combinations of model, size and colour. This breadth of product range is challenge, not only in terms of its manufacturing technologies, but also when optimising its use of resources. Sustainability and the responsible use of energy and resources is particular important for Bette whose products are 100% recyclable and are manufactured without using any chemicals or solvents. It draws two-thirds of the energy used in its manufacturing processes from its own sources, and places particular emphasis on meeting the requirements of EN 16247 – the European standard that lays down the requirements for energy audits. Monitoring consumption To monitor and optimise its production processes, Bette has installed a large number of devices to measure the consumption of energy and other resources on its production lines. The data that these capture is transferred to an energy management system, allowing the company to keep track of 90% of its energy flows. The bath manufacturer also places high demands for efficiency on its suppliers and all of the motors used in the equipment and machinery that they supply must conform to, at least, the IE3 energy efficiency rating (as defined in IEC 60034-30). In addition to this, all of Bette’s new and existing machines are fitted with Siemens Sentron PAC3200 energy measuring devices and Simatic ET 200SP AI energy meters that capture air pressure readings. Project management for the energy- monitoring technology is carried out using Siemens Simatic Energy Suite – a tool that integrates energy measuring points into the automation software using drag-and-drop techniques. Two Simatic S7-1500 controllers capture the consumption data for the electrical energy from the production equipment, as well as the energy consumed when generating compressed air. This information is sent to a Simatic WinCC Professional Scada system and the Simatic Energy Manager Pro system, which provides a detailed overview and analysis of the site’s energy consumption. The system’s modular design means that it could be extended easily, if needed. “We can see the energy flows together with other production information down to the second and therefore have a good overview of what is currently being consumed where,” explains Bette’s energy manager, Mark Becker. “The data can also be analysed and evaluated in corresponding dashboards in the energy manager. This enables us to match consumption data to the departments, and to monitor and compare key figures – in short, everything we need for evaluating our energy efficiency.” Implementing the energy-monitoring systems is said to have been easy and was largely completed by Bette using in-house resources. “We opted for a powerful energy management tool that offers a wealth of functions – and we were able to implement the system without a lot of training thanks to the excellent support,” Becker reports. With its energy management system, Bette is a step closer to its target of capturing the precise energy consumption of each individual item of plant and, eventually, for every product it makes. n A German manufacturer of titanium-steel alloy baths has implemented an energy monitoring and control system that allows it to keep track of the energy being consumed by production machines on its factory floor. Bette manufactures high-quality bathroom components from titanium-steel alloys and places a high emphasis on sustainability. Bette is using an energy management system to monitor and optimise its production, ensuring that it uses energy and resources responsibly. Not only can Bette trace the flows of energy from the supply to individual machines or devices, but it can also use these flows for further analyses.