Why CIP Energy? Why Now?

We’ve heard the numbers before: Manufacturing consumes more than one-third of the global energy used annually. Plus, it is one of the largest contributors to a manufacturer’s indirect costs. If we all understand the challenge, why haven’t manufacturers done more to reduce energy consumption?

The fact is, with no uniform method to measure, report and control energy consumption, it’s one of the most difficult costs to manage. At the same time, implementing an energy management system often requires significant application-code development, and might duplicate the existing control structure. The result: manufacturers see energy-improvement projects as too costly and time consuming to implement.

To address these challenges, Rockwell Automation is participating in groundbreaking work with ODVA to develop an international energy standard based on the Common Industrial Protocol (CIP™) architecture: CIP Energy.

What is CIP Energy?

CIP Energy is designed to transform the way manufacturers monitor and control energy usage by providing a common-command interface and network-visible data structure. It is an extension of the popular protocol at the heart of EtherNet/IP™. The specification for CIP Energy includes attributes and services that help system designers reduce the cost and time to implement energy-improvement projects.

For example, energy data stranded inside automation products can be made available to information and automation systems in a transparent and native manner, leveraging the existing technology already available on the network. Then, manufacturers can share energy data throughout their operations network, from assets to production lines, to enterprise systems and ultimately with the electrical grid.

Rockwell Automation sees four primary benefits for manufacturers leveraging CIP Energy:

Reduced implementation costs
Today, many energy management projects require separate systems and metering equipment to gain visibility into energy usage. But these systems often don’t meet the required two-year or less payback period and, as a result, energy savings projects receive a lower priority. By using CIP Energy embedded directly into existing Rockwell Automation Integrated Architecture™ systems, manufacturers can avoid installing a separate energy management system to reduce project implementation costs and create a more feasible ROI timeline.

Reduced implementation effort
Another reason some manufacturers don’t deploy energy-management solutions is because of the significant resources and effort required to install them, including outside specialists to configure and program the system. With CIP Energy, Rockwell Automation customers can significantly cut down on installation and commissioning time to develop an energy monitoring and conservation solution because the energy data is now transmitted transparently over the network. This helps eliminate the need to design, document, test and debug special code in the controller to extract and format the energy data. For example, in a trial application of the solution, system-configuration time dropped from 80 hours to just two hours by using CIP Energy.

Increased consumption visibility
If machine or production process-level metering is conducted at all, it is typically controlled by a separate system, and the data collected is rarely reviewed in real time. As a result, companies lose or considerably delay meaningful and timely insight into their energy usage. CIP Energy changes things by making the data available over the network, providing easy access to energy information, and allowing greater visibility into energy usage at the operational level for easier baseline data creation. As a result, manufacturers can optimize energy usage during production and diagnose potential problems with the specific machine or process. For example, awareness of energy use at the equipment level might reveal an opportunity to automate the shutdown of equipment when not in use to reduce unnecessary energy consumption.

Smart-grid enablement
CIP Energy acts as an enabling technology for companies preparing to take advantage of the smart grid. Manufacturers can begin to manage and optimize their energy use at the machine, process and plant levels, which provides a foundation for transacting energy with their utility. For example, tariff arrangements with utilities or demand-response programs can be optimized by taking advantage of tight integration between energy information and plant operations. Decision makers can act faster with better knowledge of the impact of energy reduction on their manufacturing process. As a result, companies will be able to achieve even greater cost savings and higher service-level performance.

CIP Energy Roadmap: Where is it now, and where is it heading?

Rockwell Automation is working with ODVA to implement a phased approach to CIP Energy adoption and implementation. The first specification enhancements, available now, target energy awareness at the device level, providing a granular view of energy consumption. To support this first phase, Rockwell Automation is integrating CIP Energy technology into products that will be available in 2012, including the PowerMonitor™ 5000 family of measurement devices.

The next phase, available in 2012, will target power control applications. At the same time, Rockwell Automation is continuing to build its product portfolio and partner ecosystem to support the increased functionality available with CIP Energy.

For additional information about Rockwell Automation Energy Management Solutions, visit the company’s website at http://www.rockwellautomation.com/solutions/sustainability/energy.html.

아이씨엔 매거진 2012년 02월호