Investors and planners are faced with the challenge of coming to grips with energy costs without making cuts in the comfort of a building. The basis for this is the control and measurement of the energy consumption of individual systems. PC-based automation offers the ideal solution for the acquisition of energy and consumption data as an integral component of intelligent building automation. The energy consumption for current, water, gas or heating is recorded directly in the Beckhoff Bus Terminal system.In addition to building automation functions, Beckhoff PC-based control technology also offers the basic data acquisition technology for energy:
- local signal acquisition via the Bus Terminal I/O system
- data transmission via Ethernet or other bus systems
- evaluation in the Industrial PC via TwinCAT automation software
- provision of the energy data via standardized interfaces (e.g. OPC) to higher-level systems of the building and data management
The seamless integration of the energy and consumption data acquisition for all systems in the automation system results in savings potentials and synergies, both in the system installation and in the further operation of the building. The measured data are transferred to the control center via open interfaces and analyzed by the building management system. On the basis of comprehensive statistics and analysis functions, the building operator can recognize weak points and initiate targeted improvement measures. The available data pool also enables exact accounting and billing of consumption.
Energy consumption measurement via Bus Terminals
In addition to the standard terminals, the Beckhoff Bus Terminal system also offers numerous I/Os for measurement applications:
- acquisition of current consumption via the power measurement terminal (KL3403) and/or the digital multimeter terminal (KL3681)
- acquisition of water, gas and heat consumption via M-bus (KL6001/KL6021 serial interfaces with level converter)
- temperature measurement, e.g. via the KL3228 8-channel resistance measuring terminal
- pressure measurement or the detection of leaks in the compressed air supply (KM3702)
Using TwinCAT automation software, the measured data are processed further, and switching and regulating actions may be implemented immediately; alternatively, communication with the command level is established.
The energy data are made available via defined software interfaces, such as OPC, to the higher-level energy management software or the building management, where they are evaluated or analyzed. The measured data can additionally be assigned to certain cost centers, for example by connecting to an ERP system.
Using the “TwinCAT Scope 2” software oscilloscope, curves can be displayed graphically with a resolution on the order of microseconds.
Please send readers' questions regarding “Energy monitoring” to: Beckhoff Automation GmbH, Eiserstraße 5, 33415 Verl, Germany Phone: +49 (0) 5246 963-0, Fax: +49 (0) 5246 963-198 e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Internet: www.beckhoff.de