Celebrating 100 years of Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCBs), Sebastiano Paganini, Global Product Line Manager for Energy Management Solutions, explains how protection devices like MCBs can be made smart. Once connected to the InSite energy management system, users can derive valuable energy insights, as well as remotely control and manage loads, all contributing to energy savings and improved energy efficiency in buildings.
Following the groundbreaking invention of the modern Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCBs) a century ago, your team has developed a system that makes protection devices smart and fully connected. Tell us more about it.
With the goal of making any installation in sub and final distribution applications smart, we developed the InSite energy management system. The concept is simple: Branch monitoring sensors, which can be flexibly attached to any of the devices to measure the energy consumption in real-time, are connected to the InSite control unit – the brain of the system. In addition, our smart accessories can make our protection devices smart and connect them to the system following the proven mounting concept of our standard accessories. This enables the collection of relevant data, such as device status or tripping events, as well as remote control of a vast majority of our protection devices, including Miniature Circuit Breakers.
The collected data can be accessed through a customizable online dashboard, providing both real-time and historical values. Additionally, the system incorporates smart protection devices like the eOVR digital surge protective device (SPD), which can report detailed values such as ambient temperature and surge events, facilitating proactive and remote maintenance.
InSite is designed to be flexible and scalable, making it suitable for various building types and sizes, as well as for new and existing installations. Expansion modules can be added to the control unit, and multiple control units can be incorporated to further extend its capabilities. The system is also open for integration with third-party devices, such as utility meters, electric vehicle (EV) chargers, solar systems, and heat pumps, to gather more data and enhance load management for maximizing energy savings.
So, now that all the data from MCBs and other protection devices is gathered and accessible in an online dashboard, what can be done with all this information?
Transparency in energy data is crucial as it provides a foundation for establishing and executing measures to minimize consumption. Additionally, reporting on energy efficiency key performance indicators (KPIs) is increasingly mandated by regulations and legal requirements globally, including the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) in the EU.
You talked about energy and load management earlier. How does the system help generate savings through this process?
In addition to the behavioral shifts typically associated with transparency, it facilitates the identification of potential savings and enables appropriate action. There have been instances where factories identified inefficient machinery or motors and, by replacing them, achieved annual energy cost savings of up to 30 percent.
The data collected by the InSite energy management system goes beyond providing transparency and notifications for abnormalities or exceeded thresholds. It also facilitates the integration of connected control and automation devices, enabling remote control and load management. This capability allows users to prioritize the loads connected to the system. For instance, an important application is the integration of EV chargers and photovoltaic (PV) systems, where the system can be configured to efficiently balance loads and maximize the use of self-generated energy.
InSite makes protection devices like MCBs smart, allowing for remote control and automation to optimize energy consumption. At the same time, like a fitness tracker, the system provides valuable energy insights for users to understand which additional actions need to be taken. Or like myself, I step on the scale almost daily which then sends the data to my app, so I know when to take action. Similar to that, the sensors send real-time data every second to monitor the energy flows, so necessary changes can be made when needed, helping users to increase energy efficiency.
Read more about the InSite energy management system here.
