Energy metering alone does not save energy but gathered data from an effective monitoring system can transform how a building is run.
Carlo Gavazzi’s video shows how Energy Managers can have complete flexibility to utilise the plethora of collected data in today’s modern buildings.
Whilst sub metering has become nothing less than good practice, so has the desire to monitor, record and utilise the data. For many organisations the key to successful energy monitoring is flexibility and as such, a solution which provides the ability to monitor a single site or multiple sites and installations via a gateway is essential. But the ability for this solution to be scalable is also a major benefit for companies large and small because it enables their energy management system to evolve with the company.
Carlo Gavazzi’s introduction of VMU-C EM energy platform has proved significant. A modular solution, the VMU-C EM allows you to gather data from up to 32 energy meters, power analysers and VMU Series I/O modules on a single installation and view this information on any PC.
For a single site this integrated web server unit provides the necessary data to be used as a standalone solution allowing the user to monitor and manage their energy consumption and ensure that their plant is running efficiently. But perhaps the real benefit of this system is the ability of the VMU-C EM to act as a gateway which gives the user complete flexibility in the way in which the information is handled.
VMU-C EM sits at the core of a distributed architecture providing data from a central source and its M2M functionality allows it to automatically transfer this data via FTP, HTTP or MODBUS/TCP to a remote server where a Scada or Building Management System (BMS) is running. For example, if a building is controlled via a BMS the VMU-C EM pushes data to the BMS which uses the information to take relevant actions such as making alterations to the operation of the plant in order to optimise efficiency.
However one of the main benefits of VMU-C EM is that it also acts as a gateway to other self-contained solutions which have gained in popularity as a result of the fact that many companies find it easier, and financially more viable to commit to a single capital expenditure rather than to ongoing hosting costs
The VMU-Y EM is one such solution because it provides all of the benefits of a multi-site solution without the ongoing costs. It embeds in a compact 2-DIN module and allows the user to aggregate information from up to 10 VMU-C EM units within a single centralised interface. This effectively allows you to monitor up to 320 meters and access the information from any PC using a standard web browser.
The evolution of cloud based technology in recent years has also introduced a greater degree of flexibility in the way that data is gathered and monitored remotely. It is this technology which lies at the heart of our EM²-Server which still uses the VMU-C EM as a gateway but to provide a cloud solution for the management of multi-site applications.
The EM²-Server is a virtual machine software solution which is hosted either in the customer’s own facility as a self-contained solution, or in a hosting farm. It enables the user to scale up the size of existing VMU-C EM based installations and as a result allows for flexible monitoring and data aggregation from up to 3200 meters located in up to 100 installations sites within a single central database.