Approach for Implementing a Control and Optimization Loop for an Energy-Efficient Factory

Information about the energy performance of individual processes in a production system is only insufficiently available. To solve this problem, a holistic approach has been developed enabling operators to continuously monitor a factory's energy consumption. The aim is to keep the manufacturing system in an energy-optimal state. However, examining and optimizing the energy consumption of individual components does not always achieve the desired result. Additional targets, such as ‘quality’, ‘cost’, and ‘time’, must be considered. For this, a metric-based approach has been developed that allows assessing optimization scenarios and taking immediate actions if energy consumption gets too high.