With the goal to stop climate change. The member states of the European Union formalized a commitment to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. This commitment is named Europe 2020. Sets those following 3 targets:
| 20% | 20% | 20% | ||
| Decrease in energy consumption | Decrease in greenhouse gas emissions | Increase in the use of renewable energies |
The European Commission reflected the objectives in Directive 2012/27/EU, It establishes the package of measures that each state must ensure to meet the target set.
For practical purposes, describes strategies for renovating existing buildings, both public and private, promoting the efficient use of energy by end customers, and promoting energy services in companies.
For carry out this purpose it, the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) have published a series standards that set out requirements and provide guidance on how to carry out energy audits. The EN 16247 standard helps companies throughout with the requirements of the European Union's Efficiency Directive.
Essentially, this electric code aims to comply with the package of measures that ensure compliance with the climate change and energy targets for 2020 set by the European Commission.
Directive 2012/27/EU states that energy audits must be performed by large companies with more than 250 employees or with turnover exceeding 50 M € or balance sheets over 43 M €. Large corporations are also required to do them. Moreover, non-compliance may generate fines of up to 60,000 €.
These companies are required to repeat the energy audit every four years, as defined in Directive 2012/27/EU.
What solutions exist to comply with Directive 2012/27/EU?As we have seen, it is highly recommendable to perform an energy study, even though the legal deadline has expired, in order to comply with current regulations. There are two ways to perform an energy audit to ensure the requirements imposed by Europe Directive 2012/27/EU: |
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Installation of a permanent EMS (Energy Management System) | Performing audits using portable units |
| The implementation of an Energy Management System (EMS) requires the installation of metering equipment that generates a continuous data log. This provides real and traceable information that can be used to detect anomalies and opportunities for improvement in reducing and improving energy consumption, with a direct impact on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. | The second option for performing energy audits is with portable metering equipment to establish a consumption baseline for a facility and provide traceable data that can be used to draw up a strategic plan for improving the consumption and energy efficiency of the facilities. |
| ARE THERE PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY? Failure to comply can incur fines of up to 60,000 euros for energy audits | WHEN SHOULD I SUBMIT THE AUDIT? Once every four years |
CIRCUTOR introduces its new portable wireless power and power quality analyzer for performing energy audits: MYeBOX®.
The unit is designed to measure and log electrical parameters and consumption of other energy sources, featuring the latest technology for portable metering. What sets the unit apart from the competition is the addition of a wireless connection for full remote control.
The unit has built-in Wi-Fi and/or 3G systems to configure, monitor and record data using smartphones or tablets from any location, without the need to be on-site. With the free MYeBOX® app (for Android and IOS) users can wirelessly change settings, download the log, send it to the free MYeBOX® Cloud server, share it with other people, and receive alarm messages.
Additionally, the MYeBOX® uses two storage systems. Its internal memory can log consumption variables and supply quality events on the device itself, and the MYeBOX® Cloud server can automatically save a back-up version of this data. It is a free space in the cloud where users can quickly and conveniently download the measurements from anywhere with Internet access.
Advantages include allowing users to:
As we have seen, NEC 56/2016 not only aims to incentivise reduced energy consumption but also to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. For that reason, MYeBOX® units not only log consumption variables but also log CO2 emissions and the monetary cost of that energy (in any currency: euros, dollars, pesos, etc.).
It is worth noting that the unit can come with two digital inputs for complete control of the installation. The inputs can be programmed to gather impulses from other energy meters, whether they are mechanical, for water, gas, heat, etc. This function makes the unit an essential, as energy audits study not only electrical aspects but also analyse energy flows and the most representative consumptions.
 ISO 50001 |
The inputs can also be used to detect status changes (open/closed) for safety control, either to report a status change in protections (tripping of a relay) or to activate an intrusion, fire or flood alarm. A change recorded by one of these inputs can also be used to change a tariff,grouping together consumption, emission and monetary cost data for two different energy sources (mains/ generator).
In addition to its two inputs, MYeBOX® may feature two transistor outputs to report alarms. The unit can programme limits (value and time) for each variable, including quality events (gaps, overvoltages, interruptions and transients) or digital input status changes to save the event in its internal memory, activate the transistor as an alarm, and send an email to maintenance managers to immediately inform them of any alarm in the facility.
A very common error with this type of application is poor sensing of the current variable due to the current clamp scale being selected improperly. MYeBOX® units automatically detect the scale of the connected clamp and if the clamp is multi-scale it can be adjusted using the app. If the current scale is programmed incorrectly, the usual solution is to go to the facility to change the configuration of the unit and start taking measurements again. This process incurs an extra cost both in terms of the time spent and the cost of travel. To reduce this expense, MYeBOX® units can be programmed to change scale, and start and stop taking measurements, remotely.
Last but not least is how the unit can record variables, also known as granularity. Power analyzers commonly record all variables over a set time defined by the user. MYeBOX® lets users select the recording time for each parameter individually, allowing them to choose log times of 1 second, 1 minute, 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 1 hour or 1 day for each variable. This new feature gives users more precise control of every variable, letting them program a shorter time for more critical variables like voltage and current, and longer times for less critical values like energy.
 | MYeBOX® has two digital inputs for |
 | It also features two transistor outputs |
 | The unit also records variables, a feature |
Having remote control entails a direct reduction in transportation-related expenses. Performing an audit requires a series of trips to the facility in question: going to connect the unit, going back to disconnect it, downloading the memory, preparing the report and returning to present solutions. Using a remote control unit with cloud data makes it possible to download the memory online and submit the report as soon as the unit is uninstalled, saving trips and therefore time and money.
Importantly, a remote connection enables the solving of unit connection problems, which are very common in these studies. Remote connectivity makes it possible to detect configuration errors, reconfigure the unit remotely, and reactivate the recording of internal data. Problems like an improperly installed current clamp will result in the calculated energy being incorrect, and problems like mismatched current and voltage phases lead to errors in calculating power factor, cosine phi, power and energy.
Without remote connectivity these errors require measurements to be repeated (lasting hours, days or weeks) with the associated costs of the various trips to correct them.
A poorly configured or connected power analyzer requires going back into the switchboard to solve the problem, which entails its own electrical hazards. If, moreover, the measurements are being taken in medium voltage, more time must be spent to comply with safety protocols.
Remote configuration using a smartphone or tablet makes it possible to solve all these problems without having to come into contact with active areas of the installation and avoiding electrical hazard.
Automatic free reportsAs we have seen, MYeBOX® saves CIRCUTOR offers its free software tool PowerVision+ for opening downloaded files, where any user can view the data logged by the analyzer in graphic or table format and export them in Excel or text format. PowerVision+ lets each user create their own templates based on the study they need to perform, adding graphics, tables, images, text, etc. Once the template has been created, any downloaded file must simply be loaded into it and the software will fill in the report with real data, which can be printed for submission to end clients. Preparing a report is no longer a tedious task, and time and effort are saved. PowerVision+ can also do an automatic study of the voltage supply quality of any installation, applying the current EN 50160 quality supply regulation in force. And, by simply pushing a button, it will automatically produce a report indicating the status of each electrical parameter according to the current regulatory framework. |  |
As we now know, mandatory compliance with Directive 2012/27/EU requires large companies to perform energy audits. In addition to complying with current law, it is important for all of us to minimize our economic and climate impact.
At CIRCUTOR we encourage companies to perform energy audits for several reasons:
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