However, converting to a digital measuring system often involves a great deal of effort in many companies: in many places, there is little or no space available for the relevant devices, meaning that major conversion work is necessary before the systems can be installed. KBR GmbH now offers a simple solution in cooperation with EFEN GmbH: If the NH fuse switch-disconnectors have been installed in a company, they can be upgraded quickly and in a space-saving manner using the SILAS Smart Upgrade Kit. This allows energy consumption to be measured and monitored around the clock. The data can then be evaluated using KBR's energy data management software visual energy, which has been made even more user-friendly with new updates. Visitors can find out more about the cooperation and the extended version of visual energy at this year's Hannover Messe.

More and more companies are realizing that the obligation to record energy data can have positive effects - provided that a company installs an energy data management system. "If the measured figures are evaluated with the necessary continuity and measures derived from them are implemented accordingly, energy costs can sometimes be saved to a large extent and these funds can be invested elsewhere," explains Karel Stolba, Product Manager Energy Data Management at KBR GmbH. The company offers products and services that support companies in sustainable energy management. "However, while newly built companies include space for metering and measuring devices in their plans from the outset, in our experience older plants have hardly any free space in the electrical distribution system to integrate such a system into ongoing operations."

Cooperation enables simple expansion to include measuring points and energy data management software
The situation is simpler for companies that have installed the SILAS NH fuse switch-disconnector from EFEN GmbH: This can easily be upgraded with the SILAS Smart Upgrade Kit, which is already equipped with a transformer, voltage tap, communication module and data interface. This allows both energy consumption and utilization curves to be continuously recorded and evaluated - in this way, data and special events can be stored for a year. Maintenance and fault messages are also displayed. Customer-specific alarm functions can also be set for all electrical values. Programming and data communication take place via Modbus RTU or CANopen; operating data acquisition, updates and configuration are possible via a USB interface. Only one handle is required for installation: The ready-to-connect module is connected under the NH fuse switch-disconnector in the primary circuit path and is ready for operation within a few minutes.

"However, simply collecting data is not enough," explains Stolba. "Only a precise analysis of consumption can provide a meaningful picture of where savings measures can be introduced." For this reason, KBR and EFEN have decided to enter into a partnership. As a specialist for safety interfaces in energy distribution systems in accordance with the IEC/DIN standard, EFEN offers a large product portfolio for safe installation and develops the corresponding equipment to retrofit the systems with measuring and metering devices and an energy data management system with little effort. The corresponding software for evaluating the data comes from KBR: "With visual energy, the consumption of individual media such as gas, water and electricity can be conveniently recorded and visualized so that it quickly becomes clear when, for example, above-average load peaks occur," says the product manager. By using this data to derive the appropriate measures, companies can save a lot of energy and therefore money.

New updates improve user-friendliness
The energy experts at KBR regularly update the software and develop updates that improve user-friendliness. Last year, for example, a dashboard designer was integrated that makes it possible to link diagrams and graphs with energy data. This information can then be made available web-based within the company - no programming knowledge is required to create it. KBR's internal development team has now added an integrated menu system to the latest software version. The latest updates also take into account the fact that many programs are no longer controlled exclusively on computers, but increasingly also from mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones: For example, visual energy now has a responsive design so that it automatically adapts to the formats of mobile devices.

As part of the further development of this solution, KBR is also implementing customer requests to improve user-friendliness: "At an after-sales meeting with customers who use the software, the idea came up to integrate a heat map that would allow peak consumption to be visualized in a compact form over a selected period," reports Stolba. "Our developers immediately put this into practice." The latest software version, including the new updates, is now available from KBR.

Interested visitors can find out more about the energy data management system visual energy at the KBR GmbH stand in Hall 13, Stand E10 at this year's Hannover Messe. Karel Stolba, Product Manager Energy Data Management, and colleagues will be available there for initial discussions and inquiries. KBR will also be providing information about the cooperation at the EFEN GmbH stand in Hall 13, Stand E81.