3 reasons why automating appliances is energy efficient and cost effective

3 reasons why automating appliances is energy efficient and cost effective

by | Jul 20, 2022 | Case story, Energy Blog, Energy efficiency, Learnings

Making an IoT coffee machine taught us these things about energy efficiency

What can a mix between IoT and coffee teach us about energy optimization? Quite a few things, it turns out.

The coffee pot is, easily, one of the most frequently visited places at our office. That is because one, obviously, need caffeinated fuel, in order to keep physical products stably connected to the internet.

Joking aside.

It is no secret that our Seluxit team drinks more coffee than tea. And since this is the case, why not make a smart coffee machine. Meaning, making it into an intelligent appliance which lets all our coffee lovers know about the coffee situation – in real-time, all the time, everyday.

Being experts in IoT, this is exactly what we did to our coffee machine. We hooked it up to the internet. And it taught us these things about energy efficiency.

1. Automating your coffee saves time and lets you refill successfully

Contrary to before, our coffee drinkers are now able to more accurately time, when to get up from their desks and successfully refill their mugs with fresh doses of Joe. The reason why is that, we automated the coffee machine after we connected it to the internet.

Through heat sensors, cameras and coding, the containment in the coffee pot is now being captured every second. This data is then sent to our internal communication channel. And this is how everyone knows how many cups are left in the pot and whether it is still hot. In other words, the waiting time for fresh coffee has been reduced.

Over time, this information amounts to a solid foundation of data, which we use to optimize our energy consumption and coffee expenses. This means, that we are able to save money on both our physical and idle energy consumption.

 

2. Automating lets you know, when maintenance is needed

Moreover, coding our appliance to convey specific information lets us know the exact condition of the machine. For instance, we automated our coffee machine letting it communicate when it needs decalcification.

The reason why this is brilliant is that predictive maintenance, in the long run, is much more energy efficient. In other words, maintaining your appliance in a predictive way ensures that it works smoothly by using the sufficient amount of energy it needs.

By not maintaining the appliance, you will, eventually, cause it to overstrain its performance. Subsequently, overstraining performance can cause you to consume more energy than necessary, when using your appliance.

And this brings us to our last learning.

 

3. Automating keeps your appliance living longer

A positive side-effect of automating your daily devices is their prolonged lifespan.

Typically, when appliances are no longer working, the default behaviour is to throw them out. However, by predictively maintaining your appliances, you will be able to use them for much longer than you otherwise would.

Not only does this make sense for your energy consumption but it also makes sense economically. With the incremental increase in energy prices, who would not want to save a bit of money?

Last minute reflection

This project was executed from a very hands-on and practical standpoint, on a minor machine which we happen to use daily at our office.

And because of our experience in IoT and energy efficiency, it took very little time to connect the device to the internet and apply the proper automation.

Imagine if the machine was larger. Or if there were more at once.

Do you have larger machines which can benefit from automation and predictive maintenance, too?

We have the expertise to optimize your machine performance and energy usage, through IoT and automation.

Reach out to us and let us help you.

Automating the fridge made it 95% more energy efficient

Automating the fridge made it 95% more energy efficient

by | Jul 18, 2022 | Case story

Once again, Seluxit, a Danish IoT company experiences the full force of what ShowMe has to offer. ShowMe is an energy efficiency management tool. It displays detailed energy data in real time. Subsequently, the energy data indicates where the saving potentials are.

The project was executed by the company itself. Seluxit executed this optimization project in parallel to its first energy project. Effectively, the company made its annual energy consumption more efficient. As th result, the company reduced its annual energy usage by 25%.

What was the problem?

Based on the energy data from the analysis tool ShowMe, Seluxit realized that its Friday bar refrigerator caused a lot of energy waste. In other words, the refrigerator was idle for 159 hours per week, over a course of a year.

Seluxit only needed the refrigerator to be active for 9 hours every Friday. Because, 9 hours every week is sufficient enough, to ensure cold beverages for the Friday bar.

The company had already reduced its annual idle energy consumption by 40 hours a week. Subsequently, out of these 40 hours, the company further reduces the effective hours of the refrigerator. In other words, the refrigerator is only active for 9 hours of each week.

In order to ensure that the refrigerator is during these specific hours, Seluxit connected the fridge to a smart energy plug. This type of energy plug is named Shelly. And the smart features of the Shelly plug lie within its ability to enable automation.

This is how Seluxit is able to automate its refrigerator’s active cooling hours to only 9 hours per week.

The results?

The project resulted in a 88 weekly hour reduction. Moreover, Seluxit implemented automation, in order to control the refrigerator’s weekly active hours. Meaning that it is only consuming energy for 9 hours every week.

This optimization made the refrigerator 95% more energy efficient. Equivalent to only a yearly usage of 578 kWh.

As Daniel Lux says, the CEO of Seluxit, “With real-time energy data from ShowMe, we noticed the refrigerator’s idle hours. It made no sense for it to be idle when nobody was consuming beverages. That is why we connected the fridge to the Shelly plugs. Now, we can control when it needs to be active so that we can enjoy cold drinks.”

Energy efficiency management reduces 25% of annual baseload

Energy efficiency management reduces 25% of annual baseload

by | Jul 18, 2022 | Case story

Introduction

The Danish software and IoT company, Seluxit, experience the full cost benefit of energy efficiency management. This is because it reduced its annual idle energy consumption. The reduction results in a saving of 25% of its annual energy usage.

The energy efficiency project is executed solely by Seluxit. Initiated through the use of ShowMe, which is an energy-optimizing web application. ShowMe’s value clearly lies in its ability to display real-time energy data in detail, which provides the foundation for proper saving automation.

Amongst others, this real-time energy data provided Seluxit with a simple, yet, visually detailed overview of its; idle energy usage, consumption hours, sources of consumption, amount of kWh, and the price this equates to.

What was the problem?

Firstly, connecting psychical products to the internet requires, almost, constant access to the internet. This is, in order to monitor the various IoT builds and codings.

Secondly, Seluxit has various departments and machines. These also require energy, in order to perform optimally and run smoothly.

Thirdly, the company realized that items of amenities, such as its Friday bar refrigerator were consuming a lot of energy. Relative to when it was actually being used, that is.

Seluxit’s idle energy consumption was 1,300 kWh, during 128 hours per week, over the course of a year. This was before optimizing its energy consumption.

Realizing where and how to improve, the company imperatively reduced its baseload energy by 800 kWh, during 40 hours per week, annually.

The end result?

The project resulted in an annual baseload reduction of 25%.

As Daniel Lux says, the CEO of Seluxit, “With real-time energy data from ShowMe, it has been to implement the proper energy optimizing measures. Knowing where our energy is wasted, provided us with valuable data and variables. This is how we implemented the desired energy-efficient automation.