What is IoT?
IoT stands for Internet of Things, which is known in English as the Internet of Things. This technology, which is one of the technologies that make up the fourth industrial revolution, refers to a series of everyday objects that are connected to an Internet network; a connection that allows real-time data to be obtained for greater control and ease of decision-making.
The information is obtained from mobile devices with sensors, designed to recognize what is happening around them, such as speed, temperature, altitude, movement, among others, and through integrated circuits such as IOT nodes or smart devices, the data is sent to a server or application.
Currently, different household objects can be found with IoT, one example is the dimmable light bulbs, which, through an application on the cell phone, allow control of the color or the amount of brightness you want. Other examples are smart locks, smartwatches and smart refrigerators. In the industrial zone, it is also widely implemented, for example in traffic lights, fire alarms, among others.
According to research conducted by Justina Alexandra Sava, a research expert in the global IT security market, in Colombia there are 68.2 million devices that are connected to IoT and it is estimated that the number will increase considerably in the coming years, due to the great technological advances that are currently taking place. The graph below shows the behavior of the number of IoT devices in the country since 2018 and an estimated forecast until 2023.
In the article written by Justina Alexandra Sava and published on Statista’s website, it was estimated that by 2021 Colombia will have a value of 424 million US dollars in the IoT market.
IoT focused on energy efficiency
This pillar of the fourth industrial revolution can be applied to different sectors, generating added value and boosting their development. The energy sector is one of the most benefited, because the impact of the implementation of IoT-based technologies can be reflected from the generation of energy itself to the distribution and use of end users.
Reliability, energy efficiency, environmental impact and damage caused by poor maintenance plans are the biggest challenges facing power plants. Having the ability to constantly monitor equipment is a plus provided by IoT-based technologies. Through sensors, smart meters and monitoring platforms, smart power plants have the ability to distinguish and alert any operational failures or abnormal decreases in power generation.
IoT and the other technologies of the fourth industrial revolution allow the term digitizedpower generation to come to light, which refers to the ability to analyze large amounts of data and control many generation units on different time scales. This improves security of supply, reduces the cost of backup capacity prevention, accelerates response to loss of load, among other benefits.
On the other hand, when it comes to energy efficiency, the role of the end consumer is fundamental to achieve the savings rates necessary to help the environment. Monitoring the energy consumption of an entire city is the goal that can be targeted today with the implementation of IoT-based technologies. Smart cities are a concept based on the collection of information, by means of sensors, over a large area of land, thus enabling the interconnection of factories, buildings, shopping centers, urban infrastructure, transportation and even the energy distribution network.
The implementation of this concept allows the optimal use of the energy used throughout a city, in applications such as, for example, the rationed supply of electricity between different sectors and the control of luminaires based on the flow of vehicles circulating on the streets.
A key pillar in smart cities is smart assets, from factories and buildings to homes and farms. Energy consumption in the residential and commercial sector is mainly based on lighting, equipment consumption (household appliances), refrigeration, heaters, ventilation and air conditioning. These last three elements account for approximately 50% of energy consumption. Implementing actions to reduce the consumption of these factors is fundamental to achieve energy efficiency.
To achieve this, assets must be prepared to enter the world of the fourth industrial revolution. On the one hand, by purchasing equipment that is already based on IoT technologies or by implementing developments that make their existing equipment intelligent. And on the other hand, carrying out savings strategies based on the data collected, thus generating the greatest impact on energy consumption savings and the least impact on its normal operation.
To reach these goals of generating smart cities and reducing energy consumption, assets must be supported by companies that are fully dedicated to generating energy efficiency based on technologies of the fourth industrial revolution.
Azimut Energía is a company with a very clear objective: to generate energy efficiency. It has a department dedicated exclusively to the development of IoT equipment and currently has more than 700 gateways installed around the country.
These gateways not only monitor energy consumption, but also the status of the critical equipment of our customers’ assets.
As shown in Figure 2, the Azimut Gateway attaches directly to the equipment and communicates with our management platform, giving users the ability to have real-time asset status and energy consumption at their fingertips.
Azimut is a bridge so that any company, whatever the sector, can reach a point of energy efficiency and always with the ideal that beyond the economic benefits that can be generated, the course will be to do everything possible to build a better world every day.
Bibliography
Number of IoT devices Colombia 2023. (n/d). Statista. Retrieved September 12, 2022
What is IoT and how does it work? (n/d). SAP. Retrieved September 12, 2022
