Expert opinion | Technology

Artificial intelligence at the service of reducing energy consumption

Posted on:3 November 2022

Today, artificial intelligence is at the heart of energy management for businesses. We create virtual duplicates of your machines, called digital twins, to identify areas where energy and environmental efficiency can be improved. Nicolas Duran, CTO of Dametis, provides some examples of production optimizations made possible by our scenario modeling technologies.

Contact Dametis to identify ways to optimize your energy consumption

Measure with AI to avoid over-consuming energy

The Dametis comprehensive solution allows to address thousands of scenarios on the path to the Achievable Energy Minimum. Let’s be concrete. It notably enables the creation of “virtual blocks” at all points similar to on-site infrastructures (very similar to the digital twin), which simulate an ideal operation for this factory based on multiple variables and its needs, in order to visualize where the factory can progress in terms of environmental transition. Where Humans cannot be omniscient, the MyDametis platform allows, through an overview, to efficiently and instantly identify the improvement levers to activate and alert teams if the installation is not optimal.

These improvement levers can take various forms, such as:
– machine refurbishment,
– limiting unproductive energy losses, and sometimes,
– training your employees for a more efficient use of the tools at their disposal.

Optimizing industrial processes with Artificial Intelligence

Let’s take the example of setting the correct temperature for automotive paint booths, a scenario on which Dametis worked during a hackathon launched by Renault. Basically, the process is as follows: pumps inject outside air which then passes through a heating room to achieve the right temperature in the booth.

The challenge? Being able to determine the time required for the paint booth to reach its optimal temperature based on the current conditions (temperature, humidity, etc.) to avoid systematically overspending energy.

This is where artificial intelligence helps limit energy consumption: thanks to the data compiled from all previously analyzed situations, the platform can determine, at any given time, how long it will take for the booth to reach its optimal temperature based on the current atmospheric conditions. By building these models, teams can then manage their line with knowledge and adjust their processes based on the data provided by the MyDametis solution.

Track the evolution of your business’s energy consumption

Staying on course with the energy and environmental transition

If Dametis solutions are valuable tools in everyday life, they also allow our clients to track their effectiveness and performance in the long term: to grow, yes, but not at the expense of the ongoing journey towards environmental transition.

Over time, teams grow, factories invest, renew themselves… and it becomes important to control their environmental consumption to manage costs, but also to limit their carbon footprint. Thanks to our calculation systems, it is thus easier to visualize these developments and compare them with real needs to effectively reassess existing practices and enhance performance.

Detecting potential anomalies

Where services and trades are sometimes compartmentalized in certain industries, the Dametis solution allows, thanks to a well-thought-out measurement plan, to collect data through sensors. This makes it possible to compare several similar situations to leverage the performance of an entity for the benefit of the entire company.

Let’s take an example that had already been mentioned in this blog, where we evaluated the use of a compressed air plant. We installed a tool to measure the flow of compressed air (flow meter), a wattmeter per compressor, and a pressure sensor. These tools allowed us to measure all the parameters of the compressed air plant, and a flow meter per workshop allowed us to compare the consumption of the different workshops.
It now becomes easy to compare the performance of each workshop and detect which one consumes the most, at what time of the day. The goal? To identify any shortcomings on one side and try to address them by observing the behavior and environment on the other. A game of spot the difference, in a way…

The MyDametis tool is centralized, and has replaced the previous solution, which was made up of several separate modules. All the data is in one place, which represents a time and energy saver! However, users are not overwhelmed by a mass of data since they can only access the part that concerns them, to be more efficient but also to meet confidentiality needs on certain topics.

Modeling to verify the proper functioning of a sensor park

The realm of possibilities is vast thanks to Artificial Intelligence: energy is a resource that can be worked on in the context of decarbonization, but it is essential that the data being analyzed is accurate. From there, another possible application is to use it to identify potential faults in data collection, related to a malfunction or possible failure of certain sensors.

Contact Dametis to identify ways to optimize your energy consumption

Artificial intelligence for energy consumption reduction, reserved for businesses and communities

Modeling and artificial intelligence themselves consume energy. In order for the recommendations they enable to serve the energy transition, they must allow for significant energy savings. This is easily achievable for large companies and communities. However, the process will not be cost-effective on a household scale.

Reduce your company’s energy consumption with artificial intelligence

There are many ways to harness artificial intelligence to reduce energy consumption. Opportunities are not always easy to detect internally. That’s why Dametis is here to assist you: contact us to discuss your facilities and needs. Our experts know from experience where and how to integrate it to achieve real energy savings, and will advise you on effective implementation.

Contact Dametis to identify ways to optimize your energy consumption