Press Presse Press Presse
Infrastructure & Cities Sector
Low and Medium Voltage
Nürnberg, November 27, 2012
SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2012, hall 2, booth 2
Background information
Safe and Economical Power Supply in Industrial Plants
Siemens offers a complete portfolio for low-voltage power distribution
A safe and competitive power supply to industrial plants is a fundamental requirement for
production, growth and jobs. A high degree of safety, flexibility and efficiency is needed
particularly for the electrical infrastructure at low voltage level. Electricity-related accidents
during maintenance work on machines must be prevented as much as costly downtimes
due to system failures. And with energy prices rising, energy-efficient production is
increasingly becoming a decisive competitive factor in all sectors of industry.
The basis of a reliable power supply is formed by intelligent and specialized planning, followed by
the use of consistent, modular systems including switchboards, distribution systems, and
protection and switching devices.
Sivacon S8 low-voltage power distribution boards ensure maximum plant availability, high safety
and cost-efficiency. The design-tested systems guarantee a high degree of security for persons
and plants. At the same time the modular design offers high flexibility. For example, new thermal
monitoring functions integrated in the power distribution boards allow faults to be detected at an
early stage, avoiding downtime. Standard-based communication systems also enable the power
distribution to be integrated in the higher-level control system, where it can be displayed and
monitored at a central location on the basis of WinCC Open Architecture. An initialization module
for motor control using Simocode Pro V automatically stores and loads device parameters and bus
addresses, making the power distribution boards much easier to operate
More information at: www.siemens.com/sivacon
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Information number: IC LMV 20122711 e
Media Relations: Heiko Jahr
Telephone: +49 (09131) 7-29575
E-mail: heiko.jahr@siemens.com
Siemens AG
Infrastructure & Cities Sector
Low and Medium Voltage
Freyeslebenstr. 1, D-91058 Erlangen
The Sentron portfolio of protection, switching, measuring and monitoring devices covers the
complete spectrum of components for protection of the electrical infrastructure and efficient use of
electrical energy. Siemens offers the market's most extensive range of protection components for
low-voltage power distribution, including circuit breakers, miniature circuit breakers, residual
current protective devices, fuse systems and overvoltage protection devices. For example, the new
type F RCCBs detect not only sinusoidal AC residual currents and pulsating DC residual currents
but also residual currents from mixed frequencies of up to one kilohertz (kHz), which can often
occur on the outgoing feeder side of single-phase frequency converters. The release behavior has
a short delay. This prevents undesirable interruptions to the electrical supply if, for example, pulsed
leakage currents of up to ten milliseconds occur upon activation of filter capacitors. Switching
devices and switch disconnectors, measuring devices and monitoring devices round off the
portfolio.
More information at: www.siemens.com/sentron
Power monitoring helps save energy
Since January 2009, energy-intensive companies have been able to claim hardship compensation
as part of Germany's renewable energy law (Erneuerbare Energien Gesetz - EEG). Starting in
2013, companies must have a certified energy management system in accordance with the
European standard DIN EN 16001:2009 in order to qualify for the energy and electricity tax rebates
(such as those associated with the tax cap or "Spitzenausgleich"). The basic idea behind the EN
standard – as with ISO 50001, which applies worldwide – is to help organizations and companies
develop systems and processes with a view to continuously improving energy conservation within
companies and optimizing energy efficiency in a sustainable manner.
The main tools for achieving sustainable savings and reaching the targets outlined in the standards
are energy monitoring systems such as are offered by Siemens with its Sentron PAC series of
measuring devices and the powermanager software program. For example, PAC devices perform
a wealth of measuring tasks such as monitoring plant status and network quality and recording
energy values and electrical characteristics. With the help of software it is thus possible to record a
company's energy flows in detail across all production and auxiliary installations, to analyze and
assess energy consumption, and to identify savings potential throughout the company.
The powermanager software from Siemens is suitable in particular for use in small and mediumsize industrial companies. It records energy and power values as well as electrical parameters
such as current, voltage and cos phi. The values can be displayed, monitored and archived for
subsequent evaluations. The various data can be presented in graphs and compared with each
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Information number: IC LMV 20122711 e
Media Relations: Heiko Jahr
Telephone: +49 (09131) 7-29575
E-mail: heiko.jahr@siemens.com
Siemens AG
Infrastructure & Cities Sector
Low and Medium Voltage
Freyeslebenstr. 1, D-91058 Erlangen
other as a means of optimizing the power averages. Consumption evaluations can be carried out
quickly using the supplied cost center reports or the user's own customized reports.
More information at: www.siemens.com/lowvoltage/energymonitoring
Time savings thanks to software-aided planning
Today more than ever, electrical planning engineers need to design systems which ensure the
sparing use of energy, are easy to operate and service, and can be flexibly adapted to changes. At
the same time it is essential to meet high safety requirements, particularly in industrial operations.
The dimensioning and configuring of electrical power distribution systems and the engineering and
electrical design of machinery and plant have become accordingly complex tasks.
According to a study, the average preparation time needed per item of equipment lies at 2.7 hours.
On this basis it takes one employee a whole day to gather the necessary information for a
complete feeder comprising a contactor, a circuit breaker and a soft starter. To reduce the
electrical planning engineer's workload for the planning, configuring, design, documentation,
ordering and commissioning, Siemens provides all information relevant for the engineering process
in a central database for automation and low-voltage switching components. Up to twelve types of
data per component can be called up online and placed in a CAx shopping basket. This service is
available for example for control units, the modular switchgear system, miniature circuit breakers,
residual current protective devices, RCBOs and Insta contactors. On the Internet, planners will also
find configurators for Siemens equipment, which enable quick selection of concrete products on
the basis of technical requirements or parameters. The final result for the user is an overview of all
the characteristics of the devices and their order numbers, which can also be exported and saved
as an Excel file, along with additional data such as internal circuit diagrams, dimension sheets, 3D
views, wire frame model views and surface views. On the whole, electrical design engineers can
save up to 80 percent of the time normally required.
More information at: www.siemens.com/lowvoltage/support
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Information number: IC LMV 20122711 e
Media Relations: Heiko Jahr
Telephone: +49 (09131) 7-29575
E-mail: heiko.jahr@siemens.com
Siemens AG
Infrastructure & Cities Sector
Low and Medium Voltage
Freyeslebenstr. 1, D-91058 Erlangen
Using professional programs such as Simaris software tools from Siemens, electrical planning
engineers can not only greatly reduce their workload for the dimensioning and configuration of
electrical networks from the medium-voltage level to the power consumer but also considerably
raise the level of planning reliability at the same time. The easy-to-operate software tools
Simaris design, Simaris project and Simaris curves are part of the Siemens portfolio for Totally
Integrated Power (TIP). The offering covers coordinated products and systems for integrated
power distribution in industrial and non-residential buildings, as well as tools and support services
for their planning.
More information at: www.siemens.com/tip
This background information includes a picture. The image is available on the Internet at:
www.siemens.com/lmv-picture/20122711
The Siemens Low and Medium Voltage Division (Erlangen, Germany) serves the entire product, system, and
solutions business for reliable power distribution and supply at the low- and medium-voltage levels. The Division’s
portfolio includes switchgear and busbar trunking systems, power supply solutions, distribution boards, protection,
switching, measuring and monitoring devices as well as energy storage systems for the integration of renewable energy
into the grid. The systems are supplemented by communications-enabled software tools that can link power distribution
systems to building or industry automation systems. Low and Medium Voltage ensures the efficient supply of power for
power grids, infrastructure, buildings, and industry. Additional information is available on the Internet at:
http://www.siemens.com/powerdistribution
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Information number: IC LMV 20122711 e
Media Relations: Heiko Jahr
Telephone: +49 (09131) 7-29575
E-mail: heiko.jahr@siemens.com
Siemens AG
Infrastructure & Cities Sector
Low and Medium Voltage
Freyeslebenstr. 1, D-91058 Erlangen