STEGO Elektrotechnik GmbH from Schwäbisch Hall has been developing innovative solutions for the thermal management of electrical enclosures for over 40 years. The products reliably protect electronic components from environmental influences such as cold, heat and humidity and contribute to the longevity and safety of electrical systems. The portfolio includes heating and cooling systems, control elements such as thermostats and hygrostats, as well as sensors for measuring temperature and humidity. STEGO also offers high-quality LED lighting solutions and accessories to optimally equip control cabinets.
The challenge: undetected leakages and unused compressor runtimes
STEGO was faced with the challenge of making energy consumption in its production facilities more efficient and reducing the company’s carbon footprint at the same time. In particular, there were repeated instances of unused operating times for compressors in the compressed air supply, leading to unnecessarily high operating costs. Compressed air consumption was frequently not closely monitored during prolonged operating runtimes. This lack of transparency meant that optimization potential, such as the precise planning of compressor runtimes and energy cost savings, remained unused.
Another problem was the manual monitoring of the compressed air system. Without an automated solution, it was difficult to detect errors such as incorrect configuration of the night and weekend shutdown. This often led to operational restrictions and required additional personnel to manually check and adjust the settings. The inability to record and evaluate detailed data in real time prevented a holistic analysis of compressed air usage and made targeted optimization virtually impossible. STEGO was therefore looking for a solution that would provide real-time data to reduce costs, increase compressor efficiency and ensure sustainable operations.
The solution: real-time monitoring with a scalable IoT platform
STEGO found a solution in the implementation of IoT-based monitoring technology from achtBytes GmbH, which enables compressed air usage to be monitored in real time and potential errors or inefficient runtimes to be detected immediately.
achtBytes GmbH, also based in Schwäbisch Hall, specializes in the development and sale of software solutions. Its focus is on providing cloud-based IoT platforms for industry: achtBytes IoT enables real-time monitoring of machines and systems by collecting and processing data via IO-Link technology every second. By using this data, customers can optimize their operating processes, plan maintenance work more efficiently and minimize downtimes. In addition, achtBytes offers products in the hardware sector as well as service and system integration services.
To address this at STEGO, a pressure sensor with IO-Link connectivity was installed on the central ring line, continuously transmitting pressure data to eightBytes IoT. Additional sensors can be added at any time; already installed IO-Link masters can accommodate additional sensors such as temperature or current measuring devices without additional hardware, which makes the solution scalable.
Data is processed via a virtual edge box, which is based on STEGO’s existing server structures. This also eliminates additional hardware costs, as no physical box is required.
The cloud-based IoT platform offers a flexible dashboard and allows the collected data to be analyzed manually. Long-term optimizations can also be derived from the pressure monitoring, for example to adjust compressor utilization. A flexible configuration of alarms enables the system to notify the team immediately in the event of deviations, for example if the compressor is running outside working hours.
achtBytes IoT is also cost-efficient for customers on the software side: the platform works with a scalable subscription model based on the amount of data collected. Companies therefore pay according to the number of sensors and the respective data volume, which ensures flexibility and transparency.
When implementing the IoT solution from achtBytes, the user is always centrally involved: The user’s IT department is responsible for setting up the virtual machine and the network connection. It must ensure that the IO-Link master can communicate with the virtual machine. Close cooperation between the achtBytes IT teams and the customer is therefore essential.
The result: 75% less unused compressor runtime
Thanks to the implementation of the achtBytes IoT solution, STEGO was able to achieve significant savings and efficiency gains. Continuous monitoring of compressed air usage made it possible to optimize the runtime of the compressors: The realization that the compressor only needs 7 minutes in the morning instead of the originally planned 30 minutes to reach the required pressure level led to an adjustment of the operating times. This enabled a reduction in daily operating time by 23 minutes, corresponding to a savings of approximately 4% in compressor usage. This optimization not only lowers energy costs, but also extends the service life of the machines and reduces the company’s CO₂ emissions.
In addition, automatic monitoring ensures that faulty configurations, such as accidentally switching off the night and weekend shutdown after maintenance work, are detected immediately. The alarm system notifies the team if the compressor is running outside of regular operating hours, helping to prevent unnecessary energy consumption. This precision in pressure monitoring not only saves costs by reducing compressed air consumption, but also increases operational safety.
Overall, the eightBytes solution has enabled STEGO to make more efficient and cost-saving use of its compressed air resources, which has a positive impact on overall operating costs and the environmental balance.
Moreover, the solution found is not limited to compressed air monitoring, but can also be adapted to other media such as water, oil or filling systems, provided the appropriate sensors are installed. For example, flow or flow sensors in water systems could perform similar monitoring functions and detect deviations or leakages in real time. For applications where precise quantity recording is important, such as in bottling plants, the solution could also be used to continuously check fill levels or flow rates and set up automated alarms if necessary.
STEGO plans to expand the IoT solution to other STEGO locations in the future. Consideration is also being given to refining pressure monitoring with additional sensors and connecting individual machines or workstations to the compressed air supply in an even more targeted manner. This could be achieved, for example, by using valves and other pressure sensors that allow individual workstations or machines to be automatically disconnected from the main system when not in use. This would reduce the pressure loss at unused workstations and control compressed air consumption even more precisely.
The flexibility of the achtBytes IoT platform makes it suitable for a variety of condition monitoring and leakage monitoring applications and allows customers to customize the solution to their specific needs.