APC 2015 Annual Report Download - page 32

2015 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC30
OVERVIEW OF THE GROUP’S STRATEGY, MARKETS AND BUSINESSES
1RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
5.2 Delivering truly innovative solutions
The advances mentioned above generate innovation across market
segments, all the way from homes to smart cities, as illustrated in
these few examples.
Homes
The Wiser home control solution includes a battery powered
wireless thermostat that can be easily installed to optimize the
comfort and energy consumption of each room. The new version
of this thermostat, leveraging the IoT platform developed in the last
three years has a fi ve times longer battery life (up to ten years),
costs 50% less and is three times thinner than a traditional wired
thermostat. User experience is also an area of innovation. Our
Wiser range now includes a connected smart thermostat with a
touch screen color interface and schedule auto- learning feature for
greater simplicity of use.
LED introduces new challenges regarding control. In 2015, The
Group delivered solutions with an unprecedented range of dimming
and simplicity of installation thanks to our knowledge in this core
area.
Connectivity and open interfaces are also becoming natively
embedded in our offers, opening the door to application innovations.
Buildings
Buildings represent 82% of the world’s potential energy effi ciency
gains and are a large opportunity for the Group. We are developing
innovative space management solutions that allow energy savings
while increasing comfort and making life user-friendly. Our building
management systems connect facility managers to their buildings
using cloud based software displaying data on interfaces like mobile
phones or tablets. This software suite transforms data into valuable
information for facility managers to better manage and optimize
their assets.
Energy
Low voltage electrical distribution panels, in addition to ensuring the
safety of the assets they power, collect a large amount of data which
can be used to optimize their performance. For example, analyzing
the frequency of a motor’s electrical feedback can allow detection
of wear and the potential failure of its bearings or the equipment
they powers. Thanks again to the low cost of the IoT platform, every
distribution panel shipped by Schneider Electric or its partners is
now connected to the cloud. Data experts and process experts
collaborate to analyze the patterns in the data coming from the
panels to come up with novel ways of optimizing their performance.
Once developed in the cloud, the corresponding algorithms will
be optimized and implemented in the smart meters and breakers
built into the panel, thus making it smarter and smarter. The remote
connection of distribution panels to platform enables services such
as demand response, allowing the aggregation of multiple buildings
and/or factories into signifi cant capacity units that utilities can call
upon at peak times.
Medium voltage products are becoming smarter, for instance with
the new generation of wireless thermal sensor contributing to the
predictive maintenance of switchgear panels. Pilot projects in
asset performance management have been executed in different
applications segments relying on multiple condition monitoring
algorithms for circuit breakers and transformers. Latest cyber-
security standard developed for the substation environments are
being integrated at product and system level and type tested with
customers. Security of operation is being further developed through
the usage of mobile technologies. Innovative services are being
tested with u tilities in order to improve grid performances. Electro-
technical architectures have been optimized for data centers where
power distribution increasingly uses medium voltage.
Industry
As End Users and OEMs re-examine their automation and operation
management strategies to take advantage of the IoT, enable
operational excellence and improve overall business performance,
PlantStruxure and MachineStruxure architectures play a key role
in managing convergence between informational technology and
operational technology. Schneider Electric Best-In-Class Smart
Connected Products, such as the Altivar Process variable speed
drive, leverage IoT technologies to deliver real customer value.
With its smart diagnostics based on dynamic QR codes, and its
embedded optimization algorithms such as pump curves, the Altivar
Process drive reduces downtime by up to 20%. Furthermore, its
built-in energy management services and seamless integration with
business management systems provide real operational insights
contributing to operational effi ciency improvements of up to +25%.
Continuing to lead the world of Automation, the Modicon M580 is
the world’s fi rst ePAC - with Ethernet built right into its core, bridging
the gap between the OT and IT worlds’. Thanks to Modicon
M580 the customer can monitor and diagnose your installation
in real-time from any location using standard tablet and smart
phone, greatly improving the effi ciency of maintenance teams. In
automation projects enhanced with Foxboro Control Systems and
Triconex Safety Systems, Schneider Electric is leading the way
with Virtualized Engineering, also called Engineering in the Cloud,
throughout the entire project. From the design phase to verifi cation
and testing, customers can utilize engineering resources and subject
matter experts anywhere in the world increasing collaboration and
reducing time to fi rst production.
Data Centers
Very Large (>10MW) data center builds are driving most of this
segment growth as internet service providers continue to bring
more and more capability to public and private cloud offerings.
These cloud enabling data center designs are highly optimized
and effi cient, leveraging scale, unique power systems and software
resilience to deliver exceptional performance with minimum
overheads. While effi cient data storage and computation benefi ts
can be realized within cloud based solutions, requirements for
low latency « edge computing » that supports real-time control
and deterministic data handling will continue to be necessary for
multiple reasons including reliability, data security and sovereignty.
Schneider Electric has continued its leadership in designing highly
effi cient UPS offerings with innovative ECOnversion mode (>98%)
that are integrated into pre-fabricated power solutions which can
be delivered ready to connect on-site, enabling cloud data centers
to be reliably designed, built and commissioned in a matter of
weeks vs. months or years. Additionally, expansion of the Group