ODVA has announced that the November 2014 edition of The EtherNet/IP Specification provides the framework for users to design energy-conserving functionality into their products for when equipment is in production mode.
The update is the latest product of ODVA’s Optimisation of Energy Usage (OEU) initiative addressing energy as a managed resource. With this latest enhancement, ODVA builds on its comprehensive suite of technology for energy monitoring and management for end users and OEMs. ODVA’s large community of device vendors provides industry with a converged approach to communication and information technologies that is scalable and not dependent on customized and proprietary solutions.
Earlier phases of work for the OEU resulted in (1) standard tools and energy reporting methods for EtherNet/IP to aid in energy assessment and energy monitoring, and (2) standard network services for commanding non-operational automation equipment to conservation states.
The industrial sector alone consumes about half of the world’s total delivered energy, making it the largest end-use sector. “By 2035, global industrial energy consumption is projected to increase by 40 percent from pre-recession levels, much of it from emerging economies,” said Katherine Voss, president and executive director, ODVA. “Implementing strategies for energy conservation by the industrial sector will be crucial to meeting ambitious sustainability objectives for all.”
In addition to energy, EtherNet/IP supports the broadest range of industrial automation solutions across control, safety, information, network management, motion and synchronisation. ODVA updates its network specifications biannually to enable end-users and OEMs to meet the ongoing expansion of industrial automation applications using the family of CIP Networks – the EtherNet/IP, DeviceNet, CompoNet and ControlNet technologies. For the latest editions of the specifications, visit The CIP Networks Library.
