The measuring points may be individual systems or complete production cells. “Here, we offer a lot of flexibility”, Grießmann continues. “Before the installation we evaluate jointly with our customers which measuring points will contribute most effectively to reaching their specific individual goals.” In the case of Filthaus, it was decided to treat each injection molding production cell as a separate unit. For the calculation of the product carbon footprint must be based on the total consumption of the production cell.
In addition to the injection molding cells, two cooling systems and the two large air compressors were integrated into the energy monitoring system, and finally, the main connection was also defined as a separate measurement point. The thought behind this was that the power consumption of the administration and warehousing departments including lighting, IT infrastructure, heat pump and other consumers not directly involved in production processes could also be calculated from the dif-ference between the total consumption inside the building and that of the produc-tion equipment. In total, this adds up to 30 measuring points which were installed and interconnected at Filthaus.
The individual consumption figures can be visualized by the software either in kilo-watt hours or in tons of CO2 emissions, in both cases per kilogram of material processed. These values are invariably lower on days with strong sunlight, since Filthaus had invested in a photovoltaic system in 2024. “In summer, there are days when our production is running completely independently of the public power network”, says Stefan Filthaus. “This reduces the CO2 footprint of the products and saves money.” The CEO is convinced that all actions to increase sustainability must also pay off financially.
Mobile consumption monitoring
“The graphic displays on the dashboard of iMAGOxt have made it very easy for us to analyze our energy consumption rates and help us to make the right decisions”, Filthaus emphas. Particularly exciting, for example, is a display in which the total energy flow is divided into graphic strips representing the individual consumers, with the width of each strip reflecting each consumer’s relative proportion of the total consumption. An individual color can be defined for each consumer, which is also taken over automatically into other graphic displays.
The energy consumption values can be visualized as required either per year, per week or per hour, or in the form of a progressive trend chart. On the basis of these values, Stefan Filthaus calculates his energy costs, CO2 emissions and unit costs for each production cell in operation. Stefan Filthaus is especially pleased about the software’s web-based functions. “I can also retrieve all of the data via my cellphone or any terminal of my choice without any need for a separate app”, says Filthaus.
“iMAGOxt provides a distinctive advantage by offering precise, data-driven insights that directly impact strategic decision-making,” says Edoardo Tettamanti, Head of Marketing at Wittmann Digital. “The platform enables businesses to transition from reactive energy management to a proactive approach, optimizing resource allo-cation and ensuring compliance with evolving sustainability regulations.”
There is a lot of potential in this newly acquired transparency, which Filthaus is now exploiting step by step. “iMAGOxt helps us to optimize our processes in order to continuously increase the efficiency of our production”, explains Stefan Filthaus. “We derive very specific actions from the analyses of iMAGOxt.” The detection of energy losses like those in the production cell mentioned above, which consumes too much power while on standby, is only one of innumerable examples. “The energy management system also helps us to sensitize our workforce” is how Stefan Filthaus describes an aspect of particular importance to him. Is there any temperature control-ler or conveyor belt switched on although it is not needed at present? Has someone forgotten to switch off the light? The evaluations delivered by iMAGOxt reveal that even small actions contribute substantially to overall efficiency.
Elimination of power consumption peaks
A current project at Filthaus addresses the analysis of power peaks - and here, too, iMAGOxt is able to help. “We can now clearly see the consumption flow and pin-point exactly to the minute when power peaks have occurred. We evaluate these by investigating which special effects caused those peaks on that very day”, explains Filthaus. For in spite of carefully planned start-up procedures performed after weekends or company vacations, it often happened in the past that the power consumption shot up briefly to excessive peak values. And the local power supplier providing the energy calculates and charges its overall electricity price for a whole year on the basis of such brief maximal consumption events. “Just because something got out of control once, we are paying extremely high provision fees for the entire year”, says Filthaus. “This is precisely what we need to prevent in future”.
In order to investigate further potentials, Stefan Filthaus and his team continue to cooperate closely with the experts from Wittmann. Here, the fact that the two companies are located only a few meters apart is a definite advantage. “We can always arrange spontaneous personal meetings at short notice”, says Grießmann. But for Stefan Filthaus, there is more to the excellent cooperation: “We talk to each other on equal terms, and all of our contact persons are quick and target-oriented in implementing projects. But what I appreciate most is our easy-going mutual interaction.”
