PROFIenergy, an energy saving profile for PROFINET

PROFIenergy is a new vendor-neutral energy saving profile for PROFINET, aimed at network-supported energy optimization in large manufacturing plants. The Automation Initiative of German Automobile Manufacturers (AIDA, comprising Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche and Volkswagen) asked PI to provide suitable network mechanisms for PROFINET. Saving energy can be achieved in many ways. The most obvious is shutting off all the power though this is usually only possible during idle times. But what happens during shorter breaks when equipment continues running and and so consumes energy even in the absence of value-adding activities. Over an extended period, switching off a device for even 30 seconds can be worthwhile in cases such as lasers. It