KERN IoP | ENERGY · REAL-TIME ENERGY MONITORING
Understand your machine’s energy behaviour during production.
Understand when, how much and how your machine consumes energy. Identify periods of higher demand, unusual consumption patterns and opportunities for improvement to control energy costs and produce each part more efficiently.
Real-time power
Consumption and historical data
Changes in operating behaviour
KERN IoP | ENERGY: energy measurements, historical data and equipment breakdowns for operating analysis.
DATA FOR UNDERSTANDING MACHINE OPERATION
Use electricity consumption data to understand machine operation.
Energy demand changes with the machine’s operating state. Historical power and energy records reveal patterns, support comparisons and identify deviations requiring investigation.
KERN IoP | ENERGY makes this information available to production, maintenance and engineering teams so they can examine machine behaviour, identify anomalies and base decisions on recorded measurements.
CONTINUOUS VISIBILITY
Examine energy behaviour
Observe power and energy consumption during operation and retain historical records for analysis.
OPERATING CHANGES
Identify deviations earlier
Identify increases, decreases or unusual patterns and focus investigations on the relevant periods.
OPERATING CONTEXT
Understand downtime and low-activity periods
Examine energy use before, during and after a stoppage or change in operation.
KERN IoP | ENERGY / PLANT APPLICATION
Define the equipment included in the measurement before installation.
Identifying electrical feeds to the injection-moulding machine and selected auxiliaries helps define a consistent measurement configuration. Instrumentation is specified according to the electrical circuits and actual plant operation.
01 / MACHINE
Moulding-machine electrical supply
Identify voltage, phases, circuit and operating conditions associated with the machine.
02 / AUXILIARIES
Cell electrical connections
Specify which drying, mould-temperature control and cooling equipment should be measured separately.
The same technical question may be addressed by measuring one machine or several independent feeds within a cell.
THE TECHNICAL QUESTION DEFINES THE SCOPE
Measure one machine, incorporate production data or extend the scope to the complete cell.
KERN IoP | ENERGY can begin with a single measurement point and expand as analytical needs evolve. The electrical architecture, production data and available signals determine which indicators are possible.
01 / MACHINE
One electrical feed, one defined reference.
To examine a machine’s consumption, establish an energy baseline or track changes in electrical behaviour.
02 / PROCESS
Energy measurements linked to cycles and production.
By integrating product reference, mass, quantities or cycle signals, the measurements can be expressed as kWh/kg, kWh/part or energy per cycle.
03 / CELL
Distinguish the machine from its auxiliaries.
Measure several three-phase or single-phase feeds and compare each load’s contribution to the instrumented cell’s total consumption.
INTERPRETING ENERGY MEASUREMENTS
Power, energy and electrical feeds: three different dimensions.
Power by electrical feed
Instantaneous power in kW helps identify changes and peaks during operation.
Energy over a time interval
kWh indicates accumulated energy consumption for each individually instrumented feed.
Defined electrical measurement boundary
Only independently measured electrical feeds can be distinguished within a cell. The three phases of one supply are not three different pieces of equipment.
Production-related energy indicator
kWh/kg or kWh/part also requires reliable production data over a matching time interval.
POWER QUALITY · BEYOND kWh
When a machine stops, the electrical supply may also matter.
A voltage dip, phase imbalance or abnormal peak may be brief and disappear before maintenance personnel arrive. Continuous monitoring preserves the electrical context of the stoppage.
With KERN IoP | ENERGY, the electrical feed is documented beyond its accumulated consumption: measured voltage, phase data, power and energy can be compared with production events when these records are available.
THE ENGINEERING QUESTION
Beyond “how much was consumed?”: “what happened electrically when the machine stopped?”
Five electrical signals and patterns worth recording.
01 · VOLTAGE
Dips and variations
Examine voltage deviations and compare timestamps with machine alarms, restarts or stoppages.
02 · PHASES
Phase imbalance
Where the instrumentation provides phase-specific values, compare voltage and current. Sustained imbalance warrants investigation because it can increase losses and heating in three-phase loads.
03 · DEMAND
Power peaks
Identify when demand peaks and which equipment was running. Historical records help distinguish recurring peaks from unusual events.
04 · MAINTENANCE
Consumption that deviates from normal
If a machine begins drawing more power than its historical baseline under comparable conditions, that deviation may justify inspection. Energy data alone cannot diagnose a failure, but can guide investigation.
05 · TRACEABILITY
Historical evidence rather than recollection
Retain timestamped measurements to investigate recurring events, compare shifts and correlate electrical changes with production. Formal power-quality assessments and disputes require applicable metrological and regulatory provisions.
FROM EVENT TO TESTABLE HYPOTHESIS
1. Detect the electrical deviation
→
2. Correlate time, machine and operating state
→
3. Decide whether to investigate the supply, machine or process
Technical note. IEC 61000-4-30 specifies measurement methods for power-quality phenomena such as voltage magnitude, dips, swells, interruptions and imbalance. Operational monitoring by KERN ENERGY is not automatically equivalent to a Class A study; event characterisation depends on the selected instrumentation and resolution.
IEC 61000-4-30 ↗ · DOE · Voltage Unbalance ↗ · CREG · Power quality ↗
PROCESS SIGNATURE · POWER VS TIME
The energy profile of a cycle has a distinctive shape.
With sufficiently time-resolved power measurements aligned with the cycle, a process signature can be created: a curve for comparing changes in electrical demand between manufacturing conditions.
Comparisons must use stable runs under documented conditions. The power profile complements, but does not replace, product-quality assessment.
ONE PART · TWO PROCESS CONDITIONS
Compare the baseline with an adjusted process.
PROCESS PHASES THAT CAN BE IDENTIFIED WHEN THE REQUIRED SIGNALS ARE AVAILABLE
Clamping
Injection
Holding pressure
Plasticising
Cooling
CONDITION A · BASELINE
Energy per cycle, cycle time and documented quality.
CONDITION B · ADJUSTMENT
Repeat the measurement and compare differences under equivalent conditions.
ENERGY · FURTHER READING
What should be analysed after measurement?
Electrical measurements show power and energy at a particular point. Interpreting the process also requires knowing the product being manufactured and the equipment’s operating state.
How much energy does the cell consume while idle?
Distinguish moulding-machine and auxiliary-equipment operating states using records from the measured interval.
Does the measurement cover the machine or the complete cell?
Define the measured circuits before attributing consumption to equipment or products.
Which data does management need for cost analysis?
Relate energy, time and capacity to actual manufacturing conditions.
USING THE DATA
Information for production teams.
01
Breakdown by equipment
Distinguish the signals from electrical loads included in the measurement scope.
02
Activity outside production
Observe persistent power demand during idle periods; classifying the operating state requires additional signals or records.
03
Comparison of periods
Document a baseline and compare equivalent periods after an operating change.
BY AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY
One measurement supports different technical questions.
Plant management
Which cell warrants further analysis before investment?
Energy management
Which point consumes how much energy, and when?
Process engineering
How did power and energy change after the process adjustment?
SUSTAINABILITY · CO₂e · ISO 50001
Industrial sustainability supported by energy data.
Continuous kWh recording provides a quantitative basis for industrial sustainability, energy-efficiency and environmental-monitoring initiatives. Historical data support comparisons of energy performance over time and estimates of emissions in CO₂e using emission factors and documented assumptions.
ISO 50001:2018 provides a framework for implementing and improving an energy management system, addressing energy performance, efficiency, use and consumption. KERN IoP | ENERGY historical records can support monitoring of energy performance indicators, baselines and company-defined improvement objectives.
For product carbon footprints or other environmental inventories, energy records may be combined with production data, emission factors and an appropriate methodological boundary.
Energy performance
Use, consumption and comparable historical records
CO₂e
Estimates using documented emission factors
ISO 50001
Energy monitoring and continual improvement
EXPAND THE MEASUREMENT SCOPE
Understand the energy consumption associated with each product
If you need indicators such as kWh/kg, kWh/part or energy per cycle, KERN IoP can complement electrical measurements with sensors, data-acquisition systems and software to integrate production information in real time.
Depending on the application, quantities produced, part weight, product reference, machine states and cycle signals can be integrated. Relating them to energy consumption enables comparisons between products, machines, shifts and process conditions.
The system can be extended with KERN IoP | SMARTPRO, additional instrumentation and KERN IoP monitoring and analysis tools, bringing energy, production and process information together on one platform.
PRODUCTION + PROCESS + ENERGY
Production data can form part of the same architecture.
SMARTPRO allows operating and production data to be combined with machine signals and other available variables. KERN IoP can specify suitable instrumentation and software for each application.
kWh/part
Per product
kWh/kg
Per mass processed
kWh/cycle
Per production cycle
EUROMAP 60 · DEFINE THE MEASUREMENT BOUNDARY
The same kWh/kg figure can answer different questions.
EUROMAP 60 distinguishes machine-related assessment from measurements for a specific product and process. This is important when defining what to measure before interpreting specific energy consumption.
EUROMAP 60.1 · MACHINE RELATED
When assessing the machine’s energy efficiency.
It defines a classification using specific energy consumption and idle-state measurements to describe injection-moulding machine efficiency under comparable conditions, seeking to isolate influences of the mould and customer application.
- Useful for comparing machines of similar sizes.
- Excludes, among other things, auxiliaries, material transport and energy for mould cooling.
- The measurement boundary focuses on the basic machine.
EUROMAP 60.2 · PRODUCT RELATED
When determining the energy needed to produce a part.
It defines electrical energy consumption for a particular machine producing a particular product using a particular process. Consumption is divided into defined blocks and product and process conditions must be documented.
- Includes machine/control and heating; other blocks depend on the documented scope.
- Certain auxiliaries may be included as optional blocks.
- Relates energy consumption to product, mass, cycle and manufacturing conditions.
Where does KERN IoP fit?
The architecture can instrument a single feed or several circuits in a cell and, when production data are integrated, associate energy with kilograms, parts or cycles. Formal application of EUROMAP 60.1 or 60.2 requires complying with the recommendation’s conditions, boundaries and instrumentation. A monitoring installation is not automatically equivalent to a EUROMAP test.
SERVICE · PROCESS ENERGY OPTIMISATION
Optimise processes to reduce energy per part.
PM Tec Engineering, through its Industry 4.0 division KERN IoP, offers optimisation studies based on an initial operating condition. Equivalent cycles are compared and process adjustments evaluated to reduce energy per cycle and, where technically possible, cycle time.
Product quality and process stability are evaluated in each comparison. Optimisation aims for a documented condition combining energy efficiency, cycle performance and compliance with product specifications.
01 · MEASURE
Establish the baseline
Record stable cycles and document machine, mould, material, parameters and quality.
02 · OPTIMISE
Evaluate adjustments
Identify a more efficient condition within the permitted process window and quality criteria.
03 · VERIFY
Compare the results
Compare energy per cycle, cycle time and quality variables under equivalent conditions.
Improvement potential depends on the baseline, material, mould, machine and available optimisation margin. Measurement and verification quantify the results achieved.
Technical reading: energy during an injection-moulding cycle
Measuring energy through the cycle phases helps compare processing configurations under equivalent conditions. Laura Flórez presents a KERN IoP application and discusses analysis of energy curves in Plastics Engineering (SPE, 2024).
Read “Two Ways to Reduce Energy Consumption in Injection Molding” in Plastics Engineering ↗ · Other publications by Laura Flórez →
SPECIALIST MEDIA COVERAGE
KERN IoP energy monitoring featured in Tecnología del Plástico
The industry publication discusses five approaches to improving energy efficiency in plastics processing and includes KERN IoP’s energy-monitoring solution.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS · KERN IoP | ENERGY
Answers about industrial energy monitoring.
These are common questions when evaluating energy measurements for a machine or production cell.
What does KERN IoP | ENERGY measure?
It records electrical power and energy of the instrumented feed and, depending on configuration, variables such as voltage and current per phase for analysing machine electrical behaviour.
Can it measure a three-phase electrical feed?
Yes. Instrumentation is configured for the electrical installation and can retain historical measurements for all three phases.
How can it help control production costs?
Historical records identify periods of high power demand, waiting, stoppages and changes in operating behaviour. These data help focus energy-efficiency actions and verify their effects.
Can kWh/kg, kWh/part or energy per cycle be calculated?
Yes. When electrical and production data are integrated, KERN IoP can associate consumption with processed mass, parts produced or cycles to calculate application-specific indicators.
What is the difference between ENERGY and ENERGY: Cell?
KERN IoP | ENERGY can begin by measuring one machine’s electrical feed. KERN IoP | ENERGY: Cell extends the scope to distinguish several independent connections in a cell, such as the moulding machine and selected auxiliaries.
How can it support energy management aligned with ISO 50001?
Historical energy records can support monitoring of performance indicators, baselines and energy-improvement objectives defined within an organisation’s energy management system. Read our technical guide to ISO 50001, submetering and energy analysis →
Configure KERN IoP | ENERGY for your machine.
Tell us about the machine’s electrical supply and your measurement objectives. Our team will review the application and propose a suitable instrumentation and monitoring configuration.
Applications
Engineering
Resources
PM Tec Engineering, through its Industry 4.0 division, KERN IoP.
Cota, Cundinamarca · Colombia.
© 2026 PM Tec Servicios de Ingeniería SAS · Website updated in 2026.
Debe estar conectado para enviar un comentario.