01
Consumption & leakage
Measure flow, total quantity, pressure and temperature where the selected SD sensor supports all four values.
View SD meters →ifm · Energy & utilities
Energy & Utility Monitoring with ifm
Measure compressed air, industrial gases, cooling water and supporting process conditions at machine, zone and plant level, then connect the data through IO-Link to dashboards and analytics. This is a cross-portfolio solution page—not a single ifm product family.
Compressed airIndustrial gasesCooling waterIO-Linkmoneo analytics
Compressed airFlow + totaliserPlus pressure and temperature on current SD routes
WaterFlow & temperatureSelect SM/SU/SB/SV technology by medium and pipe
ConnectivityIO-LinkMachine control and data acquisition
AnalyticsmoneoDashboards, thresholds, calculated costs and alerts
Utility scope
Measure the resource where action can actually be taken
A plant-wide energy total alone rarely tells maintenance where the loss is. Sub-meter at main headers, zones and important machines.
02
Flow & thermal context
Use suitable liquid flow technology to identify excessive use, blocked cooling or abnormal process demand.
Review SM flow →03
Consumption by gas
Current SD routes support selected gases; confirm gas, pressure, temperature and line size.
04
Integrate existing meters
moneo can incorporate energy values through suitable interfaces/connectors; electrical metering hardware may come from separate devices.
System architecture
Sensor data becomes useful when it is tied to machine state, cost and time
A practical architecture connects meters through IO-Link, preserves PLC control where needed and independently feeds monitoring/analytics.
MeasurementSD / liquid flow / pressure / temperature
→
AcquisitionIO-Link master
→
ControlPLC / OT network
+
Analyticsmoneo / existing platform
Design point: capture machine ON/OFF/standby state as well as consumption. The same flow value has different meaning while a machine is producing versus idle.
Compressed air
One of the highest-value utility monitoring starting points
ifm positions its current SD compressed-air meters as a modular system from main line to machine, with flow, total quantity and model-dependent pressure/temperature available over IO-Link.
01
Look for flow when idle
Persistent flow while equipment should be inactive is a strong indicator of leakage or unintended use.
02
Avoid excessive pressure
Track pressure variation and avoid running the network harder than the process requires.
03
Convert volume to money
Historical consumption and calculated costs make leak repair and process changes measurable.
Cooling water & liquids
Flow technology selection by medium
Water, glycol, oils and low-conductivity liquids need different IFM flow routes.
| Medium / requirement | Review | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Conductive water / coolant | SM magnetic-inductive | Volumetric flow with no moving parts; conductivity threshold and pipe size must be confirmed. |
| Water / glycol / some oils | SU ultrasonic | Useful where the current ultrasonic family supports the medium and pipe range. |
| Compact inline water flow | SB / SV | Review current family for low-to-medium flow and machine cooling circuits. |
| Flow/no-flow only | SA / SI | Thermal monitoring may be simpler when exact volumetric consumption is not required. |
From values to action
Dashboards should answer maintenance and energy questions
ifm currently positions moneo for visualisation, calculated values, thresholds and alarms around utility monitoring.
01
Compare similar machines
Normalise consumption by machine state, shift, product or cycle count.
02
Detect deviation early
Create thresholds for leakage, excessive pressure, abnormal water use or rising cost.
03
Prove the saving
Compare before/after data after repairing leaks or optimising a process.
View moneo →Requirement capture
Inputs required to design the monitoring points
Utility metering is an architecture exercise: the correct sensor depends on medium, pipe and the business question.
UtilityCompressed air, gas, cooling water or other medium.
PipePipe diameter, material and available straight run.
RangeNormal, minimum and peak flow/pressure/temperature.
Measurement pointMain header, zone, machine inlet or local branch.
NetworkPLC fieldbus, IO-Link availability and IT data route.
Analytics goalLeakage, cost allocation, energy KPI, process quality or maintenance.