The Hidden Costs of Traditional IIOT Systems

In the world of industrial IoT, energy management IoT infrastructure is crucial to the future of our energy ecosystem, grid stability, and energy efficiency in the built environment. However, the choice between traditional industrial IoT systems and advanced wireless IoT solutions (like EpiSensor) can significantly impact your energy programme’s cost, complexity, and effectiveness.

Here, we delve into the hidden costs and intricacies associated with traditional industrial energy monitoring systems and provide a checklist to consider when choosing an energy monitoring system.

Attribute

Traditional Industrial IoT Systems

EpiSensor Wireless IoT Solution

Complexity

High – requires specialist expertise to configure meters

Low – plug and play, electrical installation only

Disruption

High – given the communications wiring and need for equipment shutdowns

Low – through wireless communications and split-core CTs / Rogowski coils included

Installation

High Cost – wired communications & panels have to be cut to install traditional meters, enclosures & accessories usually come at additional costs

Low Cost – No communications wiring required, enclosures are water/dust proof and double-insulated as standard, designed for retrofit, all accessories included

Current Transformers

Additional Cost – Are not included by default, and they require additional calibration to achieve high system-level accuracy (i.e. additional cost, time, and expertise investment)

Low Cost – CTs are pre-installed and pre-calibrated to a very high accuracy class (Class 0.5S system-level accuracy), saving time and money

Safety

Connecting traditional CTs can pose a safety risk

System includes out-of-the-box protected and pre-connected CTs. No need to run communications wiring into high voltage environments

Security

Plain insecure data on data wiring, difficult / impossible to update remotely

Fully encrypted, Over-The-Air software updates included as standard

Data

Limited, often only measures kWh, licence fees based on ‘tags’

Extensive – monitor up to 50 electrical parameters, no additional licencing costs

Reliability

Often no local data logging capability if ‘master’ goes offline.

High – years of non-volatile, time-stamped data logging at each meter/sensor device.

Extensibility

Electricity monitoring only

The same wireless system can monitor gas, water, oil, temperature, steam, heat etc. Unified by our Gateway enabled with Edge environment. Including an on-board app store for extending functionality

Interoperability

Often proprietary communications standards, designed to lock-in to service contracts, no web native communications.

Support many traditional (e.g. Modbus, OPC, BACnet) and web-style (MQTT, HTTP) communications standards, open data formats.

Support

Local / onsite

Global remote support and system upgrades

Overall, during the IoT procurement stage, we recommend you challenge the complexity, installation process, comprehensiveness, accuracy level, and security of the system you are considering as it will inevitably add substantial costs if the system you choose is not aligned with the timeframe and specifications of your energy management programme.

Empowering your future energy programmes

In conclusion, while traditional industrial energy monitoring systems do not typically lack performance credentials, the complex installation process, lack of integrated CTs, and limited remote management capabilities mean they come with a range of hidden costs that can rapidly absorb programme margins and impact project feasibility. On the contrary, advanced IoT solutions like EpiSensor offer a compelling alternative, reducing complexity, cost, and disruption while providing enhanced safety, security, and extensibility.

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