Communication of energy data in automation systems

With regard to climate change, increasing energy efficiency is still a significant issue in the industry. In order to acquire energy data at the field level, so-called energy profiles can be used. They are advantageous as they are integrated into existing industrial ethernet standards (e.g. PROFINET). Commonly used energy profiles such as PROFIenergy and sercos Energy have been established in industrial use. However, as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) continues to develop, the question arises whether the established energy profiles are sufficient to fullfil the requirements of the upcoming IIoT communication technologies. To answer this question the paper compares and discusses the common energy profiles with the current and future challenges of energy data communication. Furthermore, this analysis examines the need for further research in this field.