Regal Beloit, a global manufacturer of electric motors and mechanical products based in Wisconsin, is taking the leap from analog products to the data-driven, digital world of connected devices. Yes, that means the Internet of Things is coming to a backyard swimming pool near you.
Among Regal Beloit’s products are high-efficiency, variable-speed motors used to run swimming pool filter pumps. In the emerging IoT world the company believes early adopters will want to use a smartphone, tablet, or PC to adjust their motor settings—slowing down the motor to save energy, for instance, or turning it up before an afternoon birthday party. Soon enough, however, Regal expects all customers will want smart motors for their pools and for other equipment that its motors power, such as heating and cooling systems.
Calling it the VLink intelligent pump motor interface, Regal Beloit plans to introduce its internet-connected swimming pool motor in the first quarter of 2016.
“There’s a new frontier in this,” says Howard Richardson, Business Leader for Advanced Technologies for Regal’s Commercial and Industrial Systems Business. The company’s decision to develop a cloud-connected pool-pump motor “was a leap of faith,” he says, but seeing other smart products take off, such as Nest’s thermostats, convinced management that “there really is a future in this.”
Regal plans to introduce its internet-connected motors in the first quarter of 2016, calling it the VLink intelligent pump motor interface. Companies such as Regal that are developing their first Internet of Things products face big decisions on how to manage and use all the data their systems collect.
For example, Regal considered creating simple point-to-point connections that would let homeowners access their motor directly through a smartphone. The issue with that approach is that the manufacturer wouldn’t have access to real-time performance data—data that could help Regal create new features and someday let maintenance firms monitor its motors directly.
Insights from Data Points
Regal chose a cloud-based data application, using an IoT analysis and management platform from mFrontiers, which is built on top of Oracle Database Cloud Service. The mFrontiers system gives Regal the analytical tools it needs to gain insights from the 250 or more data points Regal plans to collect from the motors.
Gathering that many data points with a first-generation product is unusual but smart, says mFrontiers COO Michael Ottoman. Most companies engineer their first IoT systems with a mindset of “what is the minimum we can do” just to get started, he says. The problem with a minimum style approach is that the IT backbone—database, analytics, network, and storage—can’t scale up if a company suddenly sees a huge IoT opportunity that requires more data and computing capacity. mFrontiers, by running on the Oracle Cloud Database stack, can scale up in lockstep with rising demand.
“Growing into that data” is how Richardson describes Regal’s thinking. Someday homeowners may want a system that coordinates its home appliances, so the pool motor and the air conditioner motor don’t run at the same time. Regal wants to be able to jump on new opportunities quickly.
Moving from analog to digital “is a megatrend that creates the potential for a number of solutions that I imagine we haven’t even thought of yet,” Richardson says.
Energy Cost Savings
For pool owners, the big payoff from smarter motors comes if they can adjust their motor usage to times of the day when electricity rates are lower. An IoT-connected motor makes it easier to do that by letting consumers control their motor via a remote device, but just as importantly, Regal’s app will show the savings compared with running a motor full speed all the time. Environmentally friendly products can be a tough sell because they cost more upfront, but the app shows the payback, says Ken Osborne, National Pool and Spa Sales Manager.
As for the benefits to Regal, while it talks with its customers, distributors, retailers, and pool equipment manufacturers all the time, they are always looking for more real-time operating feedback. A connected device will tell Regal where and when a given motor is installed, the operating time and cycles, and how much power is being consumed.
Analyzing that data will let Regal design new products based on real-world usage. Says Richardson: “It really becomes the real-time voice of the customer.”
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