TimescaleDB
TimescaleDB: Storing the Data Your Factory Generates Every Second
A single production line with a modest set of sensors can generate millions of data points a day. Storing that volume of information reliably, and being able to query it quickly months later, is a different problem to storing a normal business record. TimescaleDB is the time-series database INGSOL uses to solve it, forming part of our data infrastructure for factories and manufacturing plants. This page explains what TimescaleDB is, how INGSOL uses it, and how it fits within our wider technology stack.
What Is TimescaleDB?
TimescaleDB is an open-source time-series database, built as an extension of PostgreSQL, purpose-designed for the continuous streams of timestamped data that industrial sensors, PLCs and control systems generate. It stores this data efficiently at scale while remaining fully compatible with standard SQL, so it can be queried using familiar tools and techniques rather than a specialised query language.
TimescaleDB is not a general-purpose application database on its own, and it does not replace PostgreSQL, since it is built directly on top of it. Its specific role is to make high-volume, time-stamped industrial data fast to write, efficient to store, and quick to query, even as that data accumulates over months or years
Why INGSOL Includes TimescaleDB in the Stack
Built for high-volume time-series data:
Data is automatically organised into hypertables, partitioned by time, so that queries across large volumes of sensor data remain fast even as the dataset grows into billions of rows.
Full SQL compatibility:
Because TimescaleDB is a PostgreSQL extension, it supports standard SQL queries, joins and existing PostgreSQL tools, avoiding the need for a separate, unfamiliar query language
Native compression:
Older time-series data can be compressed automatically, reducing storage costs while keeping historical sensor data available for analysis rather than deleting it.
Continuous aggregates:
Continuous aggregates pre-compute rollups such as hourly or daily averages, so dashboards and reports stay responsive without recalculating raw data every time.
Open source:
As an open-source technology built on PostgreSQL, TimescaleDB avoids locking your factory into a single proprietary database vendor
Where INGSOL Applies Analytics
Sensor and Process Data Storage
Continuous readings from temperature, pressure, vibration, tension and other process sensors are stored in TimescaleDB, providing a reliable, queryable history rather than a stream of data that is displayed once and lost.
OEE and Production History
Time-stamped equipment states, production counts and downtime events are stored in TimescaleDB, forming the basis for Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) calculations and historical trend analysis by equipment and production line.
Energy Consumption Tracking
Energy readings captured at the asset level are stored as time-series data, allowing INGSOL to calculate energy consumption per unit of output over time and identify inefficient equipment or unusual consumption patterns.
Feeding Analytics and Dashboards
TimescaleDB serves as a primary data source for Grafana dashboards and for the predictive maintenance and process optimisation models INGSOL builds, providing the historical depth these models need to identify meaningful trends rather than short-term noise.
Long-Term Historian Function
Because TimescaleDB retains and compresses historical data efficiently, it supports long-term trend analysis, quality investigations and compliance reporting that require data going back months or years, not just the most recent shift.
TimescaleDB Within the INGSOL Technology Stack
structured production and configuration data, and TimeBase, which supports particularly demanding, high-frequency workloads beyond what TimescaleDB is optimised for. Data reaches TimescaleDB from Ignition, ThingsBoard and Node-RED integration flows, and is presented to users through Grafana dashboards and Ignition’s own visualisation tools. This gives factories a single, coherent data layer underneath the rest of the technology stack, rather than a separate database for every application.
Why Manufacturers Choose INGSOL's TimescaleDB Implementation
As an open-source PostgreSQL extension, TimescaleDB avoids dependence on a single proprietary time-series database vendor.
Hypertables, compression and continuous aggregates are configured to handle the sensor and process data volumes your specific plant generates, not a generic default setup.
Full SQL compatibility means your data can be queried and integrated with existing reporting tools without a specialised, unfamiliar query language.
TimescaleDB is deployed as part of INGSOL's wider Data & Intelligence and analytics capability, so it is configured to support the dashboards and models built on top of it.
INGSOL implements TimescaleDB as part of a scalable, open data infrastructure that keeps your factory's sensor and process history accessible and fast to query. Get in touch to discuss how TimescaleDB fits your technology stack, or a Digital Transformation Maturity Assessment for your plant.
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