Page 9 - New Gemtech Brochure 2020_Neat

Control Systems

Water Saving &

Energy Efficiency
More Than Just A Pump Services

Provider.

Control Panels & Systems – Energy Efficiency & Water Saving

Individuals and companies alike are all striving to achieve a lower carbon
footprint, become more energy efficient and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
Water use is also a hot topic and along with minimising leakage from systems, the
careful use and monitoring of this precious resource is key.

So how does this apply to pumps and control systems?

Did you know that most pumps running traditional pump control pressure switches are
mostly oversized? It’s true. The reason for this is that the pump set was sized for the
maximum demand anticipated by the end user. In reality, the system will rarely get used to
its maximum and therefore the energy used running pumps at this level is wasted as heat.
It is, more importantly wasted money out of your budget.

Modern pump sets, particularly water booster sets utilise variable speed drives or inverters to
control the speed of the pump motor according to demand. A motor running at half speed
invariably uses 8 times less energy than a motor running at full speed. That alone is a huge
saving in energy bills. Of course, other advantages are in the form of less wear and tear on the
equipment, lower noise levels and reduction in water hammer for example.

Stormwater pumping stations are also often oversized at design stage. Again, this is due to anticipated
rainfall levels in a particular area i.e. flash flooding 1 in 10 or 1 in 100 flash storms. For 90% of the year,
the pumping station need not run at full capacity to cope with the incoming stormwater, it simply needs
to keep up with the inflow. This will reduce the wear on the pumps, the overwhelming of already full storm
drains and reduce the energy consumed. If the water inflow to the pumps becomes excessive due to a
storm, a modern control system will speed the pumps up to deal with the inflow and slow them down
again once the storm has subsided or is over.

Sewage pumping stations do have the same issues with oversizing but can become troublesome if the
motors are slowed down particularly with grinder, cutter or chopper pumps that rely on the torque of the
motor for efficient shredding of the effluent. It is not that it cannot or should not be done in any
circumstances, quite the reverse, but it is critical that this is done correctly otherwise problems and
breakdowns will result.

Another commonly oversized pump system is that of circulator pumps, in particular, swimming pool
filtration pumps. Commonly these pumps run at full speed all of the time circulating the pool water
through the filters. In normal daily use this would be correct but when there is no filtration demand,
for example, during the night, the filtration pumps can be slowed down and still keep pool cleanliness up
to scratch. This is another example of energy saving that is possible.

Independent Pump & Wastewater Specialists
Professional, Honest & Reliable

www.thepumpparamedics.co.uk