Reducing small pumps energy bills

✍ Scribed by Ian Rennie

• Book ID: 104319660
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 642 KB
• Volume: 1997
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0262-1762
• DOI: 10.1016/s0262-1762(99)80145-x

✦ Synopsis

Speed control with variable speed drives has grown popular on large pumps due to the energy savings drives can give. Yet few users consider using drives on smaller pumps due to their perceived cost and complexity. World Pumps reports on how the recent development of the 'micro drive" could lower electricity bills for small pumps.

60% of all electricity generated world-wide is consumed by AC induction motors, many of which are used to drive pumps. And so it follows that any device that can reduce this substantial energy bill should be taken seriously by the world's industry. This is the reason why the variable speed drive an electronic device which varies the speed of AC induction motors and hence the speed of a pump -has gained significant interest in recent years. For instance, if drives were used on all the pumps and fans in Europe, the continent's electricity demand could drop by as much as 90O0 MW.

By controlling the speed of a pump to suit the exact requirements of the process, drives minimise energy wasted from pumps running unnecessarily at full speed. Also drives can reduce the amount of waste products generated from a process by providing more accurate control of pump throughput, which means, Ibr example, more precise mixing or dosing.