A centrifugal pump can seriously raise your energy costs if you’re not keeping tabs on its efficiency levels. It is necessary that you take timely measures to eliminate inefficiencies or replace the pump altogether as the last resort. The most effective method in this regard is a thorough energy audit that can bring forth all the irregularities or issues with the pump’s performance. It can also give an estimate of energy savings if you switch to a different pump. In this blog, we talk about how an energy audit of your centrifugal pump can contribute to significant savings and cut down on costs.
Costs of Pumping
Pumping is a rather expensive affair across the world and more so in an energy-strapped developing country like India. According to some estimates, pumps consume 10% of power across the world, and switching to a more efficient water pump could save up to 4% of electricity globally.
The main reasons behind the high costs of pumping could be an inappropriate selection of pumps, old inefficient design, improper layout, etc. By switching over to a more energy-efficient pump, you can reduce your bills, increase productivity, boost profits and enhance business competitiveness.
Centrifugal Pumps Consume a Lot of Power
Centrifugal pumps consume anywhere between 25% and 60% of a plant’s electrical motor energy. This can be made worse if the pump is improperly sized or poorly performing. Lack of maintenance and poor condition of the pumps is other reasons for the spike in running costs of a pump. This requires proper matching of a pump of the right capacity with the operation at hand. Likewise, a properly scheduled maintenance regime is a must to eliminate inefficiencies and overdrawing electricity over the lifespan of the pump.
Steps to Follow
An energy audit is the best way to keep the rising electricity costs in check. It is highly beneficial for business, society, and the environment at large. A pump energy audit is conducted by following these steps:
- Shortlist all the pumps for the audit
- Measure parameters like flow, pressure, and energy consumption
- Calculate the pumping efficiency
- Discuss the case with a specialist like an engineer or the maintenance staff
- Analyze data
- List recommendations and present them in the final report
How you can Save Energy
After an energy audit, you can get an in-depth understanding of the gaps, and the affirmative action that must be taken to fill them. With comprehensive data collection, analysis and modeling, it also gives you an idea about how much you can save by switching to a new alternative. In most industrial pumping systems, energy audits can help save up to half the energy costs!
VEMC can take care of the energy audit services of your pumps. We have all the expertise required to carry out Performance Measurement and energy optimisation of pumps and motors. Our team can provide a superior analysis of your current energy consumption and also the annual expenditure followed by a cost-returns-based proposal for different alternatives. For further information, feel free to call us at 022 43436655 or email us at marketing@vemc.co.in.