Case study of pump scheduling using sensor-based real-time pump efficiency monitoring

The issue of carbon emission and energy consumption is one of the major problems all over the country. Most of the energy used in a water supply system is related to the process of water transport from raw water intake to a reservoir using pumps. Energy loss was caused by low pump efficiency which was due to incorrect design, degradation, and operation outside of the best efficiency point. The performance of the pump installed in the water purification plant cannot be the same as that of the factory. Therefore, the technology to operate the pump efficiently under the installation and operating conditions is important. This study focuses on pump scheduling optimization using sensors of water temperature and real-time pump efficiency monitoring. The hybrid hydraulic and thermodynamic calculation approach could provide flow rate and pump efficiency for individual pumps. Energy consumption could be saved by up to 3% when applying the optimized pump scheduling to the test pump station for 4 months.