80% of Electricity Used by Water Systems is from Pumping, Says Motors@Work

Asset Sustainability @ Work announced the commercial availability of its Motors@Work v 2.0 electric motor life-cycle energy performance management. Release 2.0 incorporates the energy management of water and wastewater pumping motor-driven systems including the patent pending Multi-source Pumping Optimization configurator.

There are in excess of 75,000 water and wastewater systems in the United States, estimated to consume well over 150 billion kWh a year, approximately 12 percent of the total electricity consumed in commercial and industrial sectors, according to the company. Given that over 80 percent of the electricity used by water systems is from pumping, most of the energy reduction gains can be realized through operating the water pumping systems more efficiently and cost effectively. These efficiencies are gained not only from a design and asset life-cycle management perspective, but by operating the most efficient component pumping systems, at the right time, for the right duration, to meet operational requirements at the least cost.

Release 2.0 Motors@Work Patent Pending Multi-source Pumping Optimization will provide the water/wastewater operator the intelligence needed to systematically determine:

• The operating system component efficiency,
• Which pumping systems should be operating to meet the operational demand,
• The optimal pumping strategy and system operating configuration,
• How long each pumping system should operate per day,
• When each pumping system should operate each day,
• If the pumping systems are operating at the least possible cost,
• The cost per day to operate the pumping systems,
• If additional capacity is required to meet demand, and
• The environmental impact of the pumping operation and the management controls required to keep the program sustainable.

In 2014, Des Moines Water Works said it was employing Motors@Work in its efforts to attain DOE Superior Energy Performance (SEP) certification.