We recently did a survey of Florida water and wastewater utilities. Here is the pdf of the survey.

One of the surprising results from the survey was about energy cost and its importance:

The surprising – and encouraging – aspect was that 47% already rated Energy Cost and CO2 emissions as very important. It wasn’t surprising to see that 85% thought that although it would increase in importance, other challenges would still be more important. Challenges like ensuring sewage doesn’t spill out into the streets, that it is properly treated before being discharged and that potable water is supplied to the residents and customers of the water authority.

Perhaps the UK water utilities are fundamentally different because they are so much larger – typically 1000 – 5000 pump stations – and not government owned. Or perhaps they felt that although keeping sewerage off the streets and drinking water in the taps would always be their no 1 priority – it wasn’t their biggest challenge..

 Pump Efficiency

A while ago we did some research on energy efficiency in lift stations and found that pumps can lose a lot of efficiency even in clean water. Obviously wastewater is worse and the level of efficiency loss depends on the kind of material being pumped – if you have sand, grit and rocks going through the sewer main it’s obviously going to be worse. The Hydraulic Institute said:

“A pump’s efficiency can degrade as much as 10% to 25% before it is replaced, according to a study of industrial facilities commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and efficiencies of 50% to 60% or lower are quite common. However, because these inefficiencies are not readily apparent, opportunities to save energy by repairing or replacing components and optimizing systems are often overlooked.”

Now the reason a lot of water and wastewater utilities have started using the MultiSmart pump station manager isn’t because of its energy efficiency functionality! But the more progressive ones have definitely seen the potential of MultiSmart to reduce their energy costs. As the Hydraulic Institute said, “Because these inefficiencies are not readily apparent..”  – If you don’t know what’s costing you money, where’s the incentive, or even the budget, to start fixing your problems?

More on Energy & Efficiency

There is a section on our website – Energy and the Environment – which has a few references to energy efficiency studies. And there is also a paper in the White Papers section – note that you need to fill in a short registration form to download any of the white papers.

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