How effective is the EU regulation on centrifugal pumps?

1. Pump Power Monitor for European Union Regulations

2. Introduction • CO2 contributes to the Green House Effect and is a by product of Electricity production by burning fossil fuels. • European  Union in a bid to emerge as a climate-friendly region is cutting down power consumption. • Thus EU has rolled out the European Union Pump Efficiency Regulations which are also applicable to Centrifugal Pumps. These pumps deal in pumping fluids and consume considerable amount of power in converting kinetic energy of a flowing fluid (velocity pressure) into static pressure.

3. EU Directives: • To keep a check on Power consumption and in a bid to move towards higher efficiency pumps certain provisions of the EU Motor efficiency Directive relate specifically to the pump industry. • In addition to other factors these directives specify that energy consumption must comply to the specifications mentioned in the table below:

4. Problem • Though there isno dearth of Centrifugal Pumps that are compliant with EU Regulations. • However, what is challenging is that the pumps do not remain compliant to consuming less energy over their life cycle which is about 13 years. Over time due to several reasons these pumps begin to consume more electricity than was planned. • As a result they not only become noncompliant to EU Directives which can attract huge audit fines but also power consumption expenditure of end user goes up.

5. Reason why Pumps begin to consume more electricity: • To cover a much wider range of duties the same pump can be offered with different impellers or with different speed motors. This can lead to a significant decrease in efficiency as the pump is operating away from the designed Best Efficiency Point (BEP). This will result in higher energy costs and greater energy consumption. • Pump performances and efficiency deteriorate over time. Pumps incur corrosion, abrasion, erosion, and aging which is a result of fluctuating liquid level, gas level, chemical level, temperature and more. If pumps are operating outside the point of best efficiency not only the efficiency decreases, but shafts and bearings suffer damage and the chance of a breakdown becomes extremely high.

6. Technological Solution • An IIoT Platform can be used to ensure approved level of power consumption at all times as well as monitor wear and tear, gas levels, chemical levels etc. that contribute to wear and tear that leads to increased power consumption. • Such an IIoT platform consists of three significant parts: • Sensors, including cables and junction boxes • Data collection device • Monitoring/analysis software • Some of the sensors that can be used for this type of monitoring are Magnetic sensors, Gas Sensors, Chemical Sensors and more.

7. Benefits to Pump Manufacturers/ Rentals and users outside Europe. • Compliance with these standards mean less electricity consumption and lower expenses for end user. Thus Pump Manufacturers in other countries, can gain a competitive edge when they are able to provide their customers a cost saving solution. • Most countries are expected to follow suit with the EU Compliance standards and manufacturers and Rentals will face minimum business disruptions when these regulations are implemented elsewhere.