MATERIALS HANDLING
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John Calder technical director at Durapump tells us where and how smart pumps are being used, and why he expects them to become mainstream in 2025
s we move into the new year a pump expert has predicted that 2025 will be the year that smart
monitoring and digitalisation in IoT pump monitoring will come to the fore across the sector. Smart pumps have seen a
significant increase in demand, with forecasts predicting growth at a CAGR of 8.5% between 2023 and 2028 and this growing adoption could help the global pumps market reach £72.7bn by 2029. In this article, John Calder, technical
director at Dura Pump, explains why he thinks 2025 will be a big year for smart pumps. The technology is currently being
used for three key functions within industrial settings: delivering boosted water, improving heating and cooling efficiency, and reducing blockages in wastewater systems. Using smart pumps to deliver
boosted water is particularly important for increasing the efficiency of energy consumption. At Dura Pump this application is most specifically seen in relation to large sites like hospitals or healthcare settings. In this case, smart pumps are equipped with permanent magnet motors (PMMs) and inverters to monitor pumping operation and conditions. This could highlight excessive or
low demand from a site, indicating that a valve is shut or that there’s a break in the pipework, for example. The pumps can also monitor the temperature of the motor, highlighting any potential wear on bearings or a winding failure, as well as monitoring the feed temperature from the water tank to alert of any risk of legionella. We’re also seeing smart pumps
being utilised in the distribution of heating water around sites through a district heating system. Whereas historically these systems would run at a constant speed regardless of
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www.engineerlive.com John Calder, Durapump
demand from the system, smart pumps mean we can now monitor the return temperature of water and modulate the pumps accordingly. The third common application of smart pumping solutions is the monitoring of wastewater systems around blockages from a build up of fat or foreign objects in the wastewater system. This can be very expensive, both in terms of downtime as well as the extra expense of paying trucks to take wastewater offsite. Smart pumps can monitor pumping
conditions and the power being used by pumps and, if a blockage is detected, the pump can reverse and throw the blockage or debris back out of the system. At Durapump we work with a
number of prisons on this application of smart pumps. As well as the build up of fats from kitchens, for example, these facilities are all-to-familiar with the presence of foreign objects in their wastewater systems. All of these smart pump systems can
also monitor conditions to highlight any signs of wear and tear, and alert when a pump needs to be serviced ahead of any potential issues. With remote monitoring, key individuals can view the status of pumps and be alerted of any issues by text or email.
WHY IS 2025 THE YEAR OF SMART PUMPS? As the Internet of Things (IoT) becomes all embracing, the cost of sensors, conductivity and supporting networks to carry information is improving. This will reduce the requirements for unnecessary maintenance because we will know exactly what the pump and system needs. As more data is gathered, we can
continue to increase the accuracy and range of predictions. Vibration signatures, for example, can tell us the condition of bearings or whether the pump is cavitating.
SENSORS ARE MORE AFFORDABLE FOR BUSINESSES Sensors have become much more affordable for businesses and organisations, particularly when compared with the increase in the price of energy. Although the cost of monitoring remains relatively expensive, the potential ROI from major reductions to energy consumption will make the decision to invest much easier, this will also drive demand. Reliability is key in any industrial
setting and downtime is prohibitively expensive. With the increase in applications of AI and machine learning, smart pumps will be able to optimise systems even further and when this is expanded across all components within a system, the savings become even more significant. Calder has been working with
businesses to help minimise downtime and interruptions to pump systems for almost 20 years and expects to see this growth accelerate in the year ahead.
For more information please visit:
www.durapump.co.uk
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