BSEE


“It was the best of me, it was the worst of mes” is one of the most famous book opening lines. Charles Dickens could never have foreseen the prophec nature pf these words, or the many situaons they would be quoted in, when his 1858 novel A Tale of two Cies was first published. The significance of this passage sll has a lot of resonance today, in parcular as this year has proven to be anything but normal, due to the tsunami eect being wreaked by COVID19.


owever, it hasn’t all been bad news. One recent announcement is potentially very good news for the building services industry when the government announced a £3bn fund to upgrade the nation’s buildings as part of an ongoing stimulus package. The plan is to support the retrofit of buildings, to achieve increased energy efficiency, as well as to provide 120,000 construction jobs.


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It is estimated that about £1bn of this fund has been specifically earmarked for improving the energy efficiency of our public buildings in England. This will mean that central government departments, agencies, local authorities and schools will benefit. However, the real winners are likely to be NHS Trusts and the prison sector, as the more hours pumps need to remain operational in any 24 hour period, the greater the potential savings. This should give both the rationale and encouragement to install energy efficient, low carbon measures, that will reduce their energy bills as well as their carbon footprint.


A pump is just a pump  or is it?


At Grundfos we are very aware that the pumps account for 10% of the world’s electrical consumption. This should then make them a prime target for this focus, yet we also know that It is very rare for anyone to consider upgrading or changing a pump for any other reason than it has reached at end of its life. However, there are significant benefits to taking this enlightened approach, which will lead to improved energy efficiency and therefore reduced emissions. But to get the most benefit the focus should not be on replacing individual pumps but looking at the operational efficiency of the whole system. By taking this further, and going beyond the pump and taking the entire pumping system into account means it is possible to optimise the way pumps, drives, controls and protection, measurement and communication units work together as part of one system. For example, Grundfos can incorporate specific demands with our application expertise and then take these requirements and translate them into state-of- the-art pump intelligence - for any application. This approach is both integral as well as encompasses the integrity of the entire system and is called Grundfos iSOLUTIONS. There are many benefits for adopting such an approach, from the obvious improvement in energy efficiencies – that will go much further by ensuring that the pumps, controls, sensors, variable frequency drives, connectivity and software are fully aligned – all of which means these solutions will deliver optimal result. As the need to optimise and control speed is something that will continue to be in focus and to gain in momentum, as the pressure to reduce energy continues to mount, from all quarters.


The energy saving Grunfos CRE pump


Hydro MulE booster with Grundfos CRE pumps


MAGNA3 Digitally speaking:


Another of the more unexpected side effects of COVID-19 has been to move the whole digital scene up a number of notches. For us at Grundfos we have been moving in this direction as well as gearing up to play our role in the cloud-based future for many years. For example, we have been utilising cloud based sensor systems that means you are now able to monitor, control, react quickly to alarms and optimise all the components in HVAC, boosting, and other building services application based systems for some years now. In fact the increasingly intuitive developments within digital systems, means that new functions and tools are now available that are not currently offered with standard BMS systems such as: • fast up to date easily readable trend data. • faults and warnings using system behaviours, rather than looking at equipment faults.


• adaptable system settings using other factors such a weather reports and transport traffic data.


• tuning systems for their best optimal use by looking at how the system behaves.


• monitoring the system for component behaviour to give good indicators when the system requires maintenance or if components are about to fail. If we look at the bigger picture, adopting these systems is also about benefitting the environment, while keeping the same or better comfort levels for those who occupy the building. This is another plus, as proper utilisation means not just saving time and money, but also freeing up time that was previously used for example - maintaining the plantroom.


The Future:


As well as building on existing building management systems, future developments will also facilitate significantly improved user interfaces. With this intuitive approach to digital systems, new functions and tools are now becoming available


that present the opportunity to minimise costs through clever design, based on an 80/20 principle. This 80/20 rule is also known as the Pareto Principle and states that 80% of a design can be replicated and just 20% flexed to meet the specific requirements of a project. Within building services, for example, this can simply mean continuing to utilise exactly the same kit and just updating the system by changing the fieldbus interface cards. However, what will be the real game changer is where we can alter behavioural-based consumption. This will involve producing a statistical basis for energy consumption based on actual people living in the building and then showing how that energy consumption can be influenced and we are getting close to that now.


So, looking forward five years, where do we think we will be? • combined system intelligence and integration will be the norm to achieve maximum energy savings


• time to market for a range of bespoke solutions will be weeks instead of months


• AI will automatically gather information and make decisions without any human intervention


• in short, buildings will be capable of self-learning. The humble pump is not so humble these days, as the integral role they play within the M&E solution framework is much more significant. When you overlay the control opportunities they offer in both new and refurbishment situations, this puts them in the M&E driving seat and at the very heart of helping to futureproof the building services arena. Let’s hope that this, once in a generation opportunity, isn’t missed.


History will have the final say in analysing 2020. We do believe that where the opportunity has been taken to make things better – albeit through adversity – this time will be viewed in a more benign light. Ultimately it would be nice to look back on this time and say “it wasn’t the best of times, but it wasn’t the worst of times” as the choices that we make today, will continue to have repercussions for many years to come.


PUMPS Should pump energy matters really matter?


22 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER DECEMBER 2020


Read the latest at: www.bsee.co.uk


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