PUMPS, WASTE MANAGEMENT & WATER TREATMENT


Monitoring and control moves into the 21st Century


From HVAC heating and cooling to dealing with wastewater, enhanced monitoring of building systems offers greater control and oversight to optimise performance, reduce costs and boost sustainability. That’s according to Paul Winnett, sales director, building services & OEM, Xylem Water Solutions UK & Ireland


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he latest digital solutions offer building owners a wealth of options to upgrade established systems by retrofitting new high- tech equipment to improve operations – meaning fully


optimised systems are within reach for the UK’s aging building stock as well as in new buildings. It’s a growing market: in 2018, renovation and renewal work accounted for more than a third of the UK building sector, according to a report presented at the 87th EUROCONSTRUCT Conference – a figure likely to have greatly increased with the trend for home renovations during the pandemic. And automated systems – which digitally monitor and control everything from temperature to water pressure – are seeing a huge rise, accounting for 28% of construction output in 2018, according to the same report.


Intelligent equipment allows our buildings to function more efficiently: new smart monitoring technology can help to solve the challenges of increasing reliability and tackling rising costs throughout the life cycle by saving on energy usage and bills. And because they can be retrofitted to existing building systems to entirely or partially replace inefficient systems, or implemented in new systems being built from the ground up, new monitoring and control solutions can bring an optimal experience for building users and ensure the highest standards are met.


A closer look at digital solutions


The latest digital solutions encompass three layers: intelligent equipment, smart networks and advanced analytics.


Intelligent equipment capable of sensing its conditions allows for localised control of assets, and therefore reactive optimisation of the system; it enables easier and more accurate monitoring of critical technology, meaning any issues can be rapidly recognised and responded to.


The next level is smart networks and services, which collect data from connected stations to allow for remote and continuous monitoring of operations - and their real-time proactive management. These smart networks can detect incipient issues and deploy proactive asset management while they are in operation to increase accessibility, resilience and affordability.


Then advanced data analytics can convert that data into information for the system environment, allowing for pre-emptive optimisation via decisions based on system intelligence. This allows system operators to move towards a process of anticipating maintenance needs long before they occur, instead of waiting for a costly failure.


Getting smart about HVAC and water supply


Pump systems are often oversized for the relevant application and therefore use far more energy than needed, meaning energy bills can rocket. The latest intelligent controllers can match pump performance to demand and control the speed of a standard IEC motor by converting the fixed voltage and frequency from the power supply line. They can be fitted easily to any new pump system, or retrofitted to existing pumps, and bring energy savings of up to 70% at partial loads alone; a motor running at 80% of its maximum speed uses 48% less energy and drastically reduces carbon emissions as well as life cycle costs.


For new installations, smart pumps with permanent magnet motors can provide


24 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER DECEMBER 2022


efficiency that meets the top IE5 standards, well above a standard IE3 asynchronous motor. These boast integrated drives that can operate single, twin or multi-pump systems of up to three pumps, with no need for an external control panel; the drive matches performance to demand to reduce energy use. The latest smart pumps incorporate state-of-the-art technology to optimise performance and communicate with other building systems in real time to maximise efficiency.


Taking it to the next level


Connecting smart systems to cloud-based digital services can provide a real-time view of asset health and reliability to allow remote control and monitoring. The right asset management tools offer a complete overview of all assets with real-time status reporting for full insight into their functioning. They can provide a comprehensive overview of data in installations, including equipment data, performed and scheduled maintenance, and relationships between assets – helping to cut maintenance costs by up to 27% by only performing upkeep when required. For a move towards condition-based maintenance, targeting the assets that need it, the Smart Asset Monitoring and Optimisation approach (SAM PRO) uses electrical waveform analysis to detect upcoming failures of motors and pumps months before they occur and offers insights into performance and energy consumption of connected assets. Its predictive insights enable facilities managers operating multiple assets and maintenance workflows to move from a scheduled to a predictive maintenance strategy, cutting the costs of maintenance by up to 30% and reduce unplanned downtime by more than 90%.


Solving wastewater woes


Wastewater disposal can be a real challenge for building owners and operators, especially in hotels, shopping malls and other publicly accessible buildings where clogging is a hazard. Wastewater management systems are required to operate in continuously changing load conditions – and as a result, established systems and new systems alike are often over-designed to cover the load conditions, consuming more energy than required. By sensing its operating conditions and adapting its performance accordingly in real time, the most up-to-date integrated wastewater pumps can reduce energy demand by up to 70%. And with integrated pump cleaning functions, self-cleaning hydraulics and self-monitoring functionality -


along with the ability to self-tune to preserve key components – they can offer clog-free operation and reduced vacuum cleaning call-outs by up to 80%. When installed at Heathrow Airport to deliver clog-free pumping of aircraft toilet wastewater, Xylem’s unique Flygt Concertor reduced energy consumption reduced by 53% with reduced cleaning and servicing costs. For additional peace of mind, system alarm services can provide visibility into installation performance to ensure round-the-clock reactive and efficient service and avoid damages from asset failure and costly and inconvenient downtime.


Making Britain’s buildings fit for the future


Developments in digital solutions can bring outstanding reliability, optimal savings and the shortest payback times for both new buildings and to rejuvenate existing systems. Through heightened monitoring, facilities managers can control building systems more rigorously – and harness the power of the data available to fully optimise performance. As a result, systems can be the eyes and ears of the building and work for the benefit of users through a process of continuous adjustment. Furthermore, the self-regulation of intelligent equipment means that maintenance call-outs and costs are significantly reduced – by up to 80% in some cases.


Smart monitoring options mean building systems can be operated and supervised remotely if necessary, allowing potential failures to be predicted and rectified before they occur. By drastically reducing downtime, they are a vital tool for saving time, money and energy as we look to a more sustainable future.


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


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