ENERGY SAVING
Pump upgrades: maximising the opportunities
Matthew Blackmore, UK national sales manager at Armstrong Fluid Technology explains how pump upgrades can help maximise opportunities.
R
These are proven
technologies that can improve eff ectiveness of design, long-term performance and
environmental impact.
eplacing pumps is a key part of any HVAC energy upgrade, off ering signifi cant carbon and cost savings, but it is all too easy to miss out on valuable opportunities to maximise
return on investment. Rapid advances in pump technology over the last decade have rewritten the rules, and fully harnessing the resulting benefi ts is the key to achieving both cost savings and long-term environmental improvements. The pump has always been the heart of an air conditioning system. But developments in connectivity, smart commissioning and AI powered control methodologies have transformed the pump into an intelligent and communicative brain, constantly reacting to variables within the system itself. Today’s generation of pumps can: ■ Prove energy effi ciency potential and secure cost savings for the upgrade, even during the project’s design phase
■Prevent energy effi ciency levels from deteriorating over time ■Reduce embodied carbon of the installation ■Design stage Today’s intelligent HVAC pumps have a crucial role to play during the design phase for energy upgrade projects, as well as after implementation. These latest generation pump models are capable of tracking and collecting data with greater accuracy than traditional fl ow meters. Engineers are already becoming accustomed to the embedded software incorporated in these pumps, and many sites are now routinely harnessing the monitoring and reporting capabilities of these latest-generation pump models to optimise their performance after installation. So why not harness the pump’s advanced monitoring and reporting capabilities to collect the data required for designing the new system, instead of using fl ow meters? By approaching the energy upgrade in phases, and installing
the new pumps ahead of the rest of the project, the pumps themselves can supply the necessary data, with a high degree of detail and accuracy. Most importantly, building owners and occupiers can start to save energy from day 1, month 1 of the initial discussions. The building and load-specifi c information obtained via the pump software identifi es opportunities for system optimisation with high cost/benefi t ratios. This assists product selection and system design for the upgrade project, whilst actual, measurable energy savings are demonstrated in real time, throughout this process, to provide a more persuasive business case for stakeholders. Breaking the project down into smaller sub-projects improves cash fl ow, and the business case begins to write itself. Depending on the system and load profi les, total energy savings of up to 40% are possible via this approach.
16 January 2025 •
www.acr-news.com
Another important development of recent years is digital twinning, which can now bring the power of AI to HVAC design. In the past there were various ways of calculating potential energy savings of diff erent HVAC system designs. Traditionally, mechanical engineers/consultants and building owners have always had to base information on maximum calculations. What was needed was a more realistic and accurate method of calculation and verifi cation.
Engineers often think that these technologies are way off in the future, but digital twinning is already delivering these benefi ts, and the tools are readily available and being used today in our projects. With digital twinning, engineers can rapidly receive a quantifi ed report on the impact of introducing heat pumps, or replacing a specifi c pump model, with actual calculations of the resulting savings in energy consumption, energy costs and carbon reductions provided by the technology in minutes. Using these insights the simulation also calculates the payback period and return on investment. After installation of new or upgraded systems, the performance and resulting savings can be verifi ed/proven using the same digital twinning technology. Leveraging cloud computing makes it possible to carry out calculations that were never possible using traditional computer simulations. At last, important technical and fi nancial decisions can be analysed comprehensively in advance, and based on a fi rm scientifi c basis.
Embodied carbon The practice of specifying full duty/standby pump installations is
so widespread that it has not traditionally been questioned. On a day-to-day basis, one pump (sized for full duty) is operational while another of the same size is out of action, simply there to accommodate 100% redundancy in the event of routine
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