Product category:
Waste-water handling, monitors + treatment
News Release from: Siemens Automation and Drives | Subject: Siemens HydroRanger
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 25 August 2005
Ultrasonic wet-well pump control brings
savings
Yorkshire Water Services has installed Siemens HydroRanger ultrasonic level controllers, eliminating operational problems and saving money through more energy-efficient wet-well level control
Traditional methods for controlling the levels in wet wells, reservoir pump operations and similar applications in the water and waster water treatment industries are not without their problems However, Yorkshire Water Services Limited has found that installing Siemens HydroRanger and HydroRanger Plus ultrasonic level controllers has been effective at eliminating problems and saving money through more energy-efficient level control
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 10 Apr 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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The company has now installed approximately 2000 HydroRanger and 400 HydroRanger Plus controllers, achieving payback periods as low as 12 months.
The HydroRanger and HydroRanger Plus from Siemens Automation and Drives (Process Instrumentation and Analytics) are ultrasonic level controllers suitable for a variety of tasks.
As well as level control, they can also be used for open channel flow monitoring and volumetric measurement, with the added advantage that the HydroRanger Plus has some built-in energy-saving algorithms.
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The system is effective even in applications where foam and turbulence would normally be expected to cause problems, and the corrosion-resistant Echomax transducer can be fitted with optional submergence shields to ensure consistent operation in wet wells where flooding can occur.
The main benefit Yorkshire Water has enjoyed as a result of installing the HydroRanger controllers is in energy saving.
By optimising the pump 'on' and 'off' switching levels, usually so that the span is as wide as possible, the number of times the pump switches on over a given period is reduced.
Bearing in mind the heavy energy consumption during pump start-up, it can easily be seen how savings are achieved.
Figures from Yorkshire Water show that increasing the pump operating span by 200 per cent leads to an 8.69 per cent fall in energy consumption.
While a 200 per cent increase in span may sound large, Yorkshire Water was able to achieve a 325 per cent increase in the span at its Cutthorpe pumping station, with an immediate electricity cost saving of GBP57.66 per year on just this 3.1kW pump.
Yet most of the company's pumping stations have much larger pumps, which leads to greater potential energy savings.
Brinsworth, for example, has a 30kW pump on which a 250 per cent increase in span was achieved, giving a GBP628pa saving in energy costs.
Some pumps operated by Yorkshire Water are rated at 300kW, so the annual savings with these are considerably greater.
In many cases Yorkshire Water found that, prior to the HydroRanger controllers being introduced, pumps were only operating for a relatively short period and, as such, never actually reached their full pumping rate before the 'off' level was reached, so never operated at their maximum efficiency.
Once the HyrdroRanger had been installed and the span increased, these pumps would usually achieve their peak efficiency and maintain their maximum flow rate for a considerable time before the pump cycle was complete.
Trials conducted by Yorkshire Water also demonstrated that further energy savings are achieved when raising the pump 'on' level because of the increased head of water.
By raising the head one metre on a Flygt 3127 LT pump, the flow went up by 12 l/s, which is a substantial increase for a 4.7kW pump.
Aside from energy savings, HydroRanger controllers are also helping to cut maintenance costs.
Peter Ward, Asset Engineer at Yorkshire Water, states: "I have held discussions with Flygt Pumps and The Pump Centre, leading me to conclude that the reduced maintenance costs likely are worth even more than the energy savings.
Wear occurs in pumps mainly when they start and stop; the sudden torque puts strain on bearings, seals, shafts, impellers, contacts, rising mains and elsewhere.
Reducing the number of starts definitely cuts maintenance costs".
Another way maintenance is being reduced is by programming the HydroRanger controllers to snort the wet wells clean once every 24 hours.
By running the pump past its normal 'off' point, debris and floating solids are removed from the wet well, which prevents the pump from blocking and reduces the need to manually clean the wet well.
At one site Yorkshire Water was previously clearing three blockages per week, but there have been none since the HydroRanger was installed and the snorting function programmed.
With the newer HydroRanger Plus unit, Yorkshire Water is also conducting tests to evaluate the algorithms for peak tariff avoidance.
As a result, it is likely that further financial savings will be possible.
Peter Ward comments: "Energy and maintenance savings are substantial, and you also have to remember that the ultrasonics are highly accurate and extremely reliable because they operate from above the liquid.
I first installed an ultrasonic controller some 20 years ago and it is still working today.
This was on a site where we had previously experienced a string of problems, yet the ultrasonic system has never faltered.
A typical installation costs us around GBP1,200-1,500 and we can save that in energy costs alone in 12 months, depending on the site.
The systems are relatively easy to retrofit and operate, and Siemens gives us excellent service - it seems that nothing is ever too much trouble.".
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