Eriks offers ten tips to improve pump efficiency 31 October 2014

As energy efficiency continues as a top priority for for plants across the industrial landscape, understanding of pump energy consumption remains poor, according to maintenance service organisation Eriks.

Andrew Cruse, business development director for pumps at Eriks, says top of the list for making improvements is to understand that on average 87% of the total lifecycle cost of a pump can be attributable to energy.

That being the case, he says that establishing performance data is key – suggesting that plant engineers record initial data and then monitor and record performance at regular intervals.

Next, he says that if a flowmeter is not incorporated, it is important to carry out periodic flow testing using non-intrusive instruments.

Fourth, he advocates taking a reading of discharge head when the pump is fitted and, if the figure changes over time, treating it as a warning of potential problems.

It's the same with the suction head, he says, advising plant technicians to measure and monitor suction regularly. "Where filtration is used, it is important to install differential pressure monitoring to highlight filter blockages," he adds.

Sixth, he suggests recording maintenance and repair data to establish MTBF (mean time before failures) records and running hours at every intervention.

Seventh, and obviously, Cruse points to the need to monitor running amps as part of a condition-based maintenance programme.

With that regular input of pump data, he next suggests assessing all pumping systems for potential energy reduction – particularly any with a varied load or demand – considering variable speed drives where possible.

Ninth, he advises engineers never to replace like-for-like – instead using the opportunity to reassess requirements and right-size and right-type.

Finally, if in doubt, seek advice – and Cruse unsurprisingly suggests Eriks.

Brian Tinham

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Eriks UK

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