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Plumbing News
Grundfos endorses the use of
high efficiency IE5 motors and pump solutions globally.
E-motors are the ideal solution for better efficiency and
reducing energy consumption.
It is said that as much as half of the world’s electricity is
consumed by motors1. Motor-driven systems in the industry sector
alone consumes 64% of the electric energy, while the commercial
sector consumes 20% and the residential sector consumes 13%2. There
is a growing focus on improving the efficiencies of motors and
reducing energy consumption to meet the carbon emission targets
around the world. There is a lot of excitement around the world of
motors, given the recent high profile investments in this area,
validation from key Governments and industry leaders to further
promote the development and adoption on energy efficient motors
across the various sectors.
The International Efficiency (IE) standards stipulate the energy
efficiency and basically has set five levels of motor efficiency:
IE1 to IE5. The highest efficiency level being IE5 the
‘Ultra-Premium Efficiency’. These IE codes serve as a reference for
governments who specify the efficiency levels for their minimum
energy performance standards for motors in their respective
countries.
Pumps account for a large portion of this electricity consumed
across the various sectors, especially in industries and commercial
sectors. As a world leading manufacturer of pumps and pump
equipment, Grundfos makes electrical motors of exceptional quality.
Grundfos has several decades of experience in building
state-of-the-art electronic controlled pumps (E-pumps) and been
manufacturing its own motors with integrated frequency converters
with energy-saving and speed control functionality for domestic,
commercial, and industrial pump applications. In fact, the world’s
first speed controlled pump with integrated frequency converter saw
the light of day in its laboratories back in the late 1980s, and,
ever since, Grundfos has worked intensively to optimise and extend
its E-pump programme every year. Story continues below
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Grundfos is dedicated to keep at the forefront of the
technological development, introducing truly innovative
solutions for the benefit of its customers and the
environment. Grundfos’ E-pumps with integrated frequency
converter are designed with total control, customer
convenience, and environmental sustainability in mind.
Grundfos’ MGE E-motors exceeds the IE5 requirements - for
example, looking at a MGE 11.0 kW 3x380-500V medium speed,
the IE5 requirement for the motor efficiency is 93.2 %, but
the Grundfos MGE E-motor exceeds that by more than 2 % by
having a motor efficiency of 95.7 % at 380V/2600 rpm. The
PDS (Power Drive System, including Variable Frequency Drive
or VFD) efficiency of a MGE 11,0 kW reaches as highs as 93.2
% at 380V/2900 rpm. So even including the VFD the MGE motor
matches the IE5 requirements for the motor part itself.
Commenting on the growing focus and adoption of E-Motors,
Markus Brandstetter, Chief Technology Officer, Grundfos says
“Digital transformation is inevitable across the various
segments and we at Grundfos are proud to pioneer in creating
the products and digital solutions of the future. Our focus
on developing IE5 E-motors is strategic not only for our
business, but we see that it is a critical solution to
alleviate the world’s energy and climate issues. E-motors
are known to not only improve the efficiency of the entire
system but also help in reducing energy consumption and
helping us mitigate climate change. This is what we push
further to the benefit of our customers and end-users in
reducing cost and CO2 emissions.”
High efficiency E-pumps with IE5 motors contribute
substantially to energy savings and reduced CO2 footprint.
Grundfos estimates that the yearly avoided CO2 emission can
be significant. In 2020 alone the avoided CO2 emissions from
Grundfos E-pumps was 270,000 tons.
Further, the in-built application control in MGE E-Motors
reduces not only the energy consumption of the pump itself
but also optimizes the performance and efficiency of the
entire system.
Grundfos is witnessing a strong market trend where more
pumps are being fitted with VFDs and control units. The
market for VFDs, including those applied with pumps, is
witnessing a projected annual growth of around 6% in the
coming years due to growing urbanization, industrialization
and rising government mandates for energy efficiency3.
Another growth driver is the need for manufacturers to
optimize their manufacturing processes and cut operational
costs, and even small reductions in speed and flow lead to
significant energy cost savings.
Why choose an E-Motor?
E-motors offer increased functionality, making them easy to
use in a wide-range of complex applications. These E-motors
provide a range of benefits over standard motors such as:
• The MGE
E-motor provides superior energy efficiency even beyond IE5 standard
• IE5 motor losses is at least 30% lower than the IE3, this alone
reduces the energy consumption by 10% with a typical pump load
profile
• The pump, motor and frequency converter are perfectly matched for
optimized pump efficiency
• Choosing the right control mode in MGE for the application can
provide even more energy savings for the entire system of up to 75%
compared to uncontrolled pumps.
Energy and cost savings with optimized efficiency
 The
Grundfos MGE E-motors are the most energy efficient yet. These
permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) are designed especially
for frequency converter operations and optimised for pump
applications and high part-load efficiency. The motor PMSM also has
a built-in frequency converter that enables variable-speed operation
with benefits in pump applications ranging from energy savings,
process control, extra functionalities, built-in motor protection,
higher performance and more compact pumps, reduced water hammer due
to long ramp times and low starting currents.
This results in lower energy and lifecycle costs. Adjusting the
speed of the pump based on demand, rather than throttling the system
flow with a valve, also results in no excess pressure causing stress
in the system and noise in the valve due to cavitation and reduced
power consumption due to lower pump speed.
Grundfos’ MGE E-Motors are currently utilized in a wide range of its
pumps, including the multi stage pump ranges CRE, CME, MTRE the
single stage pump ranges TPE, NBE, NKE and Booster systems that
serve multiple applications.
Looking beyond just motors to the entire system
Grundfos iSOLUTIONS brings a new era of intelligence to pump systems
and water technology with solutions that look beyond individual
components and optimise the entire system. Powered by the company’s
deep understanding of water, Grundfos iSOLUTIONS utilises
intelligent pumps, cloud connectivity and digital services. Together
they enable real-time monitoring, remote control, fault prediction
and system optimisation to help you reach a new level of
performance.
Grundfos iSOLUTIONS delivers the optimal combination of pumps,
drives and auxiliary components for the specific application,
incorporating special features and functions and building on
application knowledge and experience. iSOLUTIONS allows easy
integration of pumps, drives, measurement, controls, protections,
and communication, saving you valuable engineering, installation and
commissioning time.
Recent installations & their impact
Grundfos has many success stories from around the world on how
E-Motors and iSOLUTIONS are helping its customers solve their water
management issues as well as helping them converse water and energy,
thereby reducing their costs and carbon emissions.
• Buildings
unlock up to 80% energy savings with simple pump swaps: Taka
Solutions (an energy consulting company) worked with Grundfos to
determine the problems around the existing HVAC (heating,
ventilation and air conditioning) pumping systems in three buildings
belonging to H&H Property Management and Development in Dubai -
Indigo Towers (residential), Green Tower (commercial) and Falcon
Tower (residential). These building were experiencing unusually high
electricity costs. A Grundfos Energy Check determined that the
buildings were equipped with oversized pumps, inefficient operation
and poor balancing in their constant, primary chiller systems and
these pumps ran at constant speed. Thus, Grundfos recommended
changing to close-coupled, end-suction pumps with variable frequency
drives – intelligent NB-E pumps. These could provide the exact flow
requirements to the chillers without wastage and improve the Delta-T
to five degrees Celsius. A simple, turnkey solution. H&H saw results
almost immediately. At Indigo Tower, the pumps previously used 36 kW
every hour. After the upgrade, they used between 7-10 kW/h. Now two
years in operation, they use 81% less electricity than previously.
In addition, pump efficiency is not only better, but also the
efficiency of the whole HVAC system. Actual payback time on the
investment is just eight months. The numbers on the other two
building retrofits in 2018 tell similar stories. Falcon Tower cut
its pumps’ electricity consumption by 46% and Green Tower cut its
use by 57%. Overall, the buildings cut their total energy savings –
including that from chillers, ventilation and lights – between
20-25%.
• Effective
monitoring helps resolve operational issues - saving water and cost
while increasing production: Based on the findings of the Grundfos
iSOLUTIONS MONITOR, CPKelco based in Køge, Denmark, installed two
new CRNE3-23 pump with a 11 kW MGE motor. This solution has not only
helped solving CPKelco’s problems but it also had a positive
long-term effect on their CAPEX and OPEX. CAPEX, because the offered
solution had a lower cost than the old system; and OPEX, because of
energy savings and a 50% reduction in water consumption, as well as
savings on service and a higher production. This is a fantastic
example of how Grundfos can help its customers not only monitor
their pumps, but also the system in which they are installed.
• At Grant’s
distilleries in United Kingdom, Grundfos replaced the fixed-speed CR
pumps for boiler feed on four steam boilers with a steam capacity
from 12.5 tons to 30 tons with a steam pressure of 10 bar, with
Grundfos iSOLUTIONS CRIE15-8 pumps with MGE motors. They also
removed the modulating valve from the boiler. The CRIE pump controls
the level in the steam boilers, going up and down in speed depending
on demand. At the same time, the Grundfos pumps use built-in
functions in the drive – that is limit-exceed and signal relay
output – to control a bypass valve to secure flow through the
economiser when the burner is running but the boiler is not calling
for water. All control is handled by the drive at exactly the right
time to have a safe and efficient boiler operation and reduce
complexity. The outcome has been a 40 percent energy saving on one
pump alone which equates to about 5.000 GBP a year. On top of that a
6 % saving on the gas usage for the boiler as a result of the more
stable level control.
Three words, which can easily describe Grundfos’ MGE-motors are
reliable, customizable and energy efficient. Since it was first
introduced in the 1990’s, these motors have set the standard in the
business. This combined with the digitalization of pumps, is
changing the game for most industries right now, enabling new
opportunities previously not possible, but also disrupting the
normal. Grundfos has embedded our deep understanding of efficient
and optimal pump operation into the MGE motors to create a cutting
edge product - and when put together with the reliability of
E-motors, this reduces the payback time of an E-pump. This is an
important achievement. In combination with our pumps, these motors
can give our customers an unsurpassed level of efficiency.
Grundfos is a global water technology company committed to
pioneering solutions to the world’s water and climate challenges and
improving the quality of life for people.
More information about Grundfos’s water and climate ambitions can be
found at
We are pioneers.
Sources:
1 & 2:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/electric-energy-consumption#:~:text=Concerning
the worldwide situation, it,19% to the total consumption.
3 :
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/variable-frequency-speed-drives-vfd-vsd-market.
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