Controlling pumps for improved energy efficiency
First Claim
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1. A method for improving energy efficiency of a pump system, wherein the pump system comprises one or more pumps, the method comprising:
- measuring instantaneous power consumption of the pump system;
measuring instantaneous fluid flow rate of the pump system;
determining an instantaneous specific energy consumption (SEC) of the pump system based on the instantaneous power consumption of the pump system and the instantaneous fluid flow rate of the pump system;
automatically adjusting speed of the one or more pumps according to a change direction in response to said determining, wherein the change direction is increasing or decreasing;
waiting for the pump system to stabilize after said adjusting; and
in response to the pump system stabilizing, repeating said measuring instantaneous power consumption, said measuring instantaneous fluid flow rate, said determining, and said adjusting to seek a reduced value of the instantaneous SEC of the pump system;
wherein said determining the instantaneous SEC of the pump system includes;
determining whether the current instantaneous SEC of the pump system is greater than a previous instantaneous SEC of the pump system, andsetting the change direction to the opposite direction if the current instantaneous SEC of the pump system is determined to be greater than the previous instantaneous SEC of the pump system.
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Abstract
A method for improving the energy efficiency of a pump system. The method includes measuring an instantaneous power consumption of the pump system, measuring an instantaneous fluid flow rate of the pump system, and determining an instantaneous specific energy consumption (SEC) of the pump system based on the instantaneous power consumption and the instantaneous fluid flow rate. The method then adjusts the speed of a pump in response to the determined SEC. The above steps may be performed a number of times to seek a reduced value of the instantaneous SEC of the pump system.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method for improving energy efficiency of a pump system, wherein the pump system comprises one or more pumps, the method comprising:
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measuring instantaneous power consumption of the pump system; measuring instantaneous fluid flow rate of the pump system; determining an instantaneous specific energy consumption (SEC) of the pump system based on the instantaneous power consumption of the pump system and the instantaneous fluid flow rate of the pump system; automatically adjusting speed of the one or more pumps according to a change direction in response to said determining, wherein the change direction is increasing or decreasing; waiting for the pump system to stabilize after said adjusting; and in response to the pump system stabilizing, repeating said measuring instantaneous power consumption, said measuring instantaneous fluid flow rate, said determining, and said adjusting to seek a reduced value of the instantaneous SEC of the pump system; wherein said determining the instantaneous SEC of the pump system includes; determining whether the current instantaneous SEC of the pump system is greater than a previous instantaneous SEC of the pump system, and setting the change direction to the opposite direction if the current instantaneous SEC of the pump system is determined to be greater than the previous instantaneous SEC of the pump system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A computer-readable tangible non-transitory memory medium comprising program instructions for improving energy efficiency of a pump system, wherein the pump system comprises one or more pumps, wherein the program instructions are executable to:
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receive a measurement of instantaneous power consumption of the pump system; receive a measurement of instantaneous fluid flow rate of the pump system; determine an instantaneous specific energy consumption (SEC) of the pump system based on the measurement of instantaneous power consumption of the pump system and the measurement of instantaneous fluid flow rate of the pump system; provide an output to adjust speed of the one or more pumps according to a change direction in response to the determination of the instantaneous SEC of the pump system, wherein the change direction is increasing or decreasing; wait for the pump system to stabilize after said adjusting; and wherein the program instructions are configured to execute a plurality of times, in response to said waiting, to seek a reduced value of the instantaneous SEC of the pump system; wherein to determine the instantaneous SEC of the pump system, the program instructions are further executable to; determine whether the current instantaneous SEC of the pump system is greater than a previous instantaneous SEC of the pump system, and set the change direction to the opposite direction if the current instantaneous SEC of the pump system is greater than the previous instantaneous SEC of the pump system. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A pump system comprising:
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one or more pumps; a pump control unit coupled to the one or more pumps; a power meter coupled to the pump control unit, wherein the power meter is configured to measure instantaneous power consumption of the pump system; and a flow meter coupled to the pump control unit, wherein the flow meter is configured to measure instantaneous flow rate of the pump system; wherein the pump control unit is configured to; obtain from the power meter a measurement of the instantaneous power consumption of the pump system; obtain from the flow meter a measurement of the instantaneous flow rate of the pump system; determine an instantaneous specific energy consumption (SEC) of the pump system based on the measurement of the instantaneous power consumption of the pump system and the measurement of the instantaneous flow rate of the pump system; automatically adjust speed of the one or more pumps according to a change direction in response to the determination of the instantaneous SEC of the pump system, wherein the change direction is increasing or decreasing; and wait for the pump system to stabilize after said adjusting; wherein, in response to the pump system stabilizing, the pump control unit is configured to repeat;
said obtaining the measurement of the instantaneous power consumption, said obtaining the measurement of the instantaneous flow rate, said determining the instantaneous SEC, and said adjusting the speed of the one or more pumps to seek a reduced value of the instantaneous SEC of the pump system;wherein, to determine the instantaneous SEC of the pump system, the pump control unit is further configured to; determine whether the current instantaneous SEC of the pump system is greater than a previous instantaneous SEC of the pump system, and set the change direction to the opposite direction if the current instantaneous SEC of the pump system is greater than the previous instantaneous SEC of the pump system. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for improving energy efficiency of a pump system, wherein the pump system comprises a plurality of pumps, the method comprising:
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(a) setting a change direction to one of increasing or decreasing; (b) measuring instantaneous power consumption of the pump system; (c) measuring instantaneous fluid flow rate of the pump system; (d) determining a current instantaneous specific energy consumption (SEC) of the pump system based on the instantaneous power consumption of the pump system and the instantaneous fluid flow rate of the pump system; (e) comparing the current instantaneous SEC of the pump system to a previous instantaneous SEC of the pump system; (f) setting the change direction to the opposite direction if the current instantaneous SEC of the pump system is greater than the previous instantaneous SEC of the pump system; (g) adjusting speed of a pump of the plurality of pumps according to the change direction; (h) repeating steps (b)-(g) a plurality of times; and (i) repeating steps (a)-(h) for each pump in the plurality of pumps, one pump at a time. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A computer-readable memory medium comprising program instructions for improving energy efficiency of a pump system, wherein the pump system comprises a plurality of pumps, wherein the program instructions are executable to:
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(a) set a change direction to one of increasing or decreasing; (b) obtain a measurement of instantaneous power consumption of the pump system; (c) obtain a measurement of instantaneous fluid flow rate of the pump system; (d) determine a current instantaneous specific energy consumption (SEC) of the pump system based on the instantaneous power consumption of the pump system and the instantaneous fluid flow rate of the pump system; (e) compare the current instantaneous SEC of the pump system to a previous instantaneous SEC of the pump system; (f) set the change direction to the opposite direction if the current instantaneous SEC of the pump system is greater than the previous instantaneous SEC of the pump system; (g) provide an output to adjust speed of a pump of the plurality of pumps according to the change direction; (h) repeat (b)-(g) a plurality of times; and (i) repeat (a)-(h) for each pump in the plurality of pumps, one pump at a time. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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25. A pump system comprising:
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one or more pumps; a pump control unit coupled to the one or more pumps; a power meter coupled to the pump control unit, wherein the power meter is configured to measure instantaneous power consumption of the pump system; a flow meter coupled to the pump control unit, wherein the flow meter is configured to measure instantaneous flow rate of the pump system; and wherein the pump control unit is configured to; (a) set a change direction to one of increasing or decreasing; (b) receive a measurement of the instantaneous power consumption of the pump system; (c) receive a measurement of the instantaneous fluid flow rate of the pump system; (d) determine a current instantaneous specific energy consumption (SEC) of the pump system based on the instantaneous power consumption of the pump system and the instantaneous fluid flow rate of the pump system; (e) compare the current instantaneous SEC of the pump system to a previous instantaneous SEC of the pump system; (f) set the change direction to the opposite direction if the current instantaneous SEC of the pump system is greater than a previous instantaneous SEC of the pump system; (g) provide an output to adjust speed of a pump of the plurality of pumps according to the change direction; (h) repeat steps (b)-(g) a plurality of times; and (i) repeat steps (a)-(h) for each pump in the plurality of pumps, one pump at a time. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28)
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Specification