Podcast: Herman Coello of Siemens on Economy Pumping Using Ultrasonic Level Controllers

Herman Coello, a level marketing manager at Siemens, joined the podcast to talk economy pumping using ultrasonic level controllers (ULC). It is well known in the water and wastewater industries that pumps are the energy hogs generally accounting for over 50 percent of the electricity consumption. The EPA estimates that optimizing pumping systems can save up to 20 percent in energy costs. However, it is important that optimizing daily pumping routines becomes the first step in this strategy, because it alone can save up to 15% of energy costs. This includes determining how much motors and pumps cost to operate, then, how much it is costs to operate these pumps at variable electricity rates and finally, how much can be saved by scheduling pumping routines around supplier energy rates. The latter is known as economy pumping and significant savings can be realized by utilizing advanced ultrasonic level controllers endowed with energy saving algorithms. Here are some key questions answered by Coello on the podcast: Explain the “economy of pumping.” How does energy management for pump operation relate to the cost of water? Who should be concerned in finding ways to reduce electricity cost when it comes to the high energy consumption by motor driven pumps in the water and waste water treatment sector? Are ULCs straight forward to setup when implementing economy pumping schedules? Is the cost of ULCs justifiable to take advantage of the off-peak electricity costs; in other words, how soon can the return on investment be realized? What other benefits besides reducing energy consumption can be achieved with advanced ultrasonic level controllers? Is there an easy and practical way to estimate the electricity costs due motor driven pumps?

Listen to the podcast on SoundCloud, Apple (iTunes) or Stitcher.

All episodes of the Pumps & Systems podcast will be on pumpsandsystems.com/podcasts